The Peugeot 3008 is now better than ever, and in fact is up there with the best cars in its class. That’s thanks to its top-notch interior, up-to-date in-car tech, refined drive and competitive engine range.
It’s also practical and good to drive, if not quite as good as the SEAT Ateca, our favourite compact SUV. It’s comfortable too, with a well-judged ride that’s firm enough to stop it feeling bouncy but soft enough to glide over bumps in the road.
For many, the Peugeot 3008 will offer everything they need: it’s economical, practical and upmarket and all at a reasonable price. If you’re after a small SUV or crossover, the Peugeot should definitely be on your shortlist.
While the new Peugeot 3008 has a somewhat divisive design, with the upright grille and chunky bodywork giving it a unique look, it’s certainly a big step forward from the previous model. The old car was an MPV-style crossover, where this new car is a genuine SUV.
The detailed headlight and taillight designs are a stand-out feature, and the steep windscreen, raised ride height and hidden C-pillar all add to the new look. Some will love the styling, but we prefer the sharp-suited SEAT Ateca on the outside.
It’s a different story inside, with the 3008 getting a totally new - and superb - interior. It wraps around the driver from the centre console around to the door and, of course, incorporates Peugeot’s latest infotainment system on an 8-inch touchscreen. The small steering wheel and high-set instrument cluster we’ve already seen in the rest of the French brand’s range also appear.
The difference here, though, is that the 3008 gets Peugeot’s latest i-Cockpit display, which incorporates a 12.3-inch screen behind the wheel. It’s similar to Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, and means you can change the layout of the dials, decide what is displayed and how or, most usefully, show sat-nav directions directly in front of you.
It’s an excellent system, and unlike on many other Peugeot models, it’s easy to see over the top of the steering wheel. In fact there’s not much that Peugeot has done wrong with the interior of the 3008, as it’s one of the best-looking in its class too. The air-con controls are on the touchscreen display, which makes them hard to use on the move, and the materials lower down in the cabin are of lower quality, but those are minor setbacks.
The materials you actually touch are great quality and the wrap-around design with metal accents gives it a really upmarket feel overall. It doesn’t feel as spacious as a Nissan Qashqai or SEAT Ateca, but it’s much more stylish than either of those rivals.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
The 12.3-inch instrument display is standard on the 3008, plus an 8-inch touchscreen, auto emergency braking and lane keep assist safety tech. Apple CarPlay and DAB are fitted too.
The iCockpit system can be customised using buttons on the wheel, and is easily a match for similar systems from other manufacturers (such as Audi) - but here it’s not a costly option, it’s standard. The sat-nav display looks good and is easy to read, if a bit fiddly to set up.
Overall the in-car tech is very good, but we still don’t like the fact that all of the features are on the touchscreen. It’s so hard to use while on the move, making simple tasks like changing the temperature or fan speed a frustration.
The new Peugeot 3008 is great to drive, feeling smooth and refined on the road. It doesn’t let big potholes upset it too much, but also resists body roll in corners well.
Peugeot’s small steering wheel means the 3008 feels lively on twisty roads and the weighting is good but it’s lacking any feel and in sport mode the extra weighting adds to the numbness. There’s lots of grip, though, and overall the 3008 is fun to drive, if not hugely engaging. The same could, however, be said of many of its rivals.
The SEAT Ateca is better to drive, offering more feedback for the driver with its nicely-weighted controls. The six-speed manual gearbox in the 3008 is a decent one with a light shift action but the small button you need to hold to get it into reverse is a bit of a pain and shifting isn’t as smooth as in a SEAT Ateca.
• SEAT Ateca 1.4 petrol review
The EAT6 automatic gearbox is also a six-speed, and shifts fairly adroitly - but it does tend to hold on to revs more than we’d like, especially with a rattly diesel engine under the bonnet.
While there’s no four-wheel drive model, and the 3008 clearly isn’t meant to be a proper off-roader, some models come with Grip Control. This adds 16-inch Mud & Snow tyres and an intelligent traction control system that controls power to the front wheels in low-grip conditions. For most, this will simply make defeating a muddy hill a bit easier but it’s no match for a proper 4x4 system.
Engines
For now there are two petrol and two diesel engines in the Peugeot 3008 line-up. The range starts with the 1.2-litre three-cylinder PureTech 130 petrol, which produces 129bhp and 230Nm of torque. It’s available with 6-speed manual or automatic gearboxes.
It’s a great choice of engine, being quiet at low revs and sounding sweet as you get up to speed. There’s plenty of power, and 0-62mph takes 10.8 seconds with the manual gearbox. It’s economical enough to be a proper alternative to the diesel for those with short journeys in mind.
The 1.6-litre THP petrol is automatic-only and has 163bhp. That means it goes from 0-62mph in 8.9 seconds but it’s not as efficient at the smaller 1.2-litre unit.
A likely top-seller will be the 1.6-litre BlueHDi 120 diesel, which has 118bhp and 300Nm of torque. It’s got plenty of performance, going from 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds (11.6s with the automatic) and is quiet at idle, if a little rattly as you bring the revs up. There’s also a 99bhp version of this engine, but it’s no more economical.
Finally, there’s the 2.0-litre BlueHDi diesel, which comes in 148bhp and 179bhp forms, the former being manual only and the latter auto only. 0-62mph takes 9.6 seconds in the lower-powered version or 8.9 seconds for the top-spec unit.
