Peugeot 2008 SUV 2018 review - Mat Watson
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With that over and in no particular order: I have no idea what engine it has, but I have seen gagged snails that accelerate quicker, and it has no torque so going up a steep hill means you actually loose speed even dropping down gears. The driving position is awful and caused me mild to severe lower back pain on a longer journey. The cup holders are pointless, even if you can get a cup in them it will be hard to get out as the gear stick obstructs it when in 1st, 3rd or 5th. If you mute the radio and are using your phone - via Android Auto - for sat nav, it will display it is muted every time the phone gives out an instruction, dimming the screen so you can't see it clearly until it goes off or you touch the screen. I learnt to turn the volume right down to stop that happening. Every time you connect your phone you end up having to select Android Auto then confirm you want it rather than mirrorlink (what ever that is. The central compartment needs to be a hinged arm rest because with the driving position you'll need it. And the hand brake. I have no idea what the designers were thinking with it but OMG it is so uncomfortable to use. Normal manual handbrakes leave your hand and arm in a natural position, Peugeot shuns that (and comfort) making you have to twist your wrist in order to apply or release it. The volume dials on the radio and steering wheel are really unresponsive. The steering is so light that you have no real idea what the wheels are doing and the slightest input has you careening across the road like a magpie to something shiny. There is no discernable bite point on the clutch so I either start stalling out or have to rev the engine because I brought it up to quickly.
Overall there is so little I can really say is any good with this thing. I drove the new Nissan Micra and while that has an equally weedy engine - like this one it NEEDS a turbo charger, it made up by being surprisingly well built, comfortable and really fun to drive. Yep, I hate the 2008 LOL
Date: 2022-04-11
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Comments and reviews: 9
TheSilentGameTestR
I recently picked up a 43k mike 63 plate in same colour as review, but mine is the top spec feline model with a nicer non black interior and panoramic roof etc and mine is the 1. 6 Petrol, never drove one before not even the 208 as I came from a 1. 4hdi 307 and because it-s a 16v engine engine is had the typical sluggish low down power of yiu try to push beyond normal driving, but once it-s on the move and you at 50mph and put your foot down it really pulls, great on motorways, certainly better than the 1. 6 110hp Petrol in the 307 and 2002 Renault scenic, okay it-s range is 422 miles to a tank so a big difference to 700 miles in the 1. 4hdi and about 70 miles out from the older scenic(missus has one) at full tank, but it-s so much better to drive it-s irrelevant plus that-s down to the design of the car as being suv like and a 107 I had prior only managed 425 to a tank, I have seen 37-42mpg on my runs, but I have a little bit of a heavy foot, but I certainly wouldn-t pass up the petrol just because a reviewer prefers a diesel car designed with much more torque for better pulling. also she seemed to have forgotten one feature assuming it-s across all the range, mine has a dial near the gear stick that has a mud/snow/sand option as well as normal meaning it will adjust the grip to match for each scenario, not had to test it yet, but the brand new fwd Range Rover evogue doesn-t even have anything like that and that-s a 40k car purposed for these things. certainly as practical as my 307 was which I needed, so this 2008 is a great car.
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I recently picked up a 43k mike 63 plate in same colour as review, but mine is the top spec feline model with a nicer non black interior and panoramic roof etc and mine is the 1. 6 Petrol, never drove one before not even the 208 as I came from a 1. 4hdi 307 and because it-s a 16v engine engine is had the typical sluggish low down power of yiu try to push beyond normal driving, but once it-s on the move and you at 50mph and put your foot down it really pulls, great on motorways, certainly better than the 1. 6 110hp Petrol in the 307 and 2002 Renault scenic, okay it-s range is 422 miles to a tank so a big difference to 700 miles in the 1. 4hdi and about 70 miles out from the older scenic(missus has one) at full tank, but it-s so much better to drive it-s irrelevant plus that-s down to the design of the car as being suv like and a 107 I had prior only managed 425 to a tank, I have seen 37-42mpg on my runs, but I have a little bit of a heavy foot, but I certainly wouldn-t pass up the petrol just because a reviewer prefers a diesel car designed with much more torque for better pulling. also she seemed to have forgotten one feature assuming it-s across all the range, mine has a dial near the gear stick that has a mud/snow/sand option as well as normal meaning it will adjust the grip to match for each scenario, not had to test it yet, but the brand new fwd Range Rover evogue doesn-t even have anything like that and that-s a 40k car purposed for these things. certainly as practical as my 307 was which I needed, so this 2008 is a great car.
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lapamful
Agreed about the interior, it is quite a nice place to be. But you mentioned the clutch, gears etc. I think you didn't emphasize enough just how bad they are in this car. I drove this for a couple of weeks on car hire a while back and the manual stick shift was horrible, the travel between gears was almost as long as my journey from one end of the country to the other. The clutch seemed to have been designed by Arnold Schwarzenegger (or at least my left calf looked like Arnie's leg after a couple hours driving it was so hard to depress.
Lastly at motorway speeds this thing doesn't handle crosswinds very well. Overall for me it was exhausting to drive.
On the plus side, the traction control (2wd) was better than some AWD cars I've driven. Seriously, I drove the 2008 last winter and couldn't believe I was driving a 2wd car. Not only in mushy leaves, mud etc. but driving up extremely steep inclines.
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Agreed about the interior, it is quite a nice place to be. But you mentioned the clutch, gears etc. I think you didn't emphasize enough just how bad they are in this car. I drove this for a couple of weeks on car hire a while back and the manual stick shift was horrible, the travel between gears was almost as long as my journey from one end of the country to the other. The clutch seemed to have been designed by Arnold Schwarzenegger (or at least my left calf looked like Arnie's leg after a couple hours driving it was so hard to depress.
