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RPM TV Website | March 22, 2024

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Long-term update: Peugeot 2008 – Bela Bela and beyond

2013 Peugeot 2008
Adam Schoeman

A trip to Bela Bela to attend a wedding gave us another excuse to stretch the legs of our Peugeot 2008 1.6 Allure long-term test car. As expected, the little crossover made the trip an absolute joy.

The 170 km distance to Bela Bela was dispatched quickly on the N1 highway, although the combination of a five-speed gearbox and a modest 1,6-litre VTi engine meant that maintaining highway speeds kept the engine ticking over at between 3 000 and 4 000 r/min.

Own a Peugeot 2008? Let us know and we could be asking you to present what you like and dislike about the car on the show!

This creates more cabin noise than expected, but not enough for it to become irritating and it we quickly became accustomed to it. Overtaking was also less of a chore than expected: dropping  down a gear gave the 2008 sufficient urge to pass most slower-moving vehicles.

It’s during long road trips like this that gadgets like BlueTooth audio, cruise control, automatic lights, rain sensor and anti-dazzle mirrors go from being nice-to-have creature comforts to essentials.

Once we arrived in Bela Bela, we promptly missioned up towards the mountains (after sampling the best off Wimpy’s breakfast menu) and onto some serious sand and gravel farm roads. The Peugeot 2008 has a sort of adaptive traction control system which you can set to Sand, Mud, Snow, Normal or off.

We decided to keep ours dialled into Sand as that was what the majority of the road surface comprised, and while the lack of four-wheel drive did mean we weren’t expecting miracles, the system did add a noticeable amount of traction on the front wheels. This was mostly felt when applying significant steering input.

Ground clearance was perfect for even some pretty serious looking divots and the suspension dealt well with medium-sized rocks and uneven terrain. But once on the farm, some of the minor internal tracks outsourced to a local Land Cruiser – after all, the 2008 doesn’t pretend to be a gung-ho 4×4.

For the most, the 2008 slipped from highway cruiser to off-road adventurer with seamless ease, and to top it all off, it did so while averaging just 7,7 litres/100 km.

Check out more postings on this long-termer here

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