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By Jonathan Crouch

Jonathan Crouch is charmed by the all-electric version of Peugeot's 208 supermini. Which makes more sense in this improved form.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 80

It's getting harder and harder to resist the draw of full-electric vehicles. Most of them seem to be SUVs these days but here's a Zero Emission supermini, the updated version of Peugeot's E-208. It now looks snappier and top versions gain the option of extra power and a larger battery offering a longer 248 miles between charges. An E-208 has no practicality downsides over the combustion-engined version and comes with monthly payment finance you could justify. What's not to like?

Backgroundword count: 171

In the future, all small cars will need to be developed on platforms that can support full-electric as well as conventional thermic propulsion. Surprisingly, few currently are but the Peugeot 208 is an exception. The brand wants you to pick a powertrain for this model (petrol, diesel or electric) in the same way you'd select a trim option - and it's the improved version of the battery-powered variant, the E-208, that we look at here. First launched in 2019, the E-208 shares all the same engineering we've already also seen in the Stellantis Group's two other small car battery-powered products, the Vauxhall Corsa Electric and the DS 3 E-TENSE, a pair of designs that share this Peugeot's sophisticated CMP ('Common Modular Platform'). And those same underpinnings allow for a new generation of 'big car'-style camera safety systems. It all sounds promising. Here, we're looking at the mid-term facelift applied to this car, announced in Summer 2023. There's an upgraded EV powertrain and smarter looks across the range. Plenty to talk about.

Driving Experienceword count: 326

The big news with this improved E-208 is the availability of a new slightly larger-capacity 51kWh lithium-ion battery (48.1kWh of that usable) which offers 248 miles of driving range and is mated to a new 156hp electric motor. From the launch of this updated model though, most of the range was still built around the original model's older-tech drivetrain, which sees a 50kWh battery matched to a 136hp electric motor, offering a range of up to 225 miles. Like all electric vehicles, this one develops all of its torque at once (there's 260Nm of it) and this car simply hurls itself away from rest (it takes just a couple of seconds to crest the 30mph mark and 62mph is reached in a fraction over 8s), disguising the fact that (also like all EVs) this Zero Emissions variant has a bit of a weight problem - that drivetrain adds over 300kgs of bulk. Whichever variant you select, all of this might represent a brave new world for forward-thinking supermini buyers looking to make the (still rather expensive) switch into all-electric motoring. It seems like only yesterday, after all, that a fully-charged small EV could only manage around half the kind of range you get from this one. Of course, you certainly won't achieve anything like that kind of operating capability if you get anywhere near this EV's quoted 93mph top speed. Or if you habitually drive your E-208 in the 'Sport' setting that'll be necessary to release to full power outputs just mentioned. The quoted range figures will only be distantly possible if you instead engage a somewhat restrictive 'Eco' mode that drops power output right down to 83bhp. That's the setting you'll use in an E-208 around town, an environment in which it makes a strange polyphonic sound at low speeds to warn unwary pedestrians of its impending approach. Above 18mph, all you can hear is a bit of tyre roar from the eco-moulded Michelin rubber.

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