What_Car_UK_-_August_2020

Total

£21,064

0 5000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

£2295

£964

£0

£210 0 £0

£1470

£16,655 £839£1470

Total

£19,528

Value

£

0 year 1 year 2 years 3 years

£14,683

£13,336

Peugeote-208

Vauxhall Corsa-e

£14,79 9

70 August 2020 whatcar.com

COMPARISON

split-foldingrearseatbacks,

althoughthesedon’tlie

completelyflatwhendropped.

BUYINGANDOWNING

Costs,equipment,reliability,

safetyandsecurity

There’slittletoseparateourduo

onprice,withthee-208being£345

cheapertobuyoutright.Andwith

bothcarsbeinginrelativelyhigh

demand,discountsareminimal,

although,asisthecasewithany

electriccarcostinglessthan

£50,000,you’llbeeligiblefora

£3000governmentgrant.

Thee-208willcostabitmoreto

insureandservice,butthisismore

thanoffsetbysignificantlyslower

depreciation.Theupshotisthat,

overthreeyears,thee-208will

costprivatecashbuyersaround

£1500lesstoown.

IfyougodownthePCPfinance

routeinstead,there’snothingin

it;putdowna£3000depositon

athree-yearterm(witha10,000-

mileannuallimit)andyou’llbe

paying£442amonthforeithercar.

Inrange-toppingtrimsas

tested,bothcarsaregenerously

equipped;climatecontrol,heated

frontseats,automaticlightsand

wipers,keylessentry/start,17in

alloywheelsandcruisecontrol

areallstandard,thelatterbeing

adaptiveinthee-208.Bothcars

alsocomewiththeabilitytorapid

chargeatarateofupto100kW.

Frustratingly,100kWcharging

pointsarescarceintheUK,but

ifyoucanfindone,bothcarscan

bechargedfrom0-80%injust

30 minutes.Usingatypical7kW

wallboxathome,afullchargewill

takealengthier7hr30min.

Neithercarhasbeenspecifically

testedforsafetybyEuroNCAP,but

thecarsonwhichthey’rebased

bothachievedfourstarsoutof

five.Thatisn’tbrilliant;both

lostpointsfordoingarelatively

poorjobofprotectingfront

andrearseatoccupantsagainst

whiplash.Thankfully,bothcars

comewithautomaticemergency

braking,blindspotmonitoring

andlane-keepingassistance.

steering wheel blocks their

view of the high-set ‘3D’ digital

instrument panel. This isn’t a

problem in the Corsa-e, and its 2D

digital instruments are easier to

read at a glance.

In terms of visibility, neither car

is particularly impressive, with

their thick windscreen pillars

obscuring more of what you can

see through corners than those

of the Zoe, for example. And their

tapering roofl ines reduce the

amount you can see when looking

over your shoulder. Thankfully,

both cars come with front and

rear parking sensors and reversing

cameras to help with low-speed

manoeuvring, plus adaptive LED

headlights so you can see where

you’re going better at night.

SPACE AND PRACTICALITY

Front space, rear space,

seating  exibility, boot

The e-208 and Corsa-e may be

small, but even tall people will fi nd

plenty of space in the front. Not

only is there plenty of head room,

but leg room is also better than

you get in the Mini Electric and

Zoe, and both interiors are wide

enough to avoid any banging of

elbows with your neighbour.

This, however, contrasts sharply

with space in the back. Both cars

have small rear door apertures, so

climbing in or out is awkward, and

6ft-plus occupants will fi nd their

knees pressing against the seat

in front – more of an issue in the

e-208, because its front seats have

hard backs, whereas the Corsa-e’s

are soft. Rear head room is very

similar in both, being suffi cient

for anyone up to 6ft tall. However,

fi tting three across the back would

be a real squeeze in either car.

Perhaps surprisingly, neither

car is compromised on boot space

compared with the regular petrol

and diesel versions, even though

both have to accommodate hefty

batteries. Five carry-on suitcases

will fi t in each car’s boot – one

less than the Zoe can accept but

two more than the Mini Electric.

Both cars also feature 60/40

Boots’ suitcase-carrying capacities are measured with a 560x350x230mm Antler suitcase, with the rear seatbacks in place and up to the parcel shelf

WHATTHEYWILLCOST

VauxhallCorsa-e

Listprice£30,310*

TargetPrice£29,991*

Peugeote-208

Listprice£29,965*

TargetPrice£29,482*

RESALEVALUEBYYEAR

THREE-YEAR COST

 Depreciation  Insurance  Servicing  Road tax

 Electricity (test range)

Peugeote-208VauxhallCorsa-e

PCPFINANCECOSTS

COMPANYCARTAX

CONTRACTHIRE

Three-yearterm,£3000customerdeposit,10,000milesperyear

Monthlycost £442 £442

Manufacturer

depositcontribution na na

Optionalnalpayment £14,813 £13,532

RepresentativeAPR 5.0% 4.79%

Excessmileagecharge 4.2ppermile 9.0ppermile

Otherfees na na

For 40% tax payers, until April 2021, 2022, 2023

Monthly cost £0, £10, £20 £0, £10, £20

Three-year term, three-month deposit, 10,000 miles per year

Monthly cost £359 £363

Allpricescorrectat timeof testing

PEUGEOT E-208

Boot is a decent size and capacity is virtually identical to Corsa-e’s. Rear space is adequate in both, although the

door apertures are relatively small, so getting in and out can be awkward. Driving position won’t suit everyone

Boot311-1106litres

Suitcases 5

900mm

965mm

625mm 1040mm

1310mm 1355mm

955-1015mm

670-1365mm

535-750mm

* Not including £3000 government grant