Peugeot e-2008 review

If you’re familiar with any other Stellantis cars, then the interior of the Peugeot e-2008 won’t come as a surprise to you.

The second you step inside, you’ll start to notice and pick up on elements found across other models, such as the switchgear, which matches certain Citroen and Vauxhall models.  

With this one, Peugeot really went to town by designing a quirky interior – something it’s always been good at.

The Germans keep it simple, the Italians add a bit of flair, but the French really know how to make a quirky interior work well – because you could easily mess it up.

It’s got a small oddly-shaped steering wheel, curves across the dashboard and a lot of fake carbon fibre trim. While we aren’t big fans of the latter, we do respect Peugeot’s attention to detail. 

One feature that sets this model apart is its fighter jet-style switches sitting below the infotainment screen, making you feel like Tom Cruise in Top Gun – just slightly less cool.

But unlike Mr. Cruise, you sit up very high in this SUV, which means seeing other road users is much easier – aiding parking in tight spaces too.  

One bugbear, however, is the narrow footwell, which can feel a little cramped at times – especially with clunkier footwear – but as it has two pedals instead of the three found in a petrol or diesel manual, it’s less of an issue. 

When it comes to tech, the e-2008 comes with a large 10-inch central display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

If you’d rather use the car’s inbuilt i-Cockpit software then that’s just as good, and it's very responsive when using the sat-nav. You also get two USB-C ports in the front, six speakers and two further charging ports in the rear to keep all your passengers happy. 

Another highlight of the rear is that the two outer seats have ISOFIX child seat mounting points, which means the little ones are as safe as can be.

It's worth bearing in mind that if you’re a full-sized adult, you may struggle back there on longer journeys as leg space is at a premium. 

Because the e-2008 is based on the petrol version, the driving experience is very similar – just much quieter.

Once you’re over the strange and small steering wheel, it’s so easy to drive. Initially, we thought we’d struggle with the smaller wheel, but it actually offers a race car-like feel, even if this is a near two-tonne SUV.  

As you’d expect, acceleration is punchy with the instant torque from its 156hp electric motor, which is a little more powerful than the previous one.

It shares its platform with the e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa-e, so you know it’s going to be very similar to those.

This also means it gets a 54kWh battery with 250 miles of range – up from 217 in the old model – which stayed true throughout our testing. 

All around, it’s a better car than the last iteration, with a comfortable driving position and punchy electric motors.

This is particularly impressive for an electric SUV, which can sometimes be quite uncomfortable because the tall body and heavy batteries require unforgiving suspension. The e-2008, however, absorbs bumps very well, even on rougher country roads like the ones we drove on. 

When you need more juice, you can charge using a 100kW rapid charger, which is ideal to boost it from 0-80% in less than 30 minutes.

While rivals such as the Hyundai Kona EV and Smart #1 get more range, the Peugeot is a lovely car to drive and benefits from years of development from its ICE-powered cousins.

When you take the e-2008 for what it is – a family car – then you’ll begin to notice impressive storage options throughout as you’d expect from a large SUV.

This includes deep cupholders, a small shelf beneath the dashboard where you can store your phone, and a hidden cubbyhole just above it to store valuables or road trip snacks.

The one downside is the fairly small and shallow glovebox, but the other storage areas make up for this.  

Move to the rear and you’ll find a decent 435-litre boot, but compare it to the 585-litre boot of the Skoda Enyaq or even the 480-litre of the MG ZS EV and it begins to look a bit dinky.

Having said that, it’s still got plenty of space for a few suitcases and trumps the Vauxhall Mokka Electric’s 310-litre boot.

While it’s fun to talk about owning an electric SUV, you first need to come to terms with the upfront cost – but in the case of the e-2008, it’s lower than you may think.

Buy a brand-new one and you’ll be paying upwards of £40,000 for a top-spec model, but grab a used example and you can expect to pay around £20,000 – a huge saving.  

Another large cost to consider is insurance, which can be higher with some electric cars. The e-2008 sits between insurance groups 25 and 27, which puts it slap-bang in the middle of the price range.

It's worth noting that the end cost will vary depending on factors such as where you live, what you do for work, your driving history etc. 

After this, the other main cost – aside from maintenance – is charging, which is very straightforward to work out and is more or less the same for most EVs.

As a rule of thumb, home charging will cost 30p per kWh, which is by far the cheapest option but it's slower at around 7kW. 

Use a public fast charger and you benefit from up to 100kW rapid charging, costing between 53p and 77p per kWh. This means a full charge from 0-100% should cost around £42, which is far cheaper than petrol at the time of writing. 

Written by Ben Welham