Weekend Drive: Peugeot 2008 SUV

Ooh la la! Peugeot 2008 SUV.

Le specs

Le cool.
Peugeot 2008 SUV
1.2l PureTech 3 cylinder engine, 6-speed auto transmission, 5-star safety rating.Special reduced price: $29,990

The car

Devastatingly, it turns out that in a French car, the Google Maps voice robot doesn't convert to Serge Gainsbourg or Brigitte Bardot and the reverse alarms do not sound like accordions. Opportunity missed! This is a hatchback slash SUV. It's small, yet it walks tall. And even though it's petite it fits five people nicely, with good headroom for those of longer leg, and there's room in the boot for a small dog or the large hamper, packed with chilled French Champagne for your picnic.The car's symbol is the lion, and there are actually claw marks on the lining of the hood. Ooh la la! I put Bonnie and Clyde on the stereo and I feel like Jane Birkin.

The drive

First I have to drive from the Peugeot HQ at Armstrong Motors in Greenlane back into town on a Friday and it's a bit stop-start to get the real drift of how this puppy (le petit chien) handles. Thankfully we have the opportunity to take it for a run on Saturday, out to Riverhead. It's bucketing with rain, miserable, but we have auto wipers and this little shopping bag/SUV with super-fancy tyres handles really well. It has masses of pep, which you wouldn't think would be the case for a 1.2l engine. But it goes like stink. The 1.2l engine has won prizes over three consecutive years for being the little engine that could. A 40-minute round-trip drive, averaging 80km would cost you about $5 in fuel. Possibly a slight exaggeration but this is super efficient. I like the steering wheel a lot. It's small, like a racing car, and the interior is nicely minimal without being barren. It's just classic. Je t'aime.

armstrongmotorgroup.com