2022 Peugeot 2008 Review | Philkotse Philippines

It’s an open secret that having a distinct and unique characteristic can make a product stand out from the competition. This is especially true when you look into the tightly contested local subcompact crossover segment. The market appeal on crossover vehicles prompted car brands in the country to launch their respective challengers, resulting in more intense competition.

Peugeot Philippines is among the car brands that intend to make its presence felt in the crossover market. Backed by a new local distributor, Astara, the French automaker wants to take a slice of the pie with the Peugeot 2008. As such, what can Peugeot’s subcompact crossover offer? Does it have enough to hold its own in the competitive local crossover market? Here’s Philkotse’s 2022 Peugeot 2008 full review.

The Peugeot 2008 is fitted with LED headlights, LED daytime running lights (DRLs), LED turn signals, and a frameless grille. The front end also gets black trims, and a flat silver accent is seen on the lower bumper.

Look at that front end

At first glance, one can argue that the Peugeot 2008 is one of the distinct subcompact crossovers in the Philippines. It has a confident look and does not fall short when it comes to assertiveness. The claw-mark headlights stand out right away while the front end’s styling is further emphasized with fang-like DRLs that run down the bumper. The headlights and the DRLs create an illusion that the 2008 is ready to pounce at any given time.  

Turning to the side, you’ll instantly notice that the Peugeot 2008 is not shy in flaunting its style. The crisp character lines do not just give the 2008 an athletic look but also add to the vehicle’s uniqueness. A closer look at those lines will make you realize that it forms subtle triangles, which can be seen on the front and rear side of the vehicle.

The Peugeot 2008 comes with crisp character lines

What I also liked is the color of the door handles and the side mirrors as it adds the right amount of swag to the Peugeot 2008. You also can’t help but notice the floating roof line effect, and the stylish 17-inch alloy wheels.

The LED taillights also come with a claw-mark design approach

The athletic styling sort of goes down by a notch when you look at the 2008’s rear. But, despite toning down a bit, I still find the rear stylish and never short on style points. The LED taillights mimic the claw-mark design you saw on the headlights. It also has a large bumper integrated with black cladding.

The Peugeot 2008 comes with a black interior theme along with glossy black accents and carbon fiber-like trims, giving out a sporty vibe.

One of the things I like about the 2008’s interior is the design of its steering wheel. It has a flat upper and bottom part, resulting in a compact shape. The integration of glossy black trims add character to the steering wheel. Not to mention, the steering wheel design further shows the distinct and unique feature of this subcompact crossover.

Comes with cockpit-inspired dashboard

The carbon-fiber trim on the dashboard and the subtle ambient lighting is a nice touch as it hides Peugeot’s use of hard plastic materials. You’ll also appreciate that it comes with a leather padded surface on the door panels and center console glove box. This results in giving you added comfort as well as a premium-like feel.

The leather seats, on the other hand, offer good cushioning but you do have to take note that the driver’s seat comes with a manual adjustment. It’s not much of a problem since most of its segment rivals do come with the said feature. But, I think that it would be better if Peugeot gave the 2008 with at least a power adjustable driver’s seat to make it more stand out compared to its rivals. Plus, having that feature could help justify the 2008’s price tag easier.

The Peugeot 2008 also has cockpit-inspired switches that are found below the center air vents. This design approach once again gives the 2008 a unique cabin layout. Yes, it’s not something new but the cockpit-inspired switches complement the whole cabin layout of the 2008. While it looks nice, I only wish the Peugeot allotted a switch for the fan speed. To put things in perspective, the fan speed adjustment is integrated into the 7-inch infotainment touchscreen.

It doesn't come with rear aircon vents

The Peugeot’s front interior layout is notable but it’s quite a different story once you hop on the rear seats. While it has decent leg- and head-room, I find the second-row area too basic as it looks plain and too straightforward.

Unlike the front interior, you can easily spot hard plastic materials when you’re seated at the rear. It seems that the premium-like cabin did not extend to the rear passenger area. Rear aircon vents are also absent in the Peugeot 2008. Good thing though, the French automaker still made use of soft padded leather materials on the door panels.

It has ample cargo space

The Peugeot 2008’s cargo space offers enough space for up to two medium-sized luggage even when the second or rear seats are up. It has a manual tailgate, and also comes with a tonneau cover. The rear seats come with a 60:40 split fold feature, giving you cargo loading versatility. However, it doesn’t fold flat.

The Peugeot 2008 is equipped with tech and safety features that can go head-to-head with some of its segment rivals. Of note, it does lack a 360-degree camera and panoramic sunroof, features that are popular in the crossover segment.

The infotainment system comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

It does come with a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen that has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connectivity features that I find essential in the era of smartphones. While it provides a seamless and easy connection, there were a couple of times where the Apple CarPlay disappears from the screen. This often happened when I adjust the fan speed, which is integrated into the infotainment touchscreen.

