When Peugeot first brought the E-2008 to Australia, marking its first electric model down under, it wasn’t a very good deal. At all, actually. Not only was the car ambitiously priced at $59,990, the same price as a Cupra Born or MG4 XPower (two extremely fun cars to drive), it was also the old model – a facelift of the car had just been announced for the European market, and Australia was getting the scraps. The underwhelming car, surprise surprise, got lukewarm reviews, but now Peugeot has slashed prices dramatically by $25,000.
To compensate for the incoming Peugeot E-2008 facelift, which Australia is finally getting, the old model is now being priced at MSRP $39,990 (for a limited time). That price point puts it in hot contest with the $35,990 GWM Ora Standard (the cheapest EV in Australia), the $38,890 BYD Dolphin, the $39,990 MG ZS EV Excite, and the $39,990 MG4 Excite 51.
It’s a price that makes the car the cheapest European EV you can currently buy in Australia – and to be honest, if it were the standard price, it may have been enough to forgive the car for its sins.
A range of only 330km kneecapped the E-2008 right out of the gate in Australia – pretty much every electric car of an equivalent price at the time had a larger battery range that left the E-2008 in the dust, while this new discounted price brings it into line with cars of similar battery estimates. Similarly, the car maxed out its public charging capability at 100kW DC – also not great compared to the $60,000 competition, but acceptable around $40,000.
The proposition gets even worse when you consider that NSW, South Australia and Victoria scrapped their EV purchase incentives, meaning buyers in those states wouldn’t get a rebate if they purchased this car.
With a reconsidered price, even if only for a discount, this car graduates from being an overpriced European option to being a genuinely considerable purchase – because it’s competitive against its similarly priced alternatives.
As for ‘European sophistication’ though, which Peugeot dealerships are banking on with an announcement post, I guess? The operating system was underwhelming and sluggish, and the interior was inoffensive at best – though I did like the tactile switches it had below the centre display. It’s nicer inside than an MG4, but I wouldn’t let that dissuade you from buying another option.
All things considered, though, at $39,990, this isn’t a terrible deal – I’d call it a good deal, frankly, if only for the fact that it’s priced about in line with what it should have cost in the first place. I hope the updated E-2008 is priced more appropriately, though it’ll likely get a price jump even above the original price, to compensate for updated tech and a 402km WLTP battery range upgrade.
The discount applies to new or demo MY23 Peugeot E-2008 models, bought between May 1 and June 30. I hope to see one on the road soon.
Image: Zachariah Kelly/Gizmodo Australia