THE Peugeot e-208 and 2008 have won awards at the 2021 DieselCar and EcoCar Top 50 New Car Awards, winning the Best Electric Supermini and Best Compact SUV respectively. The models have been praised for their range, handling, efficient powertrains, and design.
Not only was the Peugeot e-208 the recipient of the Best Electric Supermini at this year’s awards, it also placed fourth overall in the Top 50 models on sale for 2021. Praised for its innovative interior design as well as generous suite of driver aids, including its infotainment system and large boot, the full electric e-208’s impressive 217-mile range was also a key factor in its win.
Featuring a 50kWh battery connected to a 100kW (136hp) electric motor, the Peugeot e-208 supports up to 100kW rapid charging with a 0 to 80 per cent charge taking just 30 minutes.
Similarly, the Peugeot 2008’s modern look was an appealing factor in its category win, this time for the Best Compact SUV. The model’s strong design with upright grille and distinctive ‘tooth’ design LED daytime running lights was just one of elements that received a string of positive comments from DieselCar and EcoCar, alongside highlighting the 2008’s neat handling, efficient petrol, diesel or electric powertrain options and the Digital Instrument Panel as key selling points.
DieselCar and Eco Car recognised both the new Peugeot 3008 and 5008 as being vehicles of note in its Top 50 models on sale this year. A past Top 50 winner, the Peugeot 3008 was again praised for its choice of plug-in hyrbrid powertrains, offering a choice of 225hp two-wheel drive or 300hp four-wheel drive versions, both providing strong on-road performance and sharp handling.
The new Peugeot 5008’s recent facelift was the centre of its praise, with its looks and lines described as striking. Featuring a modular seven-seat interior as standard, its excellent headroom in all seats was a point of high value. Its generous 702-litre boot (with row three seats stowed) which expands to a huge 1,940 litres when rows two and three are folded flat, was also particularly favoured.
The DieselCar and EcoCar magazine Top 50 is a listing of the greatest and most capable cars on sale in the UK this year. The winners are selected using a meticulous and all-inclusive scoring system to ensure that the front-runners are truly the best cars in each category. Full details of the awards will be featured in the DieselCar and EcoCar July 2021 issue, on stands now.
Verstappen take thrilling race
RED Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (right) extended his F1 championship lead over arch-rival Lewis Hamilton with a thrilling French Grand Prix victory that saw the Dutchman give up the race lead midway through the race to adopt a risky two-stop strategy.
But after erasing a 16-second gap to Hamilton he closed in and powered past the Mercedes driver on the penultimate lap of the race to secure the lead and take his 13th career win.
At the start, Verstappen made a good getaway to lead Hamilton but on turn two he slid wide, allowing Hamilton to steal the lead. Over the opening laps the Mercedes No.1 tried to build a gap and by lap nine he was almost two seconds clear, albeit complaining that his front tyres were beginning to suffer. Valtteri Bottas was just a second behind Verstappen with Pérez finding it hard to stay with the top three, 4.4s behind Bottas.
Bottas was the first of the pace-setters to pit at the end of lap 17, taking on hard tyres. On the next lap a lightning fast stop for Verstappen also put him on hard tyres. Hamilton followed suit, gifting Pérez, who had not yet stopped, the race lead. Hamilton re-joined in third after a superlative lap from Verstappen and a big push in turn one saw him lead.
Pérez pitted at the end of lap 24, re-joining 16 seconds behind Bottas in fourth. The pace at the front now ramped up spectacularly as Hamilton tried to pressure race leader Verstappen. Then Max, Lewis and Valtteri were all on the radio saying that their tyres would not last the pace.
Red Bull switched Verstappen to the two-stop strategy on lap 32 when he pitted for medium tyres. He emerged in P4 behind Pérez but quickly began to close on those ahead and he was soon past his team-mate and hunting down Bottas. By lap 44 he was within DRS range of Valtteri and as they went into the chicane on the Mistral straight, Bottas went slightly wide, Verstappen was through into second followed soon by Perez.
With just two laps remaining Verstappen got into DRS range of Hamilton and chose the chicane to make his move. Verstappen got the perfect exit and with the aid of DRS he roared past Hamilton to claim the race lead and the victory. Max also collected the point for fastest lap thanks to his time of 1:36.4040, set just after he took on the new medium tyres.
Behind the top three finishers, Bottas was fourth ahead of hard-charging Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo was sixth ahead of Pierre Gasly while Alpine’s Fernando Alonso finished in eighth. Sebastian Vettel headed team-mate Lance Stroll, finishing ninth and tenth respectively fpr Aston Martin.
Verstappen’s win and fastest lap mean he is now on 131 points, 12 ahead of Hamilton, while in the Constructors’ Championship Red Bull Racing now has 215 points, 37 ahead of Mercedes.
Sleepy drivers need to wake up
FOUR million drivers have momentarily fallen asleep behind the wheel, reveals shocking new research by IAM RoadSmart, the largest independent road safety charity.
The newly published results will set alarm bells ringing amongst road safety experts as even the briefest lapse in concentration when driving can have devastating consequences. Remember, at 70mph a car travels over 100 feet every second.
The study paints a worrying picture of fatigue among motorists as one in ten surveyed admitted to momentarily closing their eyes because they were so tired. Furthermore, more than half of drivers studied also said they were very concerned about fatigue when driving long distances. With more than 40 million licence holders registered, this equates to over 20 million motorists.
Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Research, said: “Fatigue behind the wheel is a profoundly serious problem, perhaps more concerning than previously thought. “It is shocking to think a potential four million drivers have closed their eyes behind the wheel because they were so tired, even if it was just for a short time. The potential carnage that could result from even one accident doesn’t bear thinking about.”
Other results from the research also highlighted that millions of drivers have succumbed to tiredness when driving, with one in ten admitting they had hit the rumble strip.
