SOMETIMES it takes a while to get a car style that seems just right. A bit like Goldilocks and her porridge, a pendulum swings from so-so to wild and finally finds its medium perfection. Medium, of course, can be just dull, but that’s not the case to my view of the latest Peugeot 3008.
BY BRIAN BYRNE
It’s the third generation of a car that really started in 2009 as a stretched 308 hatchback but caught the incoming crest of the compact crossover-SUV trend and rip-surfed on what was eventually to become a big party wave.
The relatively soft styling didn’t get in the way of numerous awards, including the then Semperit Irish Car of the Year 2010.
When the second generation came in 2017, it repeated the feat as the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2018. This one arrived here last July.
The latest style has pulled back from the quite aggressive refresh of 2021, and in the process has brought the model to a more elegant space especially in the very coherent front-end treatment.
Any SUV boxiness has also disappeared with the advent of a distinctly coupe shaping with an almost Kamm-back design originally designed in the 1930s to reduce drag.
The overall visual result is of a more compact car than its predecessor, although it is actually longer and wider.
Inside, the 3008 is an edgy place to be, with angular lines and sharp corners to the dashboard and instrumentation elements.
There’s also a fairly unique style to the centre console, which takes a bit of getting used to and is a bit of a stretch to get to some of the buttons and also required the transmission selector to be moved to the dashboard.
The infotainment and driving information screens are merged into one wide high-mounted unit, the latter viewed above the compact steering wheel in Peugeot’s now familiar i-Cockpit mode.
All of which offers a sense of drama and bridge-of-the-starship feeling.
A line of digital buttons below the centre ventilator are perfectly placed and well-marked to access some key operations including phone, music and climate.
Radio volume is a nice manual rolling knob.
You don’t get Peugeots without getting comfort and the latest 3008 is no exception.
The seating is good, front and rear, with the headroom for those in the back not suffering in any way because the coupe slope starts behind them.
On the other hand, that same styling element means the driver’s rear view is in practice reduced to virtually a slit of back window.
Fortunately, for reversing, the camera system is excellent. A similar boot capacity to the previous car is adequate.
The latest 3008 is available with plug-in petrol-hybrid and full electric powertrains, and my review car was the battery-electric model.
Like all such, the drive was smooth and quiet, with road and wind noise also kept to a minimum.
As there’s no gearing, even the silky shifts of a good automatic are absent.
The 2.2-tonne weight is not inconsiderable, but the car is still capable of a sub-9s 0-100km/h thanks to a 210hp output.
A claimed 527km range is in the real world only likely in city driving in mild weather, and in Irish driving conditions something between 320km-430km is a more likely scenario.
Still, a typical family driving year could save beyond €1,100 in fuel-energy costs, which is not to be discounted.
No less than the compact SUV having expanded to be the largest segment in our market, there’s a similarly extended number of electric versions surfing this particular party wave, even from within Peugeot’s own familial Stellantis Group.
Evaluate your needs carefully before taking the electric plunge, but for most people who have already, it is working. Sometimes better than they even expected.
