Peugeot e-2008

Could Peugeot’s new electric compact crossover become an EV sales heavyweight? Having been the meekest of bit-part players in the emerging electric car market until only a couple of years ago, the PSA Group has lately shown itself to be very serious indeed about a battery-powered future. It recently announced its first dedicated EV-only model architecture, the eVMP, which is due to sire its first production car within three years.Until then, the roll-out of what we might think of as the group’s advance wave of compact electric vehicles continues. From the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense to the Vauxhall Corsa-e, we’ve seen and tested several of its members already. And between the Vauxhall Mokka-e and at least one model from Citroën, there are several more to come.What chance, then, once this advance guard of zero-emissions models is finally complete, that this week’s road test subject, the Peugeot e-2008, will be the keystone of its commercial success? It’s a car in a growing market niche from a brand on the up, and with an in-demand bodystyle, that promises everyday practicality and usability that no electric supermini could quite touch.It’s the substance of that thinking that we’ll be scrutinising over the next few pages. The e-2008 is, like all of these PSA Group electric models, part of a wider model range, and so there’s no new model identity to introduce ourselves to and we have a decent idea of what to expect from it in terms of size, layout and practicality. But will being so closely related to a combustion-engined car, as well as so many other sibling EVs, ultimately be a strength or a weakness for it?The e-2008 line-up at a glanceA six-tier derivative line-up for a car that comes in only one mechanical specification and power output is rare, but since the e-2008 range mirrors that of the regular 2008, you can forgive it. The Premium levels add a handful of items over their nearest relations in any case, and Allure Premium is where the 10.0in touchscreen enters the mix.