Viewed in the twilight – with its superbly-designed headlights taking effect as the last of the daylight catches the sharp creases on its bonnet – the Peugeot 2008 makes for a wonderful sight.

I’m not in the habit of taking car pictures when the sun has disappeared below the horizon, but it’s got to be worth an exception when one of the vehicle’s most vivid features is its lights!

This compact SUV continues Peugeot’s aggressive yet appealing family styling, featuring an impressive chrome grille and the signature three-claw full LED headlights, with the vertical daytime running lights below.

The back end of the vehicle also features the futuristic rear lights, again boasting the distinctive claw effect.

Design-wise, there’s a lot going on, but in a good way. The grille has an imposing and stylish appearance, while the side of the vehicle features some daring angles.

On this GT version, you get some contrasting black roof, which helps the car look good.

In many respects, it’s a jacked-up SUV version of the 208, which is no bad thing as that’s also a nice machine and part of Peugeot’s recent revolution.

The 2008 enters a marketplace occupied by some hot opposition, including the Nissan Juke, so it needed to be up to scratch to compete - and it is!

The interior of the 2008 is arguably even more interesting than the exterior.

The dual-layered dashboard immediately draws the eye, while the cabin is crammed with interesting angles and features.

Piano key-style buttons are lined up below the touchscreen, which is pointed towards the driver.

A small steering wheel lends the car a further sporty feel, while the general high quality of materials within the cabin makes it feel expensive.

Space-wise, there’s loads of room up front, while there’s also lots of knee and head room in the back. Two adults could sit in the back pretty comfortably on a long journey, and even three at a push – although it’d be a bit cosy.

The view from the rear side windows is a bit restricted owing to the angles of the cool exterior design, but it’s a reasonable trade off.

With 434 litres of space, the boot offers plenty of room and benefits from the lack of a load lip, meaning things can slide in and out quite easily.

Behind the wheel, the 2008 is pretty easy to live with.

There’s a choice of petrol, diesel or electric engines, with this 1.5-litre diesel version providing a nice balance between performance and economy.

You have to work it fairly hard it get it from 0-62mph in under 11 seconds and the accompanying noise isn’t too easy on the ear.

However, you get your reward in economy, with the car having an official combined fuel consumption figure of over 70mpg.

Despite being an SUV, there’s no four-wheel-drive version available, although you can get it with ‘grip control’ - with settings for snow or sand to control the traction when the going gets tough.

The gear change on this manual version was a bit notchy, but something you could live with,

On a twisty road, the car’s handling is trustworthy and competent, without necessarily providing any driving thrills.

There’s a fair bit of body lean when cornering briskly and it can feel rather floaty over road imperfections, although grip levels feel good.

On motorways, the car feels very quiet and composed, meaning it’s a relaxing companion for long-distance journeys. On my family-of-five’s recent trip to Clumber Park, in Nottinghamshire, (pre-lockdown incidentally), there were no complaints about comfort levels.

In conclusion, Peugeot is on a roll right now and this vehicle looks set to continue that trend. Even in a crowded market, it’s hard to think of a small SUV that ticks as many of the right boxes as this one.

Peugeot 2008 GT Line Blue HDI 100

PRICE: £22,895 on the road

ENGINE: 1.5-litre diesel

TRANSMISSION: Manual, front wheel drive

TOP SPEED: 113mph

ACCELERATION: 0-62mph in 10.6 seconds

EMISSIONS: 94g/km

ECONOMY: 70.6mpg combined