Peugeot E308 review: Evolution of EV to excellence

A few years ago, Peugeot unveiled their electric 208 and what a thing it was – beautiful looking, good to drive and it even had an acceptable range for what was an ‘early’ EV.

That was 2019 and the world went a little potty about the diminutive Peugeot in all its formats, but particularly so the electric, probably not so much for what it actually offered, but for what it promised.

Sure, the car was the start of the Peugeot ‘Lion claw’ era, what with its funky lights and that front LED layout which appeared to have been created by a big cat raking his claws down the front of the car. But there were also other new touches like the Peugeot ‘i-Cockpit’ dashboard layout, which was novel, if divisive.

And the range, well, the car was claimed to be able to do a total of 349 km on a full charge and while that was a bit optimistic on the manufacturer’s behalf, it wasn’t too outlandish a claim and the fact was that the 275 km or thereabouts it was actually able to achieve was probably best in class at the time.

The e208 was more than a city car, then, and the future it promised for EV cars seemed bright. It was, however, something of a false dawn and the reality of EVs – expensive and not particularly efficient, if clean – was soon realised by the buying public.

It is a reality that’s still with us and the tapering off of EV sales has indicated that early and unsolved problems with the genre will dog it for some time and will have knock-on effects for both the customer and the dealer.

Which brings us to Peugeot’s latest EV, the E308 (they’ve gone upper case with the ‘E’), a car, which in ICE mode (both diesel and petrol) has received a warm welcome in these quarters. In a segment which was once a sales kingpin, the small family hatch in dying something of a death and while such as the Golf, the Corolla are still selling, others like the Ford Focus have bitten the dust, which is a shame and something, I believe, Ford will regret.

Many such cars have died on the vine because of the boom in SUV sales, but there was still a market for them to be found and that’s why Peugeot has persisted with the 308, in all its guises. Now the company has its back covered because it has the 3008 SUV but, unlike others, it is still convinced of the viability of the hatchback market.

And better again, it is going to release an estate version of the 308 – again showing faith with a market segment that Irish people seem to have given up on.

But what of the regular 308 and specifically the e308? Well, it is a sister car to the Opel Astra (which will also be made on hatch and estate forms – and we tested the workingman’s Astra Estate diesel some weeks ago in these columns), but it is being pitched at a more sophisticated audience.

On the power front the car comes with a 52-kWh battery and a 154 bhp electric motor and if that does not sound like a lot for a car weighing 1,700 kg, then you’d be right to think so. Peugeot boasts that efficiency is the key to this car, so that’s a fact best remembered when you’re driving it.

The 0-100 km/h time is a tardy 9.8 seconds – which does not at all fit in with most people’s idea of electric cars where the ‘light switch effect’ means you get all the torque right away when pressing the loud pedal. It is not so vivid here, though, as the figures illustrate.

Top speed is 170 km/h – again not particularly brisk – but then if you want to extract the max from the claimed 412 km range, neither that nor the 0-100 km/h time is something you want to chase too much.

Like many electrics, the range drops rapidly if you’re driving quickly and while the car does not ever get overly alarming on the range anxiety front, despite it plummeting in front of your eyes when you give it a bit of a spanking, neither does it quite do what it says on the can.

With pace being relatively modest, you do have to plan overtaking manoeuvres and especially so if it is a big truck. Thinking ahead is all part of the deal with electrics these days – route planning, charge planning and overtaking planning. You just have to get used to it.

All that having been said, even when you’re asking tough questions of it, the E308 should provide a range of somewhere between 310 and 340, while if you are an undemanding sort, then you should see 370/80.

Typically, however, the Peugeot is a very well-appointed car both from the driving comfort point of view and the passenger standpoint. The ride is near magic carpet levels – even in rural Ireland – and is wonderfully unflustered, while the handling prowess is predictably straightforward and especially so as the levels of power don’t allow you strain it too much.

The i-Cockpit layout will be pretty familiar by now and while some hate it, I have come to like it simply because it tries – and succeeds – to be hugely different. The i-Connect infotainment system is easily worked and relatively simple to interact with, even for a tech buffoon like me; it also has a dedicated area for monitoring the electric systems.

Another handy inclusion here is the ‘B’ step on the toggle gear lever which allows for added regeneration while braking.

On the downside of matters practical, the boot space has been compromised by the siting of the batteries and is smaller than that of either the diesel, PHEV, or petrol versions.

Overall however, it is quite a practical car and the décor and seating comfort levels are things that other manufacturers should aspire because for the size and cost of the car, it does not get a whole lot better than what’s on offer here.

We all know by now of the flaws involved in electric motoring – poor residuals, battery deterioration and so on and so forth, but if you want a fully green small family hatchback, then this is a very obvious option. Peugeot has a good EV track record and the E308 demonstrates clearly how the company is evolving along the right lines.

Sure, there are cheaper EVs out there – Chinese mainly – but the obvious difficulties people will encounter with them (depreciation, mainly) will persuade many to go for a European option which, even if dearer, have obvious benefits.

On top of that, European EVs are not going to be hit by the substantial tariffs imposed by the EU on our Chinese brethren that we’re expecting to see any day now.