Peugeot 2008 2013 Review

Peugeot 2008 Active, Allure and Outdoor

OVERVIEW

As an answer to the Holden Trax and a bevy of new SUVs in the pipeline – all of them based on light hatches – the 2008 represents good value for buyers with very specific ends in mind. Basically we're talking about people who like the packaging of a small SUV, and don't need the off-road ability.

What distinguishes the 2008 from its one and only rival in the market so far is principally design flair and on-paper value. Brand-conscious individuals may see some virtue too in buying a car that wears a label seen as positioned further upmarket.

The 2008 is based on the 208 Light hatch and comes to market with a three-grade model range, with different drivetrain options more or less aligned with those varying levels of trim.

Fixed price servicing announced by Peugeot for the 2008 will cost consumers $369 a year over a (promotional) five-year period – with one major service at year (or each 15,000km interval, whichever comes first) and no intermediate servicing required.

It's part of an aggressive strategy to enhance Peugeot's brand image in Australia, relying for that also on the price, equipment and desirability of the 2008 to convey the right message.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

The entry-level car is the bottom rung in a three-tier range and is manual only in 1.2-litre petrol-engined form, but there's a 2008 Active variant offered with 1.6-litre petrol engine and a four-speed automatic for $24,990. Taking up the mid-range position is the 2008 Allure, with the same 1.6-litre engine and a manual transmission for $27,990 or with optional automatic for $29,990. As the flagship, the diesel-engined 2008 Outdoor is priced at $31,990.

Standard features across the range include: cruise control/speed limiter, remote central locking, reverse parking sensors, height/reach-adjustable steering, electrochromatic mirror, electrically-adjustable/heated auto folding mirrors, air conditioning, trip computer, six-speaker audio with remote controls on the steering wheel, Bluetooth with audio streaming/USB port, leather-bound steering wheel and front/rear fog lights.

Both the base model and the mid-range 2008 Allure ride on 16-inch alloy wheels, but the 2008 Active features cloth seat trim.

Additional standard equipment for the 2008 Allure comprises satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, front map lights, illuminated vanity mirrors, leather-trimmed handbrake, chrome mirror caps, panoramic glass sunroof with LED lights/sunblind, auto headlights, rain-sensing wipers, follow-me-home function, height-adjustable front passenger seat and, leather/cloth upholstery combination.

Beyond the Allure specification the 2008 Outdoor gains 17-inch alloy wheels and Grip Control, Peugeot's patented advanced traction control system with five modes for front-wheel drive cars, as pioneered in the 3008.

PACKAGING

There's more than enough headroom for adults of average height – thanks in part to Peugeot's 'contoured roof' – with a waveline forming from the B-pillar and working back along the roof. Legroom is adequate too, and there's enough room under the front seat for rear-seat occupants to place their feet comfortably.

All of that applies particularly to the two automatic variants that Peugeot believes will account for as much as two thirds of all 2008 sales in Australia. But order your 2008 with a clutch pedal and you may find that the rear legroom is compromised just to find an appropriate driving position in front. Clutch take-up in the manual variants is high, and by the time the driver has also adjusted the steering column for longer reach, the legroom has been eroded to an extent. Still, there's enough space back there, even in that context, to accommodate teens and sub-180cm adults.

Though the seats were comfortable, they could have done with a little more bolstering for the excursion around the Sutton Road track (see ON THE ROAD). Rear seats were flatter and not ideal for longer trips. Entering and leaving the 2008 is a little harder than the Trax. It's the narrower door openings of the Peugeot that make the difference. Once inside, what's more, the 2008 feels cosier for shoulder room too.

In most respects the 2008's interior layout is conventional. It does inherit the small wheel/raised instruments of the 208, and that also works well in the 2008, which additionally throws raised seat height into the mix for more of a commanding view of the road ahead.

The boot of the 2008 carries up to 410 litres and features a lifting flap at the front of the cargo blind to permit rear-seat passengers to access items in the boot while the vehicle is on the move.

In Allure trim the 2008 feels quite a lot 'richer' to sit in than the base-grade 2008 Active. There's more fancy brightwork adorning the cabin, to say nothing of the extra kit. The 2008 Outdoor doesn't achieve the same level of distinction over the Allure grade. Most of the difference in price between it and the 2008 Allure is a consequence of the diesel engine and larger alloy wheels fitted to the 2008 Outdoor.

