Chris drives a Peugeot e-208 50kWh 2020.

This is Chris’s first electric car, he’s owned the Peugeot e-208 from new and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 10,000-20,000 miles and he achieves 120 miles from a full charge.

Why did you choose the Peugeot e-208?

This is our second car so we wanted a reasonably priced electric option. There is also a local dealer which makes servicing convenient. At the time it qualified for a government grant and Peugeot were providing the home charger for free. Range wasn’t a significant issue as the car is only used for local journeys. Our main vehicle is a Hyundai Kona Electric 64kWh which has the range we need when on longer trips.

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Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car

• It drives really well and feels very sure footed on all road types
• the small size makes parking easy, especially useful in tight spaces
• the voice recognition software is excellent. Controlling the sat nav, making hands free calls and sending texts is really easy and it accurately recognises the commands
• the sat nav is very good and gives live traffic information which updates as conditions change.

Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car

• The predicted range is virtually useless. It’s not even a good guess. If I was using the car for long journeys it would be very difficult to plan charging stops. On a full charge the display says 200 miles in the summer and around 160 in the winter. However it reduces very quickly. I make a regular 20 mile round trip. On the return journey, which is largely downhill, the range indicated at the end of the journey is sometimes more than at the start.
• There is very little luggage space. Fine for shopping but not much else.
• You have to set the driving option (normal/eco/sport) each time you start a trip. It would be so much easier if it remembered your preference.
  The app is very poor. In particular, the command to pre-warm the vehicle fails frequently, especially when it’s frosty and you really want the car warm before driving.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

No

What are the standout technological features of your Peugeot e-208?

The infotainment system is good for this level of vehicle.

Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car 

I like the charging point at the back of the vehicle compared to the front charging on our other vehicle.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

My next car will be an MG4 EV. Having been fully converted to electric driving I have decided I would like to have a longer range to give a bit more flexibility.

Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements 

We have a PodPoint 7kWh charger. The best feature is the ability to program the charge period to take advantage of low cost off-peak electricity. It has been very reliable and the app is easy to use.

Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements

We use Octopus Go which gives very good off-peak rates. They have a very good website which is easy to navigate.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

Ecotricity works well on the motorways, especially the upgraded sites with large numbers of charging points. Over the last few years we have used a wide range of public charging sites. The quality and reliability is very variable. Fortunately, we have never had a problem finding somewhere to charge when needed. The only real issue was the M4 which is very badly served. Although we had planned a charging stop at Leigh Delamere it didn’t work. On that occasion we were able to get home without topping up.

Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements

LV – which gave a competitive quote at the time. Apart from paying the premium I have had no need to contact them about anything.

Please itemise where you’re saving money owning & running a Peugeot e-208

The fuel cost is around 20% of what I used to spend on diesel. Servicing costs are also much lower.

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