Peugeot e-2008 GT Line – long-term review

Are we there yet? My kids are long past that stage, and are far more likely to grumble if there’s no USB port in the back of the car. Well, the e-2008 has two of the blighters, so peace reigns. Now they can ignore each other and their parents unless there’s some ludicrous new TikTok meme doing the rounds. 

But you could look at it another way. The mid-size crossover is the family car du jour and this one is also a BEV. This is the car that needs to work to accelerate the imminent electric tipping point. 
It wasn’t so long ago that Peugeots looked like they’d been designed in the dark, possibly by someone from the finance department. But the 2008 is another smash hit, a car TG has previously compared to an alien hamster, like that’s a bad thing.

I see something that looks like the sort of car we all expected to be on sale in 2021 back in 1991. The ‘e’ makeover runs to a ‘dichroic’ badge – blue elements in the grille create a 3D effect – and a smattering of lower case ‘e’ badges. The daylight running fangs are a bit much, and there’s some superfluous body-side surface slashery. But overall it makes quite the statement, arguably the most outré French family wagon since the magnificent Citroen CX Familiale. 

The e-2008 uses a 50kWh battery and 100kW motor, equating to 134bhp and 221lb ft, for a decidedly non-ludicrous 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 93mph. The 1991 me is suddenly underwhelmed, but honestly who wants to go banzai in an EV? That’s not the point, is it. Peugeot claims a WLTP range figure of between 191 and 206 miles, and this will be the subject of intense scrutiny. 

When you’re living with an EV day in, day out, it has to meld itself into your world. Lifestyle, I believe it’s called. Which brings me to the e-2008’s interior. Peugeot’s i-Cockpit is another big leap forward, with a slight tendency to mosey sideways, too. Having previously run a 508 – which I still miss – the low-mounted TIE fighter steering wheel is no longer a novelty, but the new car gets configurable 3D instuments, adding an almost holographic feel, and floating the main dials to the top. Peugeot says it reduces driver’s reaction times by 0.5 seconds. 

Are we there yet? It’s looking good so far.