Peugeot E-3008 GT long-term test: slow charging leaves EV out in the cold

Verdict

Good-looking, comfortable and spacious, the Peugeot E-3008 is an excellent family runabout that in many ways is rewarding to own. But it has struggled more than anticipated to match its theoretical range figure, and it isn’t much fun to drive.

• Mileage: 5,344
• Efficiency: 3.1 miles/kWh

Electric cars are great, until they’re not, and a family emergency at the new year put our new Peugeot E-3008 on the spot.

It’s 160 miles from my house in Hampshire to my mum’s place in Devon, which should be a breeze for the car with a 327-mile maximum quoted range and a 73kWh battery. The key word there is ‘should’, because I used the Peugeot on the same route at Christmas, and it stumbled somewhat.

Starting out with a full battery and 300-plus miles showing on the dash, I arrived at the array of 350kW ultra-rapid chargers at Exeter’s Moto services (still 25 miles short of my destination) with only 30 per cent of charge left. It was 10pm on Christmas Eve, and I plugged in, expecting an ‘ultra-rapid’ charge that would see us on to Torbay and back to Hampshire in one hit.

Peugeot says the E-3008 has a maximum charge speed of 160kW, but the 350kW Gridserve charger peaked at 83kW, then dropped to 50kW after 10 minutes when the battery was 50 per cent charged. Then 40 minutes later, when the battery had crept up to 77 per cent, it was charging at just 41kW. At which point I’d had enough and left.

So mum and I spent 30 minutes at Moto Exeter early on Christmas morning, this time teasing a meagre 45kW out of the 350kW charger, a rate that quickly dropped to an insulting 30kW, and had only crept back to 39kW when I unplugged. We only managed to get charged from 60 to 76 per cent in half an hour. On the plus side, a 19kWh top-up that would have cost fifteen quid turned out to be a Christmas freebie – belated season’s greetings to you too, Gridserve.

As we left Moto Exeter, we had 234 miles of range showing from a three-quarters-charged battery, and arrived home in time for Christmas lunch 134 miles later, with a remaining range of 20 per cent, or 37 miles. This seems typical, because we use electrons at a rate that means the car ‘loses’ between a quarter and a third of the range that’s promised at the start of any given journey.

Not ideal, and when I had to repeat the Torbay run in a rush a week later, I made the return journey twice on a tank of diesel in my old Mercedes B-Class instead.

For day-to-day use though, there’s much to like about the E-3008. It’s eye-catching on the outside, and the interior is indulgently comfortable as well as good-looking. I’ll skip past the square steering wheel, because while I’m not convinced, increasing numbers of people seem to find them appealing. The expansive digital display panel is certainly impressive to look at, though.

However, the Peugeot is not an enthusiast’s car, in spite of our car’s ‘GT’ trim designation, with no feedback from that square steering wheel, and a ride that can be harsh around town or on a poor-quality B-road. Arguably, the car is at its best on a middle-distance motorway journey of 90 miles or so, where you can enjoy the relaxed cabin comforts.

From a family practicality perspective, the E-3008 is a winner, too, with plenty of legroom in the back and a huge boot under that sloping tailgate. The kids love it to bits, in fact, while the heated rear seats help to ensure they’re not always squabbling about ‘riding shotgun’.

A nail in a tyre has been another fly in the ointment, although conveniently it went flat just yards from the Chichester branch of ATS. Happily, it was repairable for £30, because a matching replacement wasn’t available until the next day.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.