- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.6T, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
121kW, 240Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 7L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
5 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2016)
2017 Peugeot 3008 GT-Line long-term review, report one: introduction
It has been more than a month since we took delivery of our Peugeot 3008 long-termer. Our GT-Line petrol has racked up close to 4000km since new and so far, it hasn’t missed a beat.
It has been our family car to take the kids to school and back and has been doing the grocery runs and pretty much whatever else you can imagine of an SUV this size.
Usually, when we have a car for an extended period of time we begin to find little faults with it and things that annoy us. In the 3008’s case, the only thing that has somewhat gone wrong is the fragrance diffuser in the glovebox seems to have dislodged itself of its own accord and we have had some difficulty fitting it back in and having it stay there.
Other than that, we have actually come to like the French SUV more than when we first got behind the wheel. The highly modern but very sophisticated interior continues to delight and now that we’ve worked out how to use the fully digital instrument cluster to its maximum potential, we are rewarded with plenty of useful information in different scenarios.
To be fair, I got my old man behind the wheel to hear his thoughts as ultimately this car’s intended target was him and while he loves the car, the switchgear and the level of digitisation have caused him some confusion. At 73, he is capable of programming the navigation on his phone but so far he hasn’t been game enough to try that in the Peugeot.
There is also some hesitation with playing with the air conditioning controls as they are all controlled via the screen rather than traditional dials that most of us are used to.
From an everyday usability perspective, the 3008 has been a huge hit. It has a ton of room for its size and the boot is low and easy to load with boxes and other heavy items. We have two child seats permanently in the second row and whilst it’s a tight fit for an adult in between, it is possible. Which is more than we can say about the majority of cars in this class.
Aesthetically, the 3008 has turned a lot of heads. We have had a few questions about it from passers-by and having shown a fair few people the highlight, which for us in the interior. Most have been blown away when pricing is mentioned.
Almost all that have seen it expect the car to cost in the $60s, which for our $43,490 3008 is simply not the case. It also highlights the challenge Peugeot Australia faces in regards to getting potential customers into showrooms and not letting them be scared by its expected European pricing and maintenance costs.
As good looking as it is, both inside and out. The reason we picked the 3008 to try out and potentially eventually buy to replace a Subaru XV was due to its extreme levels of active safety for the price. The Peugeot has impressed us from day one in how it deals with driver inattentiveness, and its ability to always know what the speed limit is by reading signs (road works and all) has yet to get a single speed zone wrong.
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We have extensively tested the car’s ability to maintain its heading on the highway and we are confident in saying that if Peugeot wanted to, it could easily remove the time restriction for full hands-off driving and the car would be more than able to maintain its course on a long highway without any human intervention. Alas, it’s not at level two autonomy as the car company requires your hand on the steering wheel at all times.
The 1.6-litre turbocharged engine has proved more than adequate for the task, delivering a great deal of torque when needed without going over the top. With 121kW of power and 240Nm of torque, it doesn’t look like much on paper but behind the wheel, we feel the petrol engine is ideally suited to its task.
Ride comfort is smooth without being overly soft. It absorbs the bumps and potholes well but our 3008 is also riding on 18-inch wheels, which certainly affect its ability. Dynamically, it’s hard to fault the Peugeot for cornering finesse. It’s no sports SUV, but then again it doesn’t claim to be either.
Peugeot says the 3008 will use 7L of 95+ RON premium fuel per 100km for the combined city/highway cycle, though for us (keeping in mind this is a brand-new car that probably needs a few more km on it), we are closer to 8s now, given there is a greater mixture of suburban commuting over all else.
So far then, the Peugeot 3008 gets a big tick from us. It delivers the type of experience inside and out that we simply never expected from Peugeot. It is, for this writer at least, the best SUV in its class. It combines a level of interior refinement with European exterior styling and a vast array of active safety features that is unrivaled in its class.
What we need from Peugeot now is a five-year warranty and capped price servicing to give us that final bit of confidence to take the plunge and buy one. We suspect that – on the warranty side at least – you may be able to get the dealer to throw that in for a nominal cost, in which case you can confidently drive away in the best mainstream SUV that has ever come out of Europe.
2017 Peugeot 3008 GT-Line
- Date acquired: August 2017
- Price (As tested): $43,490 plus on-road costs
- Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol
- Power: 121kW at 6000rpm
- Torque: 240Nm at 1400rpm
- Transmission: Six-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
- Fuel consumption (claimed): 7.0L/100km
- Weight: 1371kg
- Seats: Five
- Boot capacity: 591 litres
- Country of origin: France
- Odometer reading at pick up: 775km
Click on the Photos tab for more images by Toby Leung.