IT’S cool and fun, and it hails from France. The 2019 Peugeot 2008 GT-Line is the next step in Peugeot’s long history in the motoring world, and it continues the brand’s very individual styling.
While the uniqueness of Peugeot’s look and feel is sometimes to its detriment, it’s always recognisable. The 2008 GT-Line is no different. It doesn’t look the same as everyone else and that’s not a bad thing, although it’s not as outrageous as say, the Nissan Juke.
The styling is great, from the tail lights to the headlights and all points in between. And whether you choose Pearl White like our test car, or Solid White, Ultimate Red, Platinum Grey, Artense Grey or Pearl Nera Black, every colour feels wow.
The roof rails and alloy wheels give the car a great sporty outdoor lifestyle appeal as well, and the drive train is plucky to say the least. Powered by a little 3-cylinder, 1.2-litre turbo engine it’s very well behaved around town.
It sounds a little noisy at low speeds and take offs but settles down nicely to be quiet and non-intrusive at speed, with the agile and fun SUV pushing out 81kW of power and 205Nm torque.
Fuel economy is a claimed paltry 5.9-litres/100km, but we couldn’t get anywhere near that. The best we could achieve was 7.1-litres/100km from the 50-litre tank, which should mean you’re good for around 700km.
Rear luggage space, at 410-litres in 5-seat mode or 1,410-litres with the back seats down is pretty damn good for what’s considered a small SUV, while rear leg room for taller passengers was okay, but not great.
What all that really means is there’s plenty of room for the family shopping, weekends away with the kids, or moving longer loads with the seats down. Not quite enough room to sleep in for a cheeky weekend away, but it is a small SUV after all.
Inside, subtle touches like the red accent stitching on the seats and steering wheel were a standout, while red highlights on the doors break up the piano black, with red LED lighting on the binnacle providing some extra character.
The seats are very comfortable, but are manually adjustable. There is plenty of leg room up front too. The dash is laid out nicely and everything is within easy reach, unless you need a proper cup holder.
You see, they’re stashed between the shifter and the base of the dash, which is already inconvenient, and they are only big enough to hold a standard cup of coffee. You certainly won’t get even a smaller bottle of water in there.
And that’s the other thing, you won’t get a decent water bottle in the doors either. It does come loaded with some nice tech though, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, SatNav, Bluetooth, and a 6-speaker sound system.
The infotainment system offers great resolution, although getting used to its quirky layout will take some getting used to. From a safety perspective, you’ll also find Peugeot’s Grip Control system, an adapted version of traction control, for enhanced off-road capabilities.
Likewise there’s also an active city brake to help prevent low speed mishaps, a reversing camera, six airbags, park assist, and static intersection lighting, as well as electronic stability control.
It comes with a 5-year unlimited kilometre warranty, and five years roadside assist. It hits the road at $31,500 plus on-roads. It’s pretty good value for money and is similar in price to its main rivals; the Juke and the Hyundai Kona.
Our test vehicle was provided by Peugeot Australia. To find out more about the 2019 Peugeot 2008 GT-Line, contact your local Peugeot dealer.
