Peugeot e-208 long term test
Will the all-electric Peugeot E-208 prove to be a smart choice for a combination of city-centre commuting and motorway journeys up and down the country? We're living with one to find out...
The car Peugeot e-208 GT 51kWh Run by James Tute, Content Editor
Why it's here To see if Peugeot’s small electric car is agile enough for city driving while remaining practical for longer trips to the Shires
Needs to Be well-suited to rush-hour traffic and comfy on motorway drives, with enough range for hassle-free long journeys
Mileage 4652 List price £32,900 Target Price £32,900 Price as tested £34,760 Official range 248 miles Test range 188 miles
8 January 2025 – To educate, inform and infotain
If you’d bought a Buick Riviera in 1986, you’d also be getting your hands (or fingertips) on the first car infotainment touchscreen.
It didn’t really catch on at the time, but today even the cheapest new cars are available with a screen on the dashboard – so if you’re considering getting a Peugeot e-208 you’re probably wondering whether its infotainment system is any good.
Well… it’s a lot better when it’s working than not.
Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after I took delivery of my e-208, the screen went blank while the car was plugged in to charge up. No amount of “turning it off and on again” would revive it, and the heating stopped working too.
It was fixed after my local Peugeot dealer talked me through a “soft reboot”, which involved opening the bonnet and following a battery procedure that takes 25 minutes (most of them spent watching and waiting).
Fingers crossed, it’s been fine ever since, but I did need to do a long drive up to Shropshire and back using a Bluetooth speaker (for music), a Post-It note (for navigation) and lots of winter clothing (for obvious reasons).
Anyway, when it’s working the e-208’s infotainment system falls somewhere between “fine” and “quite good”. I like its screen – it’s wide and not too tall, so it doesn’t stick up and obscure my view out to the front. Plus, there’s a proper knob for switching on the radio and adjusting the volume.
But it did take me a while to do some simple things with it. For example, it took a bit of hunting around to find Radio 6 (my default) and store it as a favourite. And the button to take you back to the home screen is awkward – it’s just beyond some switches below the air vents in the centre of the dashboard.
Likewise, the built-in navigation system certainly works, but not as well as my preferred sat-nav app, Waze.
Luckily, I’ve found the e-208 extremely efficient at one thing: connecting to my iPhone wirelessly and launching Apple CarPlay (it also has Android Auto). I get in the car, switch it on, touch “James” rather than “Guest” on the screen (so it knows who’s driving) and my own apps are ready to use.
I bet the Buick Riviera didn’t do that…
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