Peugeot E-208: interior, dashboard & infotainment

​The Peugeot E-208’s good looks continue inside thanks to the brand’s i-Cockpit dashboard layout which feels like something out of a concept car. Design has obviously taken precedence over ergonomics in some areas, but material quality is pretty strong across the board – as it should be, given the E-208’s lofty starting price.

Peugeot E-208 dashboard

The Peugeot E-208’s dashboard feels undeniably special in the way everything is angled towards the driver. While base cars get a traditional analogue set of dials, step up to the mid-spec Allure and you’re greeted by a sleek-looking 10-inch driver’s display behind the steering wheel. This is relatively configurable – even if the graphics are rather dark and dingy – and it even offers a neat 3D effect in top-spec GT models.

That’s all well and good, but unfortunately a couple of glaring oversights spoil what is otherwise an almost class-leading cabin; for starters, there’s the driving position. Due to how the small squared-off steering wheel is mounted below the dials, it means you have to position it uncomfortably low to be able to even see what speed you’re going at. The result of this is the wheel will bash into your knee whenever you turn the wheel; it may not be a problem for all body types, but we strongly recommend that you try before you buy.

The other issue we have is that the climate controls constantly take up a large portion of each side of the infotainment screen; their presence almost negates the benefit of having a larger central display and we wish that Peugeot had instead mounted them below the screen in a set of physical toggles or dials like in the Vauxhall Corsa Electric.

Equipment, options & accessories

Peugeot has shaken up the E-208’s trim levels on several occasions, so a used model’s specifications may be completely different to the ones detailed here. At the moment, though, a brand-new buy will have three trims to choose from: Active, Allure and GT.

Starting from just over £28,000, the Peugeot E-208 Active gets a decent, if not exceptional, level of standard equipment. The base level of kit includes LED headlights, 16-inch steel wheels, fabric upholstery, climate control, a 10-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay an Android Auto, a heat pump and rear parking sensors.

18

The mid-spec Allure model will set you back by around £1,600 but it’ll net you some pretty desirable extras including 16-inch diamond-cut alloys, upgraded upholstery and all-round parking sensors.

Sitting at the top of the range is the GT model which, costing from over £32,000, is pretty pricey for an electric supermini; in fact, it’s around £5,000 more than a base MG4. It does come pretty highly specified, though, with leatherette sports seats, a wireless smartphone charger, 3D dials, ambient lighting and a reversing camera. GT cars also get added gloss black exterior accents and larger 17-inch wheels.

Infotainment, apps & sat nav

All versions of the Peugeot E-208 now get a 10-inch touchscreen as standard. This is much more vibrant and responsive to inputs than the old system and comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality. If you’d rather not use your phone, you can spec the car to have TomTom sat-nav built-in, but we don’t see much point given how Google, Waze and even Apple Maps are all free to use.

While Peugeot has revised the layout of its infotainment system, it’s not quite as intuitive as the one you find in the equivalent electric Kia or Hyundai; we’ve already mentioned the climate controls taking up a large portion of the screen, but we also think there are a few too many sub menus, making it fiddly to operate whilst driving.