PSA is serious about their electrification plans, as new EVs are popping up all over the group. With a newcomer like the e-2008, will the French be able to deal a serious blow to the competition?
PSA is gaining steam with a serious electrification program. After a remarkable first step with the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero (basically the Mitsubishi i-MiEV with different badges) and the Opel Ampera-e (essentially the American-built Chevrolet Bolt), the group now finally has a whole range of its own developed electric cars. For those own EVs, one electric motor (136 hp) and one battery pack (50 kWh) is currently available. We come across this duo in more and more models of the French-German group, from DS to Opel and from Citroën to Peugeot. And not only in passenger cars, but also in vans. This always concerns existing models. Where manufacturers such as Nissan and Renault build special models for their EVs (think of the Leaf and the Zoe), the electric cars of PSA are models that we also know with petrol and diesel engines. This also applies to the Peugeot 208 and 2008, which go through life with an electric motor as the e-208 and e-2008.
Colorful graphics
The Peugeot e-2008 has a slick interior, where the French seem to be looking higher with the choice of materials. Food for discussion remains the cockpit with the low steering wheel with the instrumentation above it – still a Peugeot gimmick, although there is certainly a group of buyers who love this setup. All the necessary information is projected into the digital instruments or can be retrieved from it at the touch of a button. With all its colorful graphics and 3D projection, however, the information center is not the oasis of peace where you quickly pick up your information at a glance. It distracts.
What also requires some concentration is the infotainment system. Peugeot has improved its operation over the years, partly by the addition of a set of shortcut keys, but there is still too much hidden in it. As a result, you first have to go to a menu for fairly simple, basic functions.
The distance between the front and rear axle is ample. The front is perfectly fine in the e-2008 and the rear is also spacious enough, which applies to both rear seat and trunk. There is enough space for the charging cable under the floor of the trunk.
50 kWh
A maximum power of 136 hp and peak torque at 260 Nm is not surprising for a compact crossover, only in the case of the e-2008 it is a compact crossover of over 1,500 kilos. However, the character of the electric motor (maximum torque from a standstill and direct response to the power pedal) ensures that you certainly do not hit a mud figure with the Peugeot in everyday traffic.
As expected, we need more electricity per 100 kilometers than the manufacturer specifies. With the Peugeot, our test consumption averaged 20.3 kWh / 100 km. In addition, the battery has a capacity of 50 kWh. On a full battery, the e-2008 has to go 246 km. The electrical capacity that the e-2008 has to offer falls short when you, as a newcomer, want to mix with the already established order.
Anyway, at Peugeot we have not heard anything about variants of the e-2008 with a larger battery or a range extender. We know from previous experience that the powertrain with the 50 kWh battery works well in the more compact e-208 and the Opel e-Corsa. However, for the slightly larger e-2008 with 246 practical kilometers, this technology is not the ideal argument to convince potential buyers. The Peugeot can be charged at the wallbox or in public spaces at the charging station with 11 kW three-phase alternating current. Furthermore, it can use the DC rapid charger, where it can handle a power of 100 kW. With the Peugeot you are so quickly ready at the fast charging station, but that is just a plaster on the wound; we prefer a larger battery, so that we can skip a charging station en route.
Comfortable, not woolly
As a direct result of the electrification, the Peugeot e-2008 is significantly heavier than the conventionally powered 2008, but that does not lead to any problems with handling. Peugeot has done an excellent job of making the e-2008 a pleasant driving car. The tuning of springs and shock absorbers is comfortable, without the whole thing becoming too floaty. The battery pack integrated into the floor naturally makes a positive contribution to the low center of gravity of the car, so that the body does not lean excessively when cornering. At the most we would like a little more feeling in the light and quite distant steering mechanism. The Peugeot is standard on Michelin Primacy tires.
Lane assistance and active cruise control are available as options, depending on the equipment level, to relieve the driver of the necessary work. These are the first steps towards autonomous driving. The electronics in the Peugeot are well calibrated; he holds his position tightly between the stripes. In this area, the French are well organized. Furthermore, the e-2008 has fatigue detection as standard (although we do not know whether it works, as fit as we do our work…). If we look further at the package of safety features, we see that Peugeot has equipped the e-2008 with an extensive road sign recognition as standard. It also reads stop signs and one-way traffic signs. For the price list, Peugeot works with three equipment variants (from € 40,930) and a series of separate options.