Between the auto option and the added equipment it's little surprise that Peugeot expects the 2008 Allure variant to be the volume seller – up to 51 per cent of the total, comprising nine per cent manual and 42 per cent auto.

MECHANICAL
>> Savoire faire SUV draws heavily on 208 specs
Riding on a 2.5m wheelbase, the 2008 is developed from the 208 Light hatch, which is just 200mm shorter, but 96mm lower.

Ground clearance for the 2008 is 165mm, but the SUV is not designed for serious off-road work, being limited by front-wheel drive mechanicals. Up to 67 per cent of the mechanicals, according to Peugeot, were lifted from the 208 for the 2008 application.

A three-cylinder 1.2-litre engine powers the entry-level model in the range, and develops 60kW and 180Nm. Coupled to a five-speed manual transmission, the engine achieves combined-cycle fuel economy of 4.9L/100km and CO2 emissions 114g/km.

There is no automatic transmission option for the 1.2-litre engine, but Peugeot has filled that gap with a 2008 Active variant powered by a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder mated to a four-speed automatic. Peak power and torque figures for the larger engine are 88kW and 160Nm. The same engine, which is also shared with other Peugeot models, powers both manual and automatic variants of the 2008 Allure – one step above the entry-level 2008 Active.

Published fuel consumption figures for the five-speed manual and optional four-speed automatic are 5.9L/100km (manual) and 6.5L/100km (auto), with CO2 emissions measuring 135 (manual) or 150g/km (auto). The same automatic figures apply to the 1.6-litre 2008 Active.

A 1.6-litre diesel four-cylinder powers the range-topping 2008 Outdoor, driving through a five-speed manual box. Developing 68kw and 230Nm, the engine uses fuel at the rate of 4.0L/100km and discharges 103g/km of CO2, according to combined-cycle test figures. All three engines are Euro 5-compliant.

All 2008 variants ride on alloy wheels, with the 16-inch rims of the Active and Allure grades shod with 195/60 R16H tyres. The 2008 Outdoor comes with 205/50 R17V tyres on its 17-inch alloys. Spacesaver spares on steel rims are specified for all three levels of trim and measure 125/85 R16.

A four-wheel disc-brake system (ventilated at front), is complemented by front MacPherson struts and a rear torsion beam. The tare mass is 1022kg (Active 1.2), 1053kg (Allure manual), 1113kg (Active 1.6/Allure auto) and 1131kg (Outdoor).

SAFETY
>> Built on a five-star platform, but yet to be evaluated
Euro NCAP is yet to test the 2008, but with so much in common with the 208 hatch, which has scored five stars in crash testing last year, it's hard to conceive the 2008 would be any riskier in a crash.

The SUV comes with six airbags, and all the usual electronic driving aids, but Peugeot also stresses that the field of vision from the driver's seat plays a major part in averting death and injury in a crash.

COMPETITORS
>> First (?) among sequels
Holden's Trax may have arrived in the market first, but the 2008 isn't exactly allowing the Trax much of a head start in a market niche most pundits reckon is set to explode. Within the next few months we'll see similar cars from Ford (EcoSport), Nissan (Juke) and Renault (Captur).

For its part, Peugeot claims that the 2008 can take sales from MINI's Countryman and Suzuki's SX4. In the case of the MINI, the affordability of the Peugeot will be a major consideration, along with all the 2008's other virtues.

ON THE ROAD
>> Extra cogs needed for true touring ability
No bones about it, the 2008 is very much an urban assault vehicle. It has the makings of a competent touring car, but where Holden's Trax has a six-speed automatic transmission for its buyers, the Peugeot comes short-changed with just four speeds in its auto box. And you notice it at highway speeds too.

Despite that, the majority of 2008 buyers will opt for automatic variants – and rightly so, it might be argued. The manual variants in the Peugeot range suffer from some vices also present in other PSA products, but are highlighted in this smaller package.

For instance, the gearshift shares its rubbery shift quality with the 208 donor, but it's the clutch take-up that principally works against smooth gear changes. Otherwise, the concept of small steering wheel and 'head-up' instruments works well in the 2008, which is easy to operate in most ways. Even the 'aircraft-style' design of the handbrake lever in the centre console may be unusual, but is not by any means difficult to use.

