It's a bit odd, no, naming a car after a year? In the past. They might as well have called it the Peugeot Five Years Ago. Or the Peugeot Recession Onset. But – and this is where my motoring expertise comes into its own – it's not named after the year: 2008 means it shares DNA with the Peugeot 208 supermini, but it's a bit longer, wider, higher off the ground. A crossover, like the 3007 is to the 307. Except when they decided to name their crossovers by inserting a zero, they didn't think that the one based on the 208 would share its name with a year best known for economic downturn. If Peugeot are planning an even smaller crossover, based on the 107, I'd recommend they call it not the 1007, but the Peugeot 1066, suggesting all-conquering, French, works on beaches… Do you see?
Anyway, its arrival chez nous coincided, happily, with a holiday, the annual Cornish greycation, though oddly ungrey this year. I may have mentioned it, but there are now three members of this family. And isn't it extraordinary, when you procreate, how the amount of shit that travels with you increases? Not proportionally, but exponentially. So praise God for that extra zero and the extra space that comes with it.
It all went in, just about. The baby and beach shit, windbreaks (not required), wellies (ditto), daddy's midlife crisis kitesurfing shit (double ditto). And we headed west.
On the motorway, it's refined, comfortable, pleasant to be in. On a twisty A road, midlife-crisis daddy might have enjoyed a more dynamic drive (that small, sporty steering wheel ain't fooling no one), but being a tight-arse – I mean, keen environmentalist – he enjoyed the fuel-consumption figures. And Jr enjoyed spotting his two new words, birds and planes, through the panoramic sunroof.
In spite of its semi-raised stance and semi-rugged appearance, the 2008 comes only in front-wheel drive, but it does have something called Grip Control for optimising traction on mud. I was hoping to test this feature rigorously, given that our holiday accommodation is reached through three fields (most years this means abandoning the car and wading). But there is no mud anywhere, so I can't tell you how it performs off-road, though, of course, that's not what it's really for.
It was nice – given the extra shit – to be able to park outside for once. And all in all I'd say the 2008 is an excellent car for a middle-class sojourn in Cornwall. But, coming back, we passed an advert for the Renault Captur, which will clearly be a major rival. And I thought I'd rather be in one of them. It just looks a bit more noticeable, and striking, and modern. Less 2008, more 2018.
Peugeot 2008 1.6 e-HDi 115
Price £19,145
Top speed 117mph
Acceleration 0-62mph in 10.4 seconds
Combined fuel consumption (manufacturer's figure) 70.8mpg
CO2 emissions 106g/km
Green rating 8/10
Cool rating 6/10
