“We wondered if customers would want specificity on an EV,” said Beurel. “But they said they ‘didn’t want a flag on the top’ so the frontal intake takes body colour and there’s a blue-green tint on the lion badges.”
In the UK, trim levels will be Active, Allure, GT-Line and, exclusive to the EV, GT. On the GT-Line and GT, black wheel-arch extensions are applied because the two versions get a 12mm-wider track than lesser 208s. On the GT-Line, it’s for effect only, but the EV’s powertrain necessitates it because its front axle comes with a wider stance. Wheel sizes are 16in or 17in. Peugeot’s designers, like a lot of companies, would prefer larger, but “in this segment, cost is important”, said Beurel.
Inside, the 208 gets an update of Peugeot’s still-controversial i-Cockpit, which features a small steering wheel that tends to sit beneath or, for some drivers, in the line of sight of the instrument pack.
Bar the option of a night-vision camera, convenience, driver assist and infotainment systems on offer in the new 208 are the same as in the bigger, more expensive 508. But there’s new equipment in the 208, too, including a neat three-dimensional element to the instrument cluster. Using a reflective screen as in a head-up display, the most important info can be brought to a small screen in front of the main instrument pack.
“What’s important is that it’s not entertainment: it’s information,” said Beurel. “It’s spectacular but it’s really useful when driving.”
In addition, the EV version of the 208 features pre-heating and cooling via a smartphone app. All 208s include a wrap-around dashboard, with a central 10.0in touchscreen on higher-trim levels and a 7.0in version on lower-trim variants, and all cars get four USB ports.
