Peugeot e-208

The Peugeot e-208 is an all electric, stylish, compact car and excellent value for money

Peugeot e-208 Review

The brand new for 2020 Peugeot e-208 is based on Groupe PSA’s electric car platform, the eCMP.

You’ll find the same EV platform on the Vauxhall Corsa-e and the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense. Peugeot, Vauxhall, and DS – as well as Citroën – are all PSA brands.

The e-208 is a compact, 5-seater, with 5 doors, and there’s plenty of French panache and charm in the styling.

It’s a good-looking, nippy, well-equipped electric car, with decent range and very quick charging capabilities for an EV in this segment.

Read our review below of the Peugeot e208 for a quick overview of key features and what’s available via the online configurator.

Range & Charging

The Peugeot e-208 comes with a 50 kWh battery.

Under the WLTP standard, it has a range on a single charge of the battery of 217 miles.

However, WLTP range is often somewhat generous and 195 miles is nearer the mark. It’s important to point out that 195 miles is the average range.

The actual range of an electric car depends on ambient temperature, driving style, terrain and other factors. Read our range guide for the full picture.

How does 195 real-world miles compare to the competition?

With respect to similarly sized 5-seat EVs, the Peugeot e-208 range is better than the old 40 kWh Renault Zoe (167 miles), the base Nissan Leaf (151 miles), and the now long-in-the-tooth VW e-Golf (130 miles).

On the other hand, the higher spec Nissan Leaf e+ (215 miles) and the imminent, new Renault Zoe ZE50 R110 (220 miles) both have better range than the e208.

Peugeot has cleverly equipped the car with both water-cooled batteries and rapid CCS charging capabilities, up to 100 kW. This is not so common for an EV at this price point.

It’s very good news for drivers covering long distances. It means you can be on your way again swiftly after a quick charge at a motorway service station.

Back at home, you use a Type 2 cable for 7.4 kW charging overnight.

Peugeot e-208 Price

There are four trim levels for the Peugeot e-208, as follows:

1. Active: from £25,050
2. Allure: from £26,250
3. GT Line: from £28,100
4. GT: from £29,250

Prices include the £3,500 plug-in car grant from the government.

Does the Peugeot e-208 price stand up well against its 5-seat competitors?

Certainly the Active model at £25,050 is aggressively priced. It’s only some £600 more expensive than the old 40 kWh Renault Zoe, but about £600 cheaper than the new 50 kWh Zoe.

It’s about £3,000 less than the base Nissan Leaf, nearly £5,000 cheaper than the e-Golf, and an eye-watering £11,000 less than the admittedly larger Leaf e+.

What really sets it apart from the competition, however, is the e-208’s value for money. There are many yardsticks of value, but for EVs we like to look at the total on the road cost in relation to its range.

For this Peugeot electric car, dividing its price of £25,050 by its real-world, average range of 195 miles, gives a you a figure of £128.

That puts it in Number 1 spot for value for money, among all the electric cars currently available in the UK. It even beats the all-conquering value cars of last year: the Kia e-Niro and the Hyundai Kona Electric.

Trim Details & Specifications

Use the Peugeot e208 website configurator to work out exactly which version of the car you would like. A quick reminder of the trim levels:

• Active
• Allure
• GT Line
• GT

Active

Active trim includes as standard:

• 16-inch ‘Plaka’ wheels (steel)
• Automatic air conditioning
• Ability to pre-heat the car
• High centre console with 2 x cup-holders
• Electric, heated door mirrors
• Rear parking sensors
• Peugeot’s ‘i-Cockpit’ 3.5-inch instrument cluster
• Leather steering wheel
• ‘Pneuma’ & ‘Rimini’ cloth seat trim, with orange double-stitch detailing
• Active Safety Brake (for pedestrians)
• Halogen headlights
• LED daytime running lights, giving it that ‘Tooth’ look
• Visibility pack with automatic windscreen wipers
• 2 x USB sockets in the front, including 1 x USB-C
• 2 x USB sockets in the back

Allure

The Allure trim is one step up from the base Active trim. Its main features are:

• 16-inch ‘Elborn’ alloy wheels
• Tri-material ‘Cozy’ leather effect & ‘Isabella’ cloth seat trim, with light blue double stitch detail
• Central, front arm-rest plus storage compartment
• Power folding door mirrors
• Electric rear windows & pinch protection
• 3D i-Cockpit, a configurable 3D head-up instrument display
• Rear, full LED 3D Peugeot signature ‘Claw Effect’ lights (with daylight function)
• Smart phone charging plate

GT Line

With the GT Line trim, the upgrades really start to mount up:

