Peugeot e-208 Review & Prices

The Peugeot E-208 has had a facelift, updating the all-electric hatchback with a fresh look, a bigger battery and a more powerful electric motor. This makes it a much more competitive small EV, and much easier to consider against great electric cars such as the Mini Cooper Electric, the MG4 and the Cupra Born.

An immediate plus point the E-208 has going for it is its size. It’s the same size as the regular petrol 208, so it’s quite a bit smaller than most EVs. If you want something nippy and compact, perfect for city driving, the E-208 is your best bet this side of a Fiat 500 Electric.

Peugeot E-208: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 217 - 245 miles
Efficiency: 4.3 - 4.5 mi/kWh
Battery size: 50 - 54kWh
Max charge speed: 100kW
Charge time AC: 0 - 100% 7hr 45m
Charge time DC: 20 - 80% 25m
Charge port location: Rear left
Power outputs: 136 - 156hp

It’s also quite sensible and pragmatic, despite its posh outward appearance and high-tech cabin. In that regard it’s a bit like putting a fancy phone case on your work phone - yes, it looks good, but it’s all business where it counts.

For 2024 Peugeot upgraded the E-208’s exterior looks. But part of the appeal is that there’s very little to mark it out as an electric car - if you didn’t spot the green flash on the number plate or the discreet ‘E’ badging, you’d think it was just a regular petrol 208. It does look smart, though, with distinctive ‘triple-claw’ LED daytime running lights front and rear, smart diamond-cut alloy wheels and even a homage to the old Peugeot 205 in the shape of its rear window.

That compact silhouette hides an interior that is a bit tighter than the class best. The rear seats are quite cramped, and even the front seats aren’t the best for very tall drivers. The boot, though quite roomy at 311 litres, can’t compete with larger cars of a similar price, such as the 363-litre MG4 EV and the 385-litre Cupra Born.

The E-208 is at least much more roomy than the Mini Cooper Electric - and its dashboard has a similar wow factor, too. It’s beautifully built, with lots of squashy, high-quality materials, and the 10.0-inch touchscreen that sits on the top is clear, responsive and quite easy to use. Other nice touches include the row of piano-style keys underneath the screen, while Peugeot’s i-Cockpit dial layout is present and correct - though it still won’t suit everybody’s driving position.

You get a choice of two battery and motor combos. The entry-level is the same one the E-208 was offered with at launch in 2019 - a 50kWh battery and 136hp electric motor. The newer variant of this has 54kWh and 156hp to play with - not a big boost, but huge improvements in efficiency mean this is by far the best option to select.

To drive, the E-208 isn’t as rapid as an MG4 or a Cupra Born, and as a result it doesn’t feel too dissimilar to the regular petrol automatic 208. It’s great to drive in town thanks to compact dimensions and quick steering, though the aforementioned MG and Cupra are more entertaining to drive on a twisty road mainly thanks to their rear-wheel drive chassis.

But if you want a good-looking small electric car with a standout interior, check out our best Peugeot E-208 deals here. You can browse great deals on other Peugeot models here, or find a used Peugeot for sale here. And remember to consider Carwow when you come to sell your old car - our network of trusted dealers will ensure you get the best possible price.

The E-208 starts at just under £30,000, though for less than £1,000 extra you can up-spec to the 156hp motor and larger battery - this is a no-brainer. This makes the E-208 a little cheaper than a Cupra Born, but quite a bit pricier than an MG4 EV.

You can choose from the same two trim levels as the regular 208 - Allure and GT. The former has 16-inch alloy wheels, all-round parking sensors, artificial leather trim on the upholstery and that 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The GT model adds on 17-inch wheels, a 3D-effect instrument cluster, fancier LED headlights and full artificial leather upholstery.

Quick and responsive, the E-208 is great around town. The ride is harder than on the regular 208, though, and the brakes can take a bit of time to get used to

In town

The Peugeot E-208 is in its element around town, its responsive electric motor and nippy performance allow you to zip into gaps in traffic with ease. The regenerative braking means you don’t have to touch the brake pedal much, which is a good thing as it can feel a bit squishy at first and takes some time to get used to.

Standard parking sensors help when reversing into bays, although the large front pillars can obscure your view when looking at cars approaching from side roads ahead of you. Being a bit heavier than a regular 208 means that the suspension has had to be tweaked, this has made the E-208’s ride a bit more unyielding over bumps. It’s still more comfortable than the sporty Mini Cooper Electric, though.

On the motorway

The e-208 is refined and quiet at motorway speeds, it’s got enough power to overtake slower traffic and will happily cruise along at 70mph even when fully loaded. The large front pillars aren’t such an issue here, and you get cruise control, lane keep assist and driver attention warning as standard. GT trims come with the Driver Assist Pack which also includes adaptive cruise control, which is great on long motorway journeys.

On a twisty road

The e-208 steers and turns competently, but there’s not much in the way of excitement to the way it goes about it. There’s also a bit of body lean through fast corners.

