IT’S one of the most hotly anticipated electric cars of the year – the delightful Peugeot e-208.
Indeed, a colleague who featured it on social media got so many Likes that he was considering using it on Tinder. French car maker Peugeot has been very clever with the e-208. While the car-buying public are definitely interested in electric cars, they are also a bit wary of the unknown.
With the e-208 you get a very familiar body shape – indeed a much loved body shape – so that all a driver new to electric has to contend with is getting to grips with the new powertrain.
David Peel, managing director of Peugeot UK, said: “The all-new 208 represents the first step in the company’s vision of providing our customers with the power of choice – choose your Peugeot, choose your powertrain.”
And if it is the e-208 you opt for, you will get a very nice little car indeed. The electric version of Peugeot’s little supermini is available in the Active, Allure and GT Line trims of the standard versions, while the top-spec GT trim will be exclusive to the e-208.
So UK customers will have the chance to enjoy the very top of the range when it comes to systems and features such as the colour reversing cameras, sensors front and rear and special signature lighting. There’s full park assist for city driving, blind spot monitoring and a large 10in colour touchscreen.
There are sports seats, power steering, the possibility of adaptive cruise control and lane positioning assist, as well as zero emissions and a driving range of 217 miles, which is probably high enough not to warrant charging every day.
The 50kWh battery delivers 136hp, which makes for a smart and agile supermini around town with enough oomph to really get going when you join the motorway. It is neat and well balanced on corners thanks partly to the positioning of the battery, which adds weight to the drive.
Like most electric cars, it is fast out of the blocks due to instant power – it does 0-62mph in 8.1 seconds – and it has three different driving modes. Normal is for daily usage and Eco when you want to make the range as long as possible or for driving in the city.
But then you put the e-208 in Sport and get the kind of performance for which the 208 is famed for – fast, athletic and fun. For that’s the thing with the e-208, it is as much of a joy to drive as any of its siblings with a conventional engine under the bonnet.
It also has a “B” on the gear lever that you can use to save or recuperate energy. In electric cars, decelerating or braking will often add charge to the battery. In B mode, this is accentuated and allows you almost to indulge in one-pedal driving.
I found myself driving up hills in automatic D mode and lifting my foot off the gas at the top while switching to B to go downhill, thereby adding charge to my e-208.
Of course, like all 208s, the all-electric version comes with Peugeot’s i-Cockpit, which angles the touchscreen towards the driver, and fast toggle switches for swapping quickly between features such as sat nav, radio and climate control.
The GT comes with sat nav but you can link up with your smartphone to provide you with all the information you need. With a top speed of 93mph, the e-208 is everything you could ask for in a supermini – and it comes in some great funky colours.
The charging point, like a conventional car, is on the rear wing and it will take only 30 minutes to reach 80 per cent at a fast charger, 7.5 hours at a wallbox. Prices start at £28,550 for the e-208 Active rising up to £32,750, excluding options, for the GT once the £3500 government grant is taken into account.