While the Peugeot 3008 is still too new to feature in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, Peugeot as a brand finished in 13th place - beating the likes of Porsche, SEAT, BMW and Volvo.
That bodes well for the 3008, which feels well built from first impressions. It’s impossible to guess how reliable it will be in the long run, as it’s an all-new car, so we’ll have to wait for a future survey to find out.
Where the car has proved itself, however, it with its safety rating. As it’s all-new, the 3008 features a host of safety equipment and driver aids, including automatic emergency braking as standard. Extra kit includes blind spot detection, lane keep assist, driver attention alert and adaptive cruise control. Euro NCAP awarded the car five out of five stars in its full crash test.
In the adult occupant section, the car scored 86 per cent, with researchers complimenting the car on its protection for different-sized front-seat passengers, as well as getting maximum points in the side impact test.
For child occupants, the 3008 scored 85 per cent. Euro NCAP noted that head protection for children was good, and there’s clear indication about the status of the airbag to allow baby seats to be fitted.
Euro NCAP said that the front of the car had “predominantly good or adequate protection to the head of a struck pedestrian”, scoring 67 per cent in this category. Maximum points were scored for the pedestrian’s pelvis and legs, too.
Finally the safety assist category brought a 58 per cent score, with the researchers pointing out the car’s standard seatbelt reminder, traffic sign recognition and lane departure warning.
Warranty
The Peugeot 3008 gets a two-year unlimited mileage warranty from the factory, plus an extra year from he dealer for a total of three years. That matches the industry standard, which is mainly only beaten by Kia’s seven-year and Toyota and Hyundai’s five-year warranties.
The Peugeot 3008 is a five-seater only, with the normal five-door layout for any car in this class. There’s no 4x4 option, but some cars do get Grip Control which mimics the all-wheel drive system without taking a toll on economy. Just don’t mistake the 3008 for an off-roader.
Visibility isn’t bad, as the driving position is quite high, but like most cars in this class the rearwards view isn’t the best thanks to a small rear glass area. Cabin storage isn’t too bad, but for passengers it feels a bit more cramped inside than a SEAT Ateca or Nissan Qashqai.
Size
The Peugeot 3008 is just over 4.4m long and 1.8m wide, which is about the same as a SEAT Ateca - and both weigh around 1,300kg. It’s also able to tow up to 2,000kg (braked trailer) in 2.0-litre diesel form, although that shrinks to just 1,200kg in 1.2-litre petrol auto form. Pick your engine carefully if you’re planning to tow any trailers or caravans.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
Hop in the back and you’ll find that the 3008 actually has plenty of space, even if it doesn’t seem like it from the drivers’ seat. It’s slightly longer than a Qashqai, so there’s plenty of legroom in the back seats, and headroom shouldn’t be an issue for anyone but the tallest passengers.
It’s not the roomiest-feeling car, with the back seats seeming a bit dark thanks to small windows and tinted glass. The front seats are also surrounded by the dash and centre console in such a way that the car feels smaller than rivals - but it does mean it feels more upmarket in there, too.
Boot
The 3008’s 520-litre boot space dwarfs the 430-litre load area in the Nissan Qashqai, but it’s only 10 litres more than the 510-litre space in the SEAT Ateca. However in the 3008 the seats fold down flat, and there’s only a small loading lip, so getting longer items in the back is a bit easier.
Total load capacity is 1,482 litres - this shows the difference between the 3008 and the Qashqai’s internal packaging, as the Nissan opens out to a total of 1,585 litres.
The boot features a fully removable floor and a full-sized spare wheel, plus a handy storage net for keeping items steady in the back.
The most compelling choice in the engine range is the 1.6-litre BlueHDi diesel engine with 118bhp, which we’re told will be a big seller in the UK. It’s easy to see why, as the numbers stack up: 70.6mpg and 104g/km of CO2 don’t quite match the Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi’s 74.3mpg and 99g/km, but it’s not far off and the 3008 does have more power.
With the EAT6 automatic gearbox, those figures drop to 67.3mpg and 108g/km, so the manual makes more sense but the penalty for the auto version is minimal. The 99bhp 1.6-litre diesel manages the same 70.4mpg as the higher-powered version, so we’d avoid it and go for the 118bhp version instead.
The other two diesel engine choices are a 148bhp 2.0-litre unit, which returns 64.2mpg and 114g/km of CO2, or a 179bhp version of the same engine that returns 58.9mpg and 124g/km of CO2 thanks to its automatic gearbox.
Petrol options include the 1.2-litre 130 PureTech, which is a three-cylinder and manages 117g/km of CO2 and 55.4mpg, which isn’t bad. If you’re doing short trips, this is the engine to go for. The 1.6-litre THP petrol only manages 48.7mpg and 129g/km, the worst figures in the 3008 range.
Insurance Groups
Insuring the Peugeot 3008 will cost about the same as a rival Nissan Qashqai, with the cheapest model being the PureTech 130 in entry-level Active trim, which is in group 11. That changes depending on the trim you go for but in general the 1.2 will be the cheapest to insure.
The 1.6 petrol is in group 13, while the lower-powered 1.6 diesel is in group 12. Our choice of engine, the 118bhp 1.6 diesel, is in group 16, or 18 in GT Line trim. The 2.0-litre diesel engines sit between groups 21 and 24, depending on which spec you go for.
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