Despite a boost in power with the facelift, the E-208 doesn't feel particularly fast on the open road compared to EVs which may have over 200hp. Part of the reason is that, in Normal and Eco driving modes, the E-208 limits the available power - you only get its full 156hp in Sport mode, which many people won't bother engaging.

If a fun driving experience is a priority, the Mini Cooper Electric is the way to go.

The E-208 is spacious up front and has decent boot space, but rear space is tight for adults

The front – as it is in most of the alternatives – is spacious enough to accommodate two adults without issue. The seats offer plenty of adjustment, and the steering wheel can be adjusted for rake and reach, which is important as it can obscure the dials in certain positions.

When it comes to your bits and bobs, the Peugeot E-208 offers generous door bins, two cupholders and a storage tray ahead of the gear lever which offers wireless phone charging on higher trims. There’s also a cubby between the front seats and a small glovebox for personal items you want to keep hidden from view.

Space in the back seats

The E-208's rear doors are pretty small, and they hide a rear seat which isn't anywhere near spacious enough for adults unless it's a very short journey. With a six-foot driver, only very short people will be able to get comfortable in the rear, with very little legroom - though headroom is acceptable.

The flat footwell makes the centre rear seat easy to slide into, even if it isn’t quite as comfy as the outer two pews. Door bins and front seatback pockets are provided as storage, and there are also two USB slots in the back to charge devices with.

Boot space

Thanks to some clever packaging, the E-208 offers the same 311 litres of space as the regular 208. That's not a bad size, though larger EVs have more room - the MG4 has 363 litres, for example, and the Cupra Born 385.

The charging cables do take up a bit of space though, and the narrow boot opening can make it tricky to load wider items.

Few alternatives look as fresh inside, and the material quality is decent, aside from a few hard plastics bits of trim around the cabin

The two-tier dashboard design and driver-centric angle of the infotainment unit are identical to the layout you get in the regular 208, but that’s no bad thing. The overall effect is a lot more impressive than you would expect from a small electric hatchback, and most of the materials are of a decent quality, too, aside from some cheaper feeling plastics in the lower half of the cabin.

The rest of the switchgear feels nicely made, although the touch-sensitive infotainment shortcut buttons are a bit fiddly, but you can access most of the commonly used features from the main menu instead.

A 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system is offered on the base Active Premium+ and Allure Premium+ trims, it comes standard with Bluetooth connectivity and DAB Radio as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. GT trims get a larger 10.0-inch unit which also includes sat-nav. Both units offer sharp graphics and are easy enough to use, however the smallish buttons can be hard to press while on the move.

The Peugeot’s USP is its cool 3D digital dials. You get it from the Allure Premium+ trim as standard, and it projects information on three different layers to create a 3D effect that helps it literally and figuratively stand out from the displays found in other cars of this size and price. The display is customisable and offers up additional information on the state of charge and range in the e-208.

You get two choices of battery and motor with the E-208. The first is a 50kWh battery back with a 136hp electric motor - this is the same one originally offered at launch in 2019. It promises a maximum range of 217 miles, but in our experience you'd be lucky to get more than 150 miles. That should be fine for some, but for just a little bit extra you can upgrade to a 54kWh battery and 156hp electric motor.

While that sounds like a modest increase in battery capacity, it's come with a big boost in efficiency - the E-208 thus equipped can go over 200 miles on a charge, against an official range of 247 miles. That makes it significantly more usable in the real world, even if it's not much more powerful.

Charging times from 0-100% can take as long as 24 hours if you use a standard three-pin plug, however, a 7.4kW wallbox will do the same job in just seven and a half hours. A public fast charger will get you from 0-80% in just half an hour. The ability to charge at 100kW is a bonus for the e-208, being faster than the Mini Cooper Electric's 75kW max rate.

The Peugeot E-208 has no road tax cost and the company car Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) tax rate is low. You are also exempt from congestion charge fees in low emissions zones.

The Peugeot 208 went through Euro NCAP testing in 2019, scoring four out of five stars overall. Despite missing out on all five stars, it scored an impressive 91% for adult occupant safety and 86% for child occupant safety. The low 56% score for protecting vulnerable road users was what let it down.

All Peugeot E-208 models come standard with rear parking sensors, lane keep assist, driver attention warning, active brake assist and cruise control.

Adaptive cruise control and lane position assist are available on the top GT Premium trim and optional on all but the base Active Premium+ model. You also get a reversing camera on the Allure Premium+ trim and front and rear parking sensors on the top GT trims.

Peugeot has fared well as a company in recent customer satisfaction surveys, with the regular 208 achieving mid-field results overall. In fact, Peugeot scored an impressive sixth place in the 2024 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, just behind Citroen.

Peugeot offers its standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty for the e-208, with the battery pack covered by a separate eight-year/100,000-mile warranty. All pretty standard fare, as is the option to extend the standard warranty by a few more years as long as the vehicle is under 10 years old and has covered under 100,000-miles.