Peugeot E-3008 GT review

Peugeot E-3008

Peugeot E-3008 GT review.

For – looks great, drives well, oozes quality.
Against – range hopeless on the highway, not much better in town.
**
£49,650
Competition – Volvo EX30, Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, Skoda Enyaq

The Peugeot E-3008 looks great, drives well, and oozes quality, but range shenanigans will drive you crazy.

In theory, the E-3008 has 326 miles of official range, but the vehicle I drove not only dumped miles at a horrendous rate in the autoroute fast lane, regenerative-braking was poor too. I use the words “the vehicle I drove” because the range performance was so bad this might have been down to this particular vehicle’s dodgy data gathering.

On the highway at legal cruising speeds my data showed that driven 20 miles it actually removed 53 miles from range availability, and on the return journey of 22 miles, it lost 42 miles. That is so bad as to be unbelievable and suggests some wonky data processing by the vehicle. Pending clarification from Peugeot (see below), I’ve guessed at a 50% motorway high-speed loss for a range of 163 miles (see data box). A partial explanation might be the overall design of the car. Sure it looks great and very aggressive from the front, but the impressive front-end doesn’t pay much obeisance to streamlining. It seems to threaten the wind in a King Canute kind of way.

When I identify poor autoroute performance I can usually point to the beauties of energy recapture via regenerative braking. Not with “this” E-3008. I selected the maximum regenerative braking mode using the paddles behind the steering wheel. Usually, this prompts an instant braking feedback when you lift off the accelerator, but not in this car. This happened only now and again. I of course turned it on and off a few times, but it never performed consistently.

An 11-mile local trip didn’t disturb the scorer at all
The results were not impressive. I drove the car over various sections around the rolling, rural A272, with speed limits varying from 30, 40, 50 and 60 mph. On one of my routes the trip was 37 miles, but 59 miles were removed from availability. Over 21 miles I lost 36 miles, and 25 versus 38. On my 17-mile drive to the Brighton Dyke Golf Club, which is gradually uphill ending with a sharp uplift, I lost 44 miles. Normally, EVs lose between 25 and 27 miles over this route. On the return when I expected to recoup all the miles I’d lost and maybe then some, I consumed 24 miles. An 11-mile local trip didn’t disturb the scorer at all. 

And what looks like conclusive evidence of poor data collection; when I plugged the car in overnight to fill the battery when it stood at 206 miles, my charger reported next day I’d added 68 miles, for a total of 326 miles. That’s an additional and apparently mythical 52 miles plucked out of nowhere. Another pointer towards malfunction; every time (5 out of 5) that I recharged the battery it said 326 miles. That’s never happened to me in more than 35 electric car home charging examples. It’s always different.

Peugeot was asked to comment on this and on media reports of software problems on this new EV. 

A spokesman said this – 

“With regards to the vehicle charging up to the same exact range figure each time. The vehicle will always charge to the WLTP Official range which is 326 miles. The vehicle’s previous journey’s energy consumption is not taken into account to determine the range when full. Thereafter, the actual vehicle consumption is taken into account to update the available range.” 

“I am afraid we are unable to comment on the inconsistencies of the estimated range shown by the vehicle during your loan. We have not received any previous feedback on the range inconsistencies you have experienced, however, we appreciate your feedback and will look into this” 

Where are the motoring writers measuring EV range? 
Wondering if my experience might have been replicated by other motoring journalists, after some googling I found they all repeated the mantra – up to 326 miles, with no attempts to verify this crucial data. Why can’t I find examples of motoring writers measuring EV range? For future reference, when a reporter says EV range is “up to” a very large number, it means “I have no idea, and couldn’t be bothered to check”. 

The car though is a gem. Peugeot now puts much effort into overall design and most of their sedans and SUVs these days look very attractive. The E-3008 expands that concept. The paintwork on this top-of-the-range model was beautiful. The doors clunked shut very satisfyingly. The interior was excellent. The dashboard, which envelops the driver with sweeping screens, is a joy. Peugeot calls it its Panoramic i-cockpit. All was clear and intuitive, except for one instruction, which stared me in the face for a week. It simply said “OK?” Could it have been asking about my range feelings? 

The suspension was a bit thumpy with plenty of road noise, although maybe not if driven on a civilized country’s roads. The small steering wheel exaggerated the feeling of accurate, tight steering. This expensive version had “memory” seats, which didn’t have to be set up to remember what you liked. It already knew, it seems. Pickup was instant as usual in an EV. It stayed nicely level through fast bends.

What to buy?
 The competition is very strong in this up to £50,000 category. I’ve identified vehicles like the Volvo EX30, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, and Skoda Enyaq, but it wouldn’t take much effort to double that choice. No doubt either one would be able to put a very strong case for taking it home. None of these vehicles could live with a modern ICE vehicle if part of its job description was to transport you and the family to Southern Spain in the summer and skiing in the winter. 

Don’t listen to the green apparatchiks. EVs are all hopeless on the autoroute at an indicated 85 mph and will at least double your travel time. Before offering my advice, I awaited word from Peugeot. Its comments make clear you’d be wise to wait for a bit more clarification before spending nearly £50,000. 

Peugeot E-3008