Peugeot 2008 engines, driving and performance

Unless you’re a hot-blooded racing driver, you’ll find a lot to like in how the Peugeot 2008 drives. It’s not quite at the top of the class in terms of fun handling but it’s certainly close, with pleasing agility and responsiveness. The steering is well-judged, being light enough to make city driving easy but not overly light to make it feel fidgety at higher speeds. The three-cylinder petrol engine makes a characterful noise when you accelerate, but settles down at a cruise.

The 2008 offers sophisticated ride comfort most of the time but doesn’t quite achieve a pillow-like feel. That’s not to say it’s at all bad, but you can get thrown around on really poorly surfaced roads. Most of the time, the 2008 makes you aware of bumps and imperfections in the road surface but filters out enough of the disruption to stop it becoming uncomfortable. Sport mode seems to give a very slightly firmer edge than Normal and Eco modes.

The pick of the range is the 1.2-litre PureTech petrol engine with 130hp. It’s the middle of the three petrol engines, and is available across most of the trim level range – the 100hp engine is only available on the two lower-spec trim levels and only with a manual gearbox, and the rare 155hp engine is limited to the top-spec GT Premium and an automatic gearbox. The 130hp engine is available with both gearboxes.

Petrol manual versions can manage up to 53mpg, and that’s entirely achievable if you spend a lot of time on A-roads and motorways. In mixed driving you’ll see about 45mpg.

If you’re considering the 110hp 1.5-litre diesel engine, you’ll need to make sure you’re going to be doing long journeys at least a couple of times a month to avoid DPF issues. It’s not particularly quick but promises to be very economical, with up to 66mpg achievable.

The diesel engine has since been replaced by an all-new hybrid petrol engine, which produces 136hp. The stats suggest it’ll be the one to get now, as it offers a 0-62mph time of 8.3 seconds and 62mpg. We like that it’s available across the range, even on the entry-level Active trim.

Of course, there’s also the electric Peugeot e-2008. If you can charge at home, the e-2008 has the potential for super-low running costs. And, even if you’re not bothered about its environmental benefits, you’ll still enjoy the EV’s smooth and quiet driving experience.

Cars with the 50kWh battery manage up to 226 miles on a full charge, and the new 54kWh battery increases that to a quoted range figure of 270 miles – you should be able to see 200 miles from both cars in real-world driving fairly easily. The 54kWh battery is hooked up to a more powerful motor (156hp versus the 136hp motor in 50kWh cars) for a reasonable performance improvement.

The entry-level 100hp petrol engine gets from 0-62mph in a smidge under 11 seconds, so you couldn’t call it fast but it’s more than capable of keeping up with traffic. The popular 130hp engine reduces the acceleration time by two seconds and feels perky, while the auto-only 155hp engine further reduces the 0-62mph time to 8.2 seconds.

The diesel hits that threshold in 10.5 seconds, while the electric e-2008 matches the 130hp petrol – although it feels quicker off the line thanks to its instant hit of power. As we mentioned, the quickest on paper is the 136hp hybrid, although we still expect the e-2008 to make a faster initial getaway.