Peugeot 2008 Review Philippines: The Sophisticated Daily Driver

Review Verdict: The Peugeot 2008 in this review is a classy daily driver for the roads of the Philippines. It definitely shows off its European influence, sophistication, refinement, and comfort, although there are some small things it misses out on.

Pros

Peugeot 3D i-Cockpit is stunning to look at
Modern design both inside and out
Comfortable

Cons

No rear passenger air vents, lights

We review the Peugeot 2008 to see if the company’s fabulous little crossover has more to it than just appealing quirks and gimmicks. Is the future bright for this newly-relaunched brand in our country?

Exterior

Looking at the Peugeot 2008 from the front, it fits right in with the upper-scale driveway of this exclusive clubhouse. Immediately grabbing attention are its daytime running lights that form an attractive three-stripe pattern within the headlight casing, waterfalling down onto the remainder of the car’s front fascia. For some reason, a friend of ours called it the “Naruto car” due to these marks, and its lively Fusion Orange color. This hue is a deeper orange that looks amazing, whether it’s directly exposed to the sun’s rays or the moon’s glow.

Combine that with a unique pattern on the grille and the iconic but locally-unfamiliar Peugeot logo, and you have a chic city cruiser people are bound to ask you about.

The crossover has a fair combination of curvy and boxy design elements, which are most visible from the side. The pieces of silver cladding here and there add some spice to the car’s design and are definitely interesting touches. A ground clearance of 221mm provides a certain level of confidence over minor terrain changes and the Philippine jungle of road conditions.

On its heels are 17-inch alloy wheels which also match the overall modern aesthetic of this vehicle. They’re outfitted with GoodYear Assurance rubbers, fulfilling their namesake of reassuring and consistent performance in a variety of weather conditions. We’ll get to that later.

The rear design, meanwhile, sports a bit more of the black trims we see on other parts of the vehicle. These components complement the Peugeot quite well and do enough to remind people what this car actually is with a huge line of brand text. At the bottom are dual exhaust tips which add an ounce of sportiness. Culminating at the rear are these LED Signature Lights that embody the same design philosophy as the front – adding up to a consistent and fluid design.

This 2008 is a manifestation of European flair and a sign that “any form of transport must be done in style.”

Interior

If one thing’s for sure, then it’s this: we can imagine the interior of the Peugeot being designed in a fashion house rather than a facility with men in white lab coats.

We absolutely guarantee that the first thing that mesmerizes you upon entering the cabin is the one-of-a-kind wheel and gauge cluster application. The flat top and bottom steering wheel gave us F1 vibes, so we had to remind ourselves not to take corners like Max Verstappen. Despite its unusual shape, it was quite easy to get used to.

Outlaying vital information is the renowned PEUGEOT 3D i-Cockpit, which we had fallen in love with during our time with the vehicle. Information appears to be three-dimensional in real life, and we felt like how Tony Stark depicts Friday/Jarvis in the Iron Man movies. Numerous presets also significantly change the design of the cockpit depending on your personal preferences. You can choose a more minimalistic design with just your speed readouts, a more conventional dial-based approach, or customize it all together for the best of both worlds. This is our favorite instrument cluster in this segment, and we don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.

Laid out within the cabin is a fresh mix of textures, patterns, and touchpoint materials so that things never get boring. The leather seats have a futuristic grid-like pattern running through them, which when paired with the carbon finishes all over the interior does make you feel immersed in a different timeline. What you get for the center console and cubbies are a standard fare of piano black plastic though – a car owner’s worst enemy when it comes to maintenance. You’ll just have to accept that it will get smudgy and fingerprint-ridden over time.

The Lamborghini-inspired chrome buttons fixed under the trapezoidal A/C vents feel very solid to the touch and when pressed. You can surely do one of those “ready for take-off” TikTok clips with these, while we’re still grateful that volume controls can still be adjusted via a conventional knob at the leftmost.