• Front and rear parking sensors
• Visio Park 1 – 180 degree, colour, reversing camera
• 17-inch ‘Shaw’ diamond cut, two-tone, alloy wheels
• Nera Black door mirror caps
• Wheel arch extensions (gloss black)
• Diamond Black roof
• Active Safety Brake, including night function, pedestrians, and cyclists
• Tri-material ‘Capy’ leather effect & ‘Isabella’ cloth seat trim with lime green double stitch detail
• Mistral, full-grain, perforated leather steering wheel, with Aikinite stitch detail & satin chrome ‘GT’ emblem
• 8-colour, personalisable, ambient lighting
• Full LED headlights with Smart-beam Assist
• LED daytime running lights: 3-Claw Headlight with distinctive ‘Tooth’ design

GT

Finally, for the full monty, the GT trim brings you:

• 3D i-Cockpit – 10-inch, capacitive, colour touchscreen
• Connected 3D Navigation, with TomTom Live updates (3-year subscription)
• Adaptive cruise control, plus ‘Stop & Go’ function
• Lane positioning assist
• Active blind spot monitoring
• Tri-material grey Alcantara & ‘Isabella’ cloth seat trim with lime green and blue stitch detail
•  2 x front heated seats
• ‘Piano’ keys – gloss, black-plated, toggle switches to access touchscreen functions

Optional Extras

As well as the four trim levels, you can also tailor the e-208 to your liking in other ways, for example:

There are three external colours to choose from with the Active trim. As standard, across the range, you get the metallic Faro Yellow. If you pay £545 more, you can have either Cumulus Grey or Nera Black (both also metallic paint).

With Allure, GT Line and GT, there are three more colours on offer: Pearlescent White, Elixir Red and Vertigo Blue. All £695 extra.

The GT trim has the larger 10-inch touchscreen as standard, but you can add it to either Allure or GT Line for £650 more.

Full LED head-lights with Smartbeam Assist can also be added to Allure for £800. It’s standard on GT Line and GT.

If you want a panoramic sunroof, you can have one for £500 with either GT Line or GT trim.

The GT Line can have keyless entry – Peugeot call it ‘Open & Go’ – for £350. It’s standard on the top GT spec.

The Peugeot e-208 has a standard on-board charger that allows home AC charging on a single phase at 7.4 kW. However, you can order a factory upgrade to a 11 kW, 3-phase, on-board charger if you are lucky enough either to have a 3-phase electricity supply at home or at work. This will allow you to charge the car about 50% faster. The upgrade costs £300.

There are also various live traffic bundles you can upgrade to. These cover TomTom traffic data and speed camera warnings for 1, 3, 4 or 6 years.

Who will the Peugeot e-208 appeal to?

The Peugeot e208 is a small, nippy, 5-seat electric car with plenty of tech on offer as you move up the trim levels.

The e-208 would be an ideal city car. It’s compact, very easy to park and drive, and the electric powertrain gives you all the oomph you need at traffic lights.

As pollution restrictions get tighter in towns and cities, this Peugeot electric car will still be allowed in. No penalty charges to pay.

Although it’s not a big car, it still has 5 seats and 5 doors. This gives it an advantage over the Mini Electric, for example, which only has 4 seats and 3 doors.

The car will certainly appeal to younger drivers, and couples without children (or little ones!). It feels snazzy, cool, and modern. The styling inside and out is excellent.

If you’re worried about space to transport your stuff, folding down the back seats gives you a not insignificant 1,106 litres. With the seats up, the boot space is 311 litres.

The Peugeot e-208 also looks and feels like its petrol and diesel 208 brothers. In other words, if you want an EV that fits in with the crowd, this is perfect. You’ll enjoy all the benefits of an electric car – low running costs, zero pollution, quiet cabin, etc. – but not stick out like a sore thumb.

You can’t talk about an electric car without explaining regenerative braking, AKA ‘regen’. Lifting your foot off the accelerator of an EV, makes the car brake. The electric motor automatically goes into reverse and acts like a generator, charging the battery. So, braking = recharging the battery.

The e-208 has two regen settings: Moderate and Emphasised. ‘Moderate’ is not too dissimilar to a petrol / diesel car. ‘Emphasised’ makes the braking much more pronounced, permitting so-called ‘one pedal’ driving.

There are also three driving modes: Sport, Normal, and Eco.

Sport mode prioritises performance, allowing you to accelerate from 0-60 in 8.1 seconds.

Engage Eco mode when you want maximum range. It dulls the responsiveness of the accelerator, but helps you go further on a single charge.

Normal mode is for everyday driving.

The Peugeot e-208 has a smartphone app, too. It’s called MyPeugeot. With it, you can:

• Start, stop, and schedule the charging of your battery.
• Check on charging progress.
• Remotely turn on the heating – get into a nice warm car on cold mornings!
• Access consumption data for your journeys.
• Read up on environmentally friendly driving tips.

Next Steps

If this short introduction to the Peugeot e-208 has whetted your appetite, the next steps are:

1. Have a look at the Peugeot e-208 UK website.
2. Get in touch with a local dealer to take it out for a test drive.
3. Drive a few other electric cars as well, so you can compare and contrast.
4. Work out the best way to buy/lease the electric car you eventually select.