Lastly at motorway speeds this thing doesn't handle crosswinds very well. Overall for me it was exhausting to drive.
On the plus side, the traction control (2wd) was better than some AWD cars I've driven. Seriously, I drove the 2008 last winter and couldn't believe I was driving a 2wd car. Not only in mushy leaves, mud etc. but driving up extremely steep inclines.
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Clifton
I currently own the diesel version of this car for two years now. and I have to say that I loved it till it snowed. as the heating unit froze and could not blow hot air. then issues with car handling started and still experiencing such issues. There is no decent Peugeot authorised garage in Oxfordshire. Keep needing to track my car twice a year and replace tyres already. This is my 1st french car and will be my last. The outer design looks mean, the interior look posh (but cannot even put two coffee cups next to each other nor can you get the cup out of the holders while you are on the highest gear) but this car performance lacks balls. WORST CAR I EVER OWNED. Cannot wait to get it replaced but stuck with this shit for now. Ruined my joy of driving and drilled a hole in my pocket!
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I currently own the diesel version of this car for two years now. and I have to say that I loved it till it snowed. as the heating unit froze and could not blow hot air. then issues with car handling started and still experiencing such issues. There is no decent Peugeot authorised garage in Oxfordshire. Keep needing to track my car twice a year and replace tyres already. This is my 1st french car and will be my last. The outer design looks mean, the interior look posh (but cannot even put two coffee cups next to each other nor can you get the cup out of the holders while you are on the highest gear) but this car performance lacks balls. WORST CAR I EVER OWNED. Cannot wait to get it replaced but stuck with this shit for now. Ruined my joy of driving and drilled a hole in my pocket!
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St
We have 6 of these on fleet all 1. 6d Allure models. They have been 100% reliable with a couple of them doing high mileage. Like all current Peugeots the screen takes a bit of getting used to and if you sit about an inch higher than usual the dials/steering wheel issue soon disappears. Without the sunroof you get LED strip lights through the roof. We refer to them as dogging lights as we can't find any other purpose for them. Customers do like the 2008 but the 500x is a better drive and is more popular.
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We have 6 of these on fleet all 1. 6d Allure models. They have been 100% reliable with a couple of them doing high mileage. Like all current Peugeots the screen takes a bit of getting used to and if you sit about an inch higher than usual the dials/steering wheel issue soon disappears. Without the sunroof you get LED strip lights through the roof. We refer to them as dogging lights as we can't find any other purpose for them. Customers do like the 2008 but the 500x is a better drive and is more popular.
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Dmitry
Hi, Mat, I was asking for your advice regarding my car and now I'm happy to tell that I followed your advice and I've just ordered the new Porsche 718 Cayman (although you said that ideally you'd get a used 991. 1 instead, but a 911 just a bit too expensive to run)! I can't wait for you to review the 718 to see what you think of it (although so far all reviews of the boxster were very similar, everyone is just complaining about the 4 cyl turbo)
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Hi, Mat, I was asking for your advice regarding my car and now I'm happy to tell that I followed your advice and I've just ordered the new Porsche 718 Cayman (although you said that ideally you'd get a used 991. 1 instead, but a 911 just a bit too expensive to run)! I can't wait for you to review the 718 to see what you think of it (although so far all reviews of the boxster were very similar, everyone is just complaining about the 4 cyl turbo)
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Zordan
I bought 2008 1. 6 BlueHDI 5 speed gear, and there is a strange sound coming from the gear when clutch is released and, when you press the clutch sound is no more, until you release the clutch again. In Peugeot are telling me that that's the sound from fifth speed synchron and that's ok by the definition of vehicle. Does anyone have the same problem, any thoughts?
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I bought 2008 1. 6 BlueHDI 5 speed gear, and there is a strange sound coming from the gear when clutch is released and, when you press the clutch sound is no more, until you release the clutch again. In Peugeot are telling me that that's the sound from fifth speed synchron and that's ok by the definition of vehicle. Does anyone have the same problem, any thoughts?
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Juan
Just got this as a rental. I hated it at the beginning. however it grows on you (now I can just about tolerate it. The driving position is too high to reach the gear stick (or the gear stick is too low, having the steering wheel covering the dashboard ain't great and that hand break is just weird (and quite an effort to use)
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Just got this as a rental. I hated it at the beginning. however it grows on you (now I can just about tolerate it. The driving position is too high to reach the gear stick (or the gear stick is too low, having the steering wheel covering the dashboard ain't great and that hand break is just weird (and quite an effort to use)
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BeyerT1
Peugeot really has a talent for making cars ugly when they redesign them. It's just pointless addition of elements that don't need to be there and chances of things that don't need to be changed. They even managed to make the 508 ugly after the redesign, which was once a very pretty car.
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Peugeot really has a talent for making cars ugly when they redesign them. It's just pointless addition of elements that don't need to be there and chances of things that don't need to be changed. They even managed to make the 508 ugly after the redesign, which was once a very pretty car.
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Brad
Brilliant review Mat as always! Not a great car however - cheap plastic interior mostly every surface you touch and no grab handles at all on any of the doors! Speaking from experience as driven one of these for work - never again, it's true what they say you can not polish a turd!
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Brilliant review Mat as always! Not a great car however - cheap plastic interior mostly every surface you touch and no grab handles at all on any of the doors! Speaking from experience as driven one of these for work - never again, it's true what they say you can not polish a turd!
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