Second Report

The winter weather is starting to show its hand, with sunny warm days replaced with the UK’s more traditional wet and windy benchmark. While that’s bad news for BBQs and trips to the beach, it does at last give us the chance to properly test out our Peugeot 2008’s gadgets that are designed to combat chilly weather.

GT cars get heated seats, and while I’ve bemoaned their lack of lower back support on these pages, they are great at keeping things toasty. Like most seat heaters, there are modes depending upon how parky you’re feeling. On its more aggressive setting, it heats you up quickly, outpacing the climate control, and giving much-needed warmth on icy mornings. It’s great to put this feature to work at last, as through the summer the most use it got was to keep a pasty warm on the passenger seat. 

Zac the dog returns this month for my now traditional ‘will the dog fit’ test. The conclusion? Yes, the 2008’s boot will accommodate a medium-size dog and his bed, just about. He seemed happy enough back there, but something to keep in mind is that the added height of an SUV does make getting the dog in and out more difficult. A young pup could probably bound into place, but older dogs would far rather you opted for a less fashionable, lower-to-the-ground hatchback, or resort to being lifted into the car instead.

Sadly, I have some bad news to report. While the 2008 has been faultless in terms of dependability, an electrical gremlin has arisen. The fancy 3D digital instrumentation screen has shut down a couple of times, all while driving in torrential rain. Could water be getting into somewhere it shouldn’t be? We’re not sure and neither is Peugeot. The car is to head back to the mothership for a serious going over, as this is a fault the French marque has yet to encounter. Losing your instrumentation – even just for a few moments – is not a good thing, but it would appear that this is a fault with our specific car. It means our time with ‘big blue’ will be coming to a close sooner than expected. It was due to be returned around Christmas time, and that date has been hastened so that it can be taken to pieces and a full report sent back to Peugeot’s HQ.

There’s no getting away from how good the Peugeot 2008 looks, and even with a raft of new entries to the compact SUV segment, it remains one of the chicest. Come rain or shine, that Vertigo Blue paint looks fantastic, while darker evenings really show off the SUV’s distinctive lighting signatures. Even several months on from delivery, I still find myself glancing back at the car when walking away.