Motoring
PEUGEOT 2008 By Motoring Editor, Maarten Hoffmann is not verbose. Rather than repeating every road number and direction 100 times as you approach a turn it simply tells you where to go and then says ‘go left’ or ‘go straight’. Quite a relief. Avoid the base model and go for the Allure spec and you get all the toys such as handsfree, auto headlights, parking sensors, climate control and auto wipers. Peugeot offer an excellent finance package called Just Add Fuel; a three-year deal that includes lease costs, insurance and servicing costs. I quite enjoyed the 2008 once l looked past the Gallic anomalies and with the fuel economy and sticker price, this is a good car for the money.
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he compact SUV sector is getting very crowded and is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK. These models might look like four-wheel drives but in fact they are actually based on small hatchbacks and therefore sacrifice the all-wheel drive capability for low running costs. You, like me, might then ask ‘what’s the point then’? To be frank, l have no idea what the point is bar the elevated seating position that is cancelled out as, with so many on the road, we are all now raised and therefore the point is lost. The Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Mokka top the UK sales charts although God knows why as the Mokka is a shocker and the Juke looks like one of those plastic cars that used to fall out of cereal packets.
very small and hinders a full view of the dash. Unless you drive with the wheel lowered into your lap and the seat at its highest position, you will rarely ever see the bottom of the dash. Peugeot claim that this is not a problem. Peugeot are wrong. I quite like the drive though. It’s nippy round town, easy to see out of and to park and the seats are well bolstered and hold you well. The steering is light and easy and it is quite well weighted although if you get too butch with the gas pedal, you will experience quite a bit of torque steer from the front wheels but it will certainly get up and go. The SatNav
TECHNICAL STUFF Model tested: 2008 Allure Blue HDi 120 Engine: 1560cc Power: 120 bhp Performance: 0-62 mph 9.6 seconds Top Speed: 119 mph Economy: 76.3 mpg combined Price from: £13,970.00 As tested: £19,820.00
Enter the Peugeot 2008 that landed on my drive and my first thought is that is has the looks that only a mother could love. The French love doing this – taking a design and perverting it just enough that is divides opinion. Bravo, job done. The only place you cannot see it from is inside so l jump in and hey, not too shabby. It is well laid out and the quality feels pretty good except for the glittery silver plastic infills on the doors. Why? Also, this daft habit of putting lights in the roof. Again, why? It does have a great touch screen with smart phone connectivity and everything is quite well laid out although the steering wheel is
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