Peugeot e-2008 range, battery & charging

The Peugeot e-2008 has a decent driving range that betters the MG ZS EV and standard-range Nissan Leaf, if falling short of more expensive alternatives like the Kia e-Niro and Hyundai Kona Electric. Charging speeds of up to 100kW also mean it can take advantage of the more powerful chargers currently being rolled out across the UK.

It’s worth noting that every electric-car battery isolates a small number of cells from use, as this helps to improve the battery's performance and longevity. So, while the e-2008 has a 50kWh total battery capacity, its usable battery capacity is in fact 46.2kWh. Still, Peugeot claims that’s good enough for between 191 and 206 miles per charge.

Peugeot offers an app that allows you to control and check the state of charging, as well as pre-set the cabin temperature so the car has warmed up or cooled down in advance of your departure. There are few things more smug-inducing than stepping into a car that has de-iced itself and warmed up while your neighbour gets the ice-scraper out.

Peugeot is currently offering buyers of its electrified cars six months' free subscription to the Polar Plus public charging network, plus a free home wallbox. With a Polar Plus subscription, the majority of public points on the Polar network are free to use, with other charging on a per kWh basis starting at 12p per kWh. Charging at home on an off-peak electricity tariff could prove particularly cost-effective, too.

Peugeot e-2008 range

The Peugeot’s official claimed driving range is between 191 and 206 miles, depending on things like specification and wheel size. That’s pretty good compared to shorter-range alternatives like the MG ZS, if a long way off the range of more expensive alternatives like the Kia e-Niro. On our test drive in mild weather and on mostly rural roads, we saw efficiency of around four miles per kWh, which suggests the usable battery capacity of 46.2kWh will deliver a range of over 180 miles, even on the open road.

We haven’t spent enough time with the car to give accurate cold and warm-weather real-world ranges, but it’d be reasonable to expect 130-140 miles on a winter drive with some motorway miles, while our test drive suggested the claimed range will be achievable in summer conditions if you spend a lot of time in town.

Charge time

The Peugeot e-2008 will charge fully from a 7kW home wallbox in around seven hours and 30 minutes. If you need a quick top-up to keep going on the motorway, it can add 100 miles of range in 20 minutes or to 80% full in half an hour courtesy of 100kW charging capacity. Of course, you'll need to find a 100kW rapid charger to achieve that; most UK motorway-services chargers are 50kW, which will add 100 miles of range in 40 minutes.

Thankfully, chargers offering rapid 100kW and 150kW charging are being rolled out across the UK and are likely to become common in the not-too-distant future, so having that rapid-charging capability is important to making the most of an improving charging network.

A Type 2 charging cable is provided with the e-2008, allowing you to plug into most AC charging stations as well, but you pay extra for a three-pin cable to plug into a standard domestic socket, which will take over 22 hours to deliver a full charge. Based on an average electricity price of 14p per kWh, a charge should cost around £6.50; a petrol SUV could cost three times that to fill up.

The Peugeot’s rapid charging is done using the standard CCS socket on the car’s flank, where you’d expect the fuel filler to be on a conventional car. You don’t need to worry about a cable for rapid charging, as any DC charger (that is, every charger of 50kW or higher) has the cable tethered to the charging station itself.