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Take a regular Peugeot 208, stretch it by its legs and arms, dress it up, adorn it with some SUV plastics, and then you get a car that nobody buys. The Peugeot 2008 A94, when your cousin from the countryside is more successful than you.

The original Peugeot 2008 is a car that almost nobody has heard of and almost nobody bought for one simple reason – the Vauxhall Crossland. Yep, the Peugeot 2008 A94 and the original Crossland are sister cars, built on the same assembly lines, but with different looks, some differences in engines and features, and obviously price. It’s obvious that the Vauxhall Crossland was cheaper than the Peugeot 2008, and because you had the 1.6 diesel engine available, it was the perfect car for the kind of person who knows nothing about cars but wants an affordable crossover. For the average buyer, it didn’t make sense to pay extra for the Peugeot 2008 A94 and its frills, especially when an Vauxhall Crossland 1.6 diesel manual is all the non-enthusiast buyer needs. Maybe even in appliance white color, like most of the classifieds.

So why am I writing about a car more obscure than Jon Erin Marshall?

Well, because there’s room under the sun and internet bandwidth for all cars, and the Peugeot 2008 A94 wasn’t necessarily a bad car; it was just dull, and you could argue that it was a bit too expensive for what it offered. It was clear that the first 2008 was a low-effort car in conception because practically they took a 208, injected some botox into its rear, and slapped on a Cross package like with the Polo or the Fiesta, and that was it. The 2008 was more of an experiment in the crossover zone than a full-fledged effort, and this was evident in the sales figures. The next generation of the 2008 on the other hand was #1 in sales in Europe at one point…

Peugeot 2008 A94 Engines

Petrol

• 1.2 VTi EB2 of 82 hp, and 100 horsepower – Maybe it was good for a 208, but for a 2008, definitely not. It’s like trying to carry a refrigerator up the stairs. It will take a long time, and you’re very likely to hurt yourself. In any case, I’d avoid this engine altogether.


• 1.2 Turbo EB2ADTX of 110 hp and 130 horsepower – Now we move on to the same 1.2 VTi but the turbo version. Developed in collaboration with BMW for their MINI, the 1.2 Turbo “Prince” engine was initially trash, with issues with the camshaft and timing chains wrecking itself before checking itself. Fortunately, time took care of destroying the bad engines, and only the updated ones remained.


• 1.6 VTi EP6 of 120 horsepower – Unlike the 1.2, which has a more dubious past, the 1.6 VTi is a simple and reliable engine. Sure, it’s also prone to faulty coil packs and rattling/jumping timing chains which can still wreck the engine, but overall, it’s the least stressed and most reliable on the list.


• 1.6 Turbo EP6DT of 156 horsepower – Personally, I’d stick with the naturally aspirated engine because I don’t think anyone looks at a Peugeot 2008 A94 and says, “Mmm, yes, I need 156 horsepower for this beast. This car, with this engine, will definatelly show them.” But if you still insist on buying such a thing, be very careful with the timing chain, which can jump without warning. 

Diesel

• 1.4 HDi DV4 of 68 horsepower – Again, it’s an engine suitable for the 208, but for the 2008, I don’t know what to say. Especially not for 2024. In any case, at least it’s reliable.


• 1.6 HDi DV6 of 92 hp, 100 hp, 115 hp, and 120 horsepower – By far the most suitable and balanced engine for the Peugeot 2008 A94, this 1.6 HDi from Peugeot is exactly like that KFC snack box you buy because you’re hungry and you know it’s okay, and you don’t want to bother with anything more foreign because you don’t understand it anyway, and you don’t care.

Peugeot 2008 A94 Reliability Issues 

• The diesel engines are modern which means they break down at every traffic light if you only drive them in the city because the EGR valve and the particle filter clog up quickly. Besides that, the clutches last less than my dates with girls who realize who they went out with and then run out of the restaurant in horror and terror THE FASTER YOU RUN THE LOUDER IT WILL BE SO THERE’S NO POINT IN RUNNING. Oh, and be very careful with the eBlue-HDI ones because they have an AdBlue system, and you have to fuel them only with AdBlue from the dealership. And the Eolys additive.


• The semi-automatic gearbox on pre-facelift models is to be avoided EVEN MORE THAN GIRLS WHO AVOID ME AFTER GOING OUT WITH ME AND THEN DON’T WANT TO HEAR FROM ME PLEASE UNBLOCK ME I’M TELLING YOU.


• The starter motor is the first sensitive point I’m talking about on the electrical side. It’s a Peugeot, so you’ll have a bunch of electrical issues, but nothing that will leave you stranded.


• The parking brake cable, on the other hand, can leave you stranded in the parking lot. There were some issues with that, and there was a recall, but you never know.


• The interior plastics are low-cost, even though the Peugeot 2008 A94  is not really a low-cost car, but it has the aura of a low-cost car. A scratch here, a cricket there, that sort of thing.

Peugeot 2008 A94 Verdict 

The second reason I wrote about the original Peugeot 2008 is that now I have a solid reason to write about the follow up, a car that stormed the European car market. But the original 2008? It’s an honest car, one you buy on a whim and about which you know nothing, and it will leave you with at least a decent impression. Not “wow,” but decent. It’s a car and that’s it. But cars like that are what matter in the big car market, so yeah, I recommend this car, especially for the prices it asks.

Which engines do I recommend? For gasoline, any power variant of the 1.6 VTi, but the most balanced one remains the 1.6 HDi with either 100 or 115 horsepower.