2022 Peugeot 3008 long-term test: report 1

The car Peugeot 3008 1.2 Puretech 130 Allure EAT8 Run by Mark Pearson, used cars editor

Why it’s here To find out if this practical and stylish SUV can still cut it in a highly competitive class

Needs to Prove it’s more than just a pretty face. It’ll need to dispatch commuting work and family life with flair, and cope with a wide variety of every day duties 

Mileage 5228 Price £30,360 Target price £28,379 Price as tested £31,085 Official economy 48mpg Test economy 32.8mpg Options fitted Ultimate red paint (£725)

5 February 2022 – Family man seeks stylish SUV for fun and adventure

Fashion, according to Coco Chanel, is whatever goes out of fashion, but the fashion for family SUVs seems to have no end date. It’s hardly surprising – here is a class of car that offers practicality, comfort and sensible running costs, often combined with decent driving manners and rugged off-roader looks.

I get to drive many of them, but it was a recent test of a Peugeot 3008 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that ignited the thought that this is very much the sort of car I’d like to have on my driveway. On the face of it, this 3008 was fashion piled upon fashion: not only are family SUVs on-trend – PHEVs are too.

A facelift last year has left the 3008 looking even more attractive, with its fetching sabre-toothed tiger running lights. The PHEV is also surprisingly quiet and, if regularly charged up and used predominantly for short journeys, potentially very economical. Technology costs a lot of money, though, and the plug-in hybrid capability makes for an expensive 3008.

Previous experience of the petrol-only model had taught me that this was almost as refined, decently economical and, most important of all, more affordable. On top of that, it also rides and handles more suavely than the PHEV because it’s not as heavy, and because there’s no bulky battery for it to accommodate, you also get a bigger boot.

So, with barely a moment of regret for my lost green option, I’ve gone for a purely petrol 1.2 Puretech 130, which means that under my attractive bonnet is a 128bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. Any doubts about something so small and seemingly lacking the full quota of cylinders being up to the job are soon forgotten: my 3008 is delightfully smooth and more than punchy enough.

It’s well equipped, too. All 3008s come with a DAB radio, climate control, power-folding door mirrors, automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers. But mine is in Allure Premium trim, and adds a lot more besides.

I’ve got attractive alloy wheels, sat-nav, a 12.3in configurable digital instrument panel, a 10.0in touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone mirroring and a rear-view camera with a 180-degree bird’s eye view. Safety tech includes automatic steering correction (in case I accidentally wander out of my lane), blind-spot monitoring, Smartbeam Assistance that dips the headlights automatically, and an SOS system that can alert the emergency services if the car is involved in an accident.

The only option I felt the need to add was the Ultimate Red paintwork, which cost £725 and raised the on-the-road price of my car from £30,360 to £31,085. That puts it somewhere roughly in the middle of the family SUV class with regard to price; it’s slightly more than you’d pay for the equivalent Seat Ateca or Skoda Karoq but less than you’d need for a similar Audi Q3 or Volvo XC40. 

First impressions are certainly favourable. The interior is stylish and modern, plus everything seems of a good quality, with soft-touch materials used in prominent places, while chrome highlights and stylish cloth inserts add a touch of flair.

The driving position is spot-on, too, at least for me. You see, the 3008 follows Peugeot’s i-Cockpit design philosophy of mounting the instruments high up on the dashboard. The idea is that you view them over the top of the steering wheel, rather than through it, and that allows a smaller, sportier wheel to be fitted. However, I know that this set-up leaves smaller folk who sit closer to the wheel struggling to see all the instruments in some Peugeots.

All in the name of fashion? Possibly, but I think Coco would have approved. In fact, I think she would have approved of the whole car. And I’m hoping that my next few months of association with this chic Peugeot might even help with my somewhat limited fashion sense.

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