The 7-inch touch head unit of the Peugeot 2008 is a little bit of hit-or-miss, depending on who you ask. Its default UI is easy enough to use, with capacitative shortcuts laid out on the sides with easy-to-read symbols. However, we do admit that these buttons can get wonky 10-20% of the time due to imperfect conditions such as moist or dirty hands. We’re not the biggest fans of having to adjust A/C controls through the head unit since this involves exiting the menus we were currently in – which can be problematic if that is your source of navigation.

Support for wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are available and worked without a hitch. The speakers in the vehicle were impressive for the segment, even at louder volumes. That’s high praise coming from us.

Hop in the rear seats and you’ll find that they’re treated to the same comfortable leather arrangements as your front passengers. Family members did comment that getting out of the car necessitates some effort due to the angled seating position, but overall comfort is perfectly fine – even for long-distance hauls. The main gripe we have with the rear area is the lack of vents which may be fine in colder climates, but almost becomes a necessity in a tropical sizzling plate like the Philippines. Another remark we’ll have to pay attention to is the lack of a rear map light, which prompted the rear passengers to use their phone’s flash to find miscellaneous items from their handbags.

Open up the rear cargo area and you’ll find an abundance of space for your road trip essentials.

Comfort and Driving Dynamics

Under the hood of the Philippines model Peugeot 2008 in this review is a 1.2-liter PureTech turbo engine outputting 130HP and 230Nm of torque. It’s no powerhouse on the stat sheet, but stepping on the throttle reminds you of a fundamental concept: power-to-weight ratio.

Starting the car up requires holding the START/STOP button rather than just a single tap; also, putting the car in drive and stepping on the gas pedal automatically disengages the handbrake. These are quirks we’d like to note in this review.

The crossover’s compact build darts through city traffic with no qualms whatsoever. We’re fairly certain that getting up to and maintaining highway speeds would be a walk in the park for this little bundle of fun. Especially with the drive mode selector in Sport.

The suspension is a bit on the softer side. That makes it a pillow on the city’s rough patches but adds a sliver of unwanted body roll on particularly spirited drives. For the daily commute, this is an ideal choice you couldn’t really go wrong with. You coast through the city with frigid air conditioning, which is another concern some have with EU market vehicles built for colder climates. We’re telling you, the wind it blows is enough to freeze hell over.

Filling the car’s 44-liter fuel tank to the brim indicated a range of around 400km. That’s perfectly fine, but we were even more astounded by the fact that the range stayed the same even after two days of driving around the city. Perhaps we have a lighter right foot than our European contemporaries, or this car sips fuel with its pinky up. Nonetheless, this is a big plus for the value-centric folks out there. The Eco drive mode really stands for something in this crossover.

Sadly, we couldn’t really find a comfortable driving position wherein the wheel wasn’t obstructing a part of the 3D i-Cockpit. Its peculiar placement may be one to note if you need full visibility of the cluster at all times, but otherwise, we didn’t really notice this as we went about our day.

When it comes to safety, Peugeot is always proud to present its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). This includes Driver Attention Warning for sleepyheads, Active Lane Keep assists to help you keep within the road markings, and Blind Spot Monitoring to guide you to safe overtakes. The last one also helped us tremendously by spotting any cyclists trying to sneak in our blind spots right before a turn.

It also features standard fare equipment such as airbags and ABS, among others.

Peugeot 2008 Review Philippines: Wrap Up and Conclusions

The Peugeot 2008 in this review is one of the most cost-effective ways to get your hands on European refinement in the Philippines. It has a captivating design that might break necks on the mall driveway, while the interior carries the same visual appeal. It’s also more than comfortable and fuel-efficient enough for the daily commute. While the lack of rear vents, odd steering wheel placement, and no rear map lights do prove to be minor annoyances, we don’t believe they take enough away from this crossover.

To conclude, we would recommend this Peugeot 2008 for those looking for a stylish option in this segment.