Rear camera helps you park the vehicle easier

The touchscreen doubles as your rearview camera, giving you a relatively clear image of what’s behind the vehicle. I also appreciate that it comes with guidelines, helping you measure the distance behind when parking the vehicle. To add, there are two USB ports in the center console.

The 2008 has a sporty interior feel

The best highlight when it comes to the 2008’s tech is arguably its 3D i-Cockpit instrument cluster. It’s a digital display featuring layered clusters, creating a 3D or floating effect. The interface features crisp and colorful graphics, adding to the Peugeot 2008’s sporty and premium-like cabin.  

The 2008 also has cruise control, which can be accessed via a stem-like component. Using it for the first time might put off some individuals since you can’t directly see the stem for the cruise control while you’re driving. Its placement is covered by the steering wheel, which means that you need to familiarize yourself first in regards to using the 2008’s cruise control.

Safety-wise, the Peugeot 2008 is equipped with the following: six airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), stability control, hill start assist, and high beam assist. It also comes with speed-sensing door locks, blind spot monitoring, active lane-keeping assist, driver attention warning, and an active safety brake.

Under the hood lies the three-cylinder 1.2-liter turbo gasoline engine that puts out 130 hp and 230 Nm of torque. It is paired to a six-speed automatic transmission with three driving modes: Eco, Normal, and Sport.

Powered by a 1.2-liter turbo gasoline engine

Peugeot did a fine job in making a potent power unit. The 1.2-liter turbo engine allows good acceleration, giving you the sense that this crossover has a sporty drive to it. Another thing that I notice is that the 2008 has an on-point throttle response, adding confidence to your drive especially when you want to overtake slower vehicles. Of note, I selected the Normal driving mode more often during the duration of my test drive.

The Peugeot 2008 has an athletic stance

It also has nice steering feel although I find it a bit too light when I am driving in the urban jungle. But, that’s not much of a problem since the 2008’s steering wheel is responsive despite having feather-like lightness. In fact, it does play to your advantage when you need to drive through tight streets or when you need to park the vehicle. The steering feel does get heavy when you’re driving on the expressway, which is something I appreciate as it gives me better control of the vehicle.

In terms of ride comfort, the Peugeot 2008’s suspension leans on the firm side. This means that you’ll feel the bumps caused by Metro Manila’s dilapidated roads. To make up for it, the Peugeot 2008 comes with good noise insulation. It reduces outside noise to a minimum, giving you a pleasant ride. The six-speed automatic transmission also performs well. It’s not confused and it gives you the right gear you need, which is good as it adds to the overall driving enjoyment.

The black cladding gives the 2008 a bold look from the rear

I’m still hoping that Peugeot did allot an actual switch or button for the aircon fan speed adjustment. Here’s the thing, you need to exit from the Apple CarPlay interface for you to adjust the fan speed. Then, once you’ve done the adjusting part, you need to toggle your way back again for the Apple CarPlay’s interface to appear again. Having a dedicated switch for the fan speed adjustment can eliminate those steps, and could contribute to having safer drives.

The Peugeot 2008 returned a fuel economy of 9 km/l while driving around the city at an average speed of 20 km/h. On the open highway, the 2008 posted 25 km/l while cruising at speeds of 85 to 90 km/h. Of note, these are all done with the Normal drive mode engaged.

The said fuel eco numbers are not bad when compared to its segment rival such as the Honda HR-V V Turbo. In the city, the Japanese crossover did better as it was able to give 13.6 km/l. But it wasn’t able to match the 2008’s highway fuel eco number as it only returned 19.6 km/l.

Priced at Php 1,635,000, the Peugeot 2008 shows that it has the potential to make a mark in the subcompact crossover segment in the Philippines. It is priced higher than most of its mainstream rivals such as the Honda HR-V but, the Peugeot 2008 has its own way of enticing potential car buyers.

2022 Peugeot 2008

Its exterior design alone makes it one of the stand-out vehicles in the market today. One can’t help but notice how athletic and distinctive it looks from front to back. It also has a potent engine that’s complemented by relatively quick acceleration as well as on-point throttle response, allowing you to enjoy your drives. The interior looks unique too considering the overall layout of the front cabin. The rear cabin, on the other hand, could have more in terms of amenities since I find it too straightforward.  

With all the points mentioned, the Peugeot 2008 is a crossover meant to give or somehow satisfy one’s driving pleasure. Its characteristics and overall features lean towards giving the driver a pleasant or enjoyable time behind the wheel. In other words, it’s a vehicle for individuals who are looking for a driver-centric or driver-oriented crossover. That said, if you are particular with driving feel, you can easily justify the Peugeot 2008’s overall package.