Peugeot's drive program for the launch of the 2008 took us from Canberra to the Sutton Road Driver Training Complex near Queanbeyan in New South Wales for three exercises to illustrate the new car's active safety and the Grip Control facility in the diesel-engined 2008 Outdoor.

What was immediately apparent from driving the entry-level 2008 Active around the track is that the 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine has to work hard to achieve its claimed 0-100km/h time of 13.5 seconds. It needed to be left in second gear throughout the tighter parts, and yet still bogged down on one particular corner. This is not only a symptom of a low powered engine, but also reveals a second gear ratio that's too long, to compensate for lack of a sixth gear in the box.

While the three-cylinder delivers power up to the redline, there's so little torque, relative to the vehicle's weight, you'll likely change to a higher gear long before the needle has climbed up to that point. It's a refined engine, however peaky it may feel in its power delivery, and did return a fuel consumption figure of 5.8L/100km on the open roads around Canberra and southern NSW – in spite of sitting on around 3000rpm much of the time. It was subdued on those country roads, with noise in the cabin largely dominated by tyre contact with the road.

This is a likeable engine in the 208, but it just feels under-equipped for the job of hauling around the heavier 2008. More to the point, it's an engine that demands a level of experience and expertise to derive the best results. While it's not an engine for novice drivers, to my mind, nonetheless it is the entry-level unit at the price most affordable for first-time new-car owners.

The 1.6-litre petrol/auto combo was sampled in a 2008 Allure. Producing solid torque across a wide rev range, it feels the liveliest of the three engines, but is revving at 3000rpm at the open-road limit. With an extra cog (or even better, two extra...), that engine speed could be brought down a thousand revs. This contributed to the car's posted fuel consumption of 9.3L/100km over the drive program.

At the high end of the model range, the diesel-powered 2008 Outdoor returned 6.4L/100km during the final leg of the drive program. By virtue of its smaller displacement (1.6 litres), it was left struggling to deliver the right level of performance. Where this was felt most was at intersections, oddly enough. Rolling through a give-way sign in second gear, the 2008 generated so little torque, I thought I had wrong-slotted into fourth.

Once it was revving at 2000rpm and higher, the diesel offered significantly more herbs in a straight line, but its added weight in the front made the 2008 feel clumsier around the track. The diesel adds over a hundred kilos to the weight of the car – and most of that is under the bonnet. This translates to more weight through the steering wheel, slower turn-in and a propensity to understeer more.

The Peugeot with the 1.2-litre engine exhibited neater cornering on the track than the diesel model did. Both cars provided a decent level of steering feedback, however. In fact, the diesel 2008's steering feel was meatier on the road, even though what it was communicating was more tyre slip at the front.

Of the different variants, the 2008 Allure auto undeniably makes more sense for most buyers.

Ride comfort for all variants was quite settled, and better across the board than that of the Trax, although the Holden's ride characteristics weren't exactly shameful. Wind noise was apparent from within the cabin, but it was a particularly blustery day for the drive.

Back at the driver training complex, Peugeot had let the journos loose on skid pan and on wet grass up a gentle incline to demonstrate the value of Grip Control, described by Peugeot as an advanced traction control system. The system might make the difference between negotiating a muddy driveway on a farm – or not. But experienced drivers employing some finesse are likely to achieve the same results in all but one per cent of cases.

That's when you let down the tyre pressures, place twigs or stones under the drive wheels – and promise yourself your next car will be a four-wheel drive.

How will the 2008 match up against Trax? It's likely that older buyers will prefer the Holden. Easier to enter or vacate, and easier to drive – mostly – the Holden also offers a more advanced infotainment system for not much more money than the Peugeot. And certainly, despite observations the Trax was a little slow, the 1.2-litre 2008 is even slower.

Younger buyers may opt for the Peugeot as a consequence of the 2008's styling, its affordable pricing, its ride comfort, steering and the cachet of a 'Euro' brand.

As it stands, the 2008 Allure with automatic makes a lot of sense for young families in suburbia, but perhaps we should wait and see what Ford, Nissan and Renault have to offer?