Motoring-Malaysia: Test Drive: Facelifted Peugeot 3008 SUV

Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Test Drive: Facelifted Peugeot 3008 SUV

I got my hands on a facelifted Peugeot 3008 SUV recently. This car, was a car that in my opinion truly needed a facelift. When it first came out back in 2009 I have to say that it was one ugly looking crossover vehicle. It was the automotive equivalent of a hippopotamus to me. But that being said, it was successful for Peugeot and won some awards for them too. They sold over 500,000 units of the crossover that really combines a large hatchback, a mini MPV and a SUV together.

But now things are a little better. In 2014 Peugeot facelifted the 3008. It gets a new front end which now sports the current Peugeot family looks and looks more like the 508, 5008 and the new 308. The front grille is no longer an extremely large smiley grille. There are new headlights that have LED daytime running lights up front and a new LED rear light cluster too. The facelifted 3008 looks a little more sleeker and is definitely more pleasing to look at in my eyes. It still is a little dumpy looking as it has to pull out from its bag of tricks interior space, SUV height and other practical needs yet still look decent. So it does have some awkwardness if you look at it at some angles. But this facelifted 3008 is so much better than before. Less opinion dividing than the previous version. So in terms of looks, I could live with this facelifted 3008 for a while.

As for the interior, you still get the same black interior as before. But you do get tons of equipment. Peugeot Malaysia has specced up the car pretty well in that you get a proper info-tainment system with navigation (USB, Bluetooth etc), a reverse camera, park sensors and pretty decent sound too. The screen for the system can show you a combination of the nav map with the radio settings or with a compass or one of the other. Its quite nice to look at. There is a heads-up display for the speedometer readout so that you don't have to look down at the meter cluster to check how fast you're going. There is also a full length panoramic roof with a cover that allows light into the cabin or not.

The quality of the interior is a mix of soft touch plastics, leather and hard plastics. Build quality, while looks decent on the surface there are some trimming that could have had better fitting than what was on the car. Another minor quirk about the 3008 is that all the radio and trip computer controls are located on stalks behind the steering wheel. You may have to fumble around a bit before you are used to the location of the stalks.

Of course, the most major quirk of this French crossover is the fact that Peugeot had decided not to change the basic architecture of the car when they made it in right hand drive form. You get the same thing in all of its cars from the 208, 308, 408, 508, 5008 and this 3008 sold here. The glovebox is tiny as half of it is occupied by the fuse box which is maintained during the shift from left to right hand drive. So was the bonnet lever which is located on the passenger side also. The armrest box is large and deep, but again the orientation is meant for left hand drive cars as it opens up to the driver and not away from the driver. More practical for the passenger instead of the driver. The cupholders up front are for cups. You can put 500ml mineral water bottles but they are smallish in size. No large tumblers here. You need to use the large door pockets for that. But there is a nice cubby hole that fits my cell phone nicely in the middle of the dashboard. So its a hit and miss in the storage department.

Overall space in the 3008 is quite like the 308 hatchback of which it is closely related to. The car does not share the same wheelbase, but neither is it that much of a difference – 2613mm or 3mm up from the 308. So rear legroom is similar to the smaller looking 308. It only enjoys lots of headroom, width and a more practical boot – which has a split tailgate and the option of a three position boot floor area (you can arrange the floor board to sit high so that it acts as a cover for a hidden compartment or as low as possible to make the most of the space). Oh, it basically does the normal 5 seater family crossover thing well. No seven seats here though.

Driving the 3008 SUV

The thing about the Peugeot 3008 is that it actually shares the 1.6liter turbocharged engine with a whole lot of other Peugeots sold here. We've seen the engine in the RCZ, the 508, the 5008, the 408 and the 308 to name a lot. Or a few. It makes things easy for Peugeot to produce and allows a smaller spare parts inventory for them. The only different is the state of tune for the engines. This 3008 comes with 165ps and 240Nm torque. Some get less – 156ps and some get 200ps in different states of tune. And here in Malaysia the 3008 comes with a practical 6 speed torque convertor gearbox with adaptive learning, sport mode and a 'manual tiptronic mode for those who want some extra interaction.

Now the performance of this approximately 1500kg crossover vehicle is quite good. Surprising in fact. It does 0-100kmh in a tried and tested 9.5seconds. Maximum speed is stated to be 202kmh and I managed to hit over 180kmh in it on some stretches of road. But at speeds above 150kmh on Malaysian roads, the 3008 felt a little floaty and required some concentration. Those that follow my writing would know that one criteria I have about road testing is that I always measure a car's capability on how fast it allows me to cruise in a relaxed manner that would require normal concentration instead of the extra focus for overly spirited driving . This crossover allows me to do so up to 150kmh easily. Which is actually a good figure if you factor our road conditions and traffic. And ride quality is very good as well as these speeds. Also bear in mind that it is a tall crossover and not a sporty hatchback.

But the great thing about this car is that it does feel sporty. It may actually ride stiffer and harsher on rough surfaces than what most would expect for a Peugeot or a family crossover, but this actually allows a tall SUV-like car to be hustled around corners pretty well. The steering is actually feelsome, precise and accurate. The 3008 grips well on sweeping corners and brakes well for something of its size. It grows on you the more you drive it and is surprisngly entertaining in the corners. Like its looks, the 3008 needs some time to warm up to you. But that being said, if you drive a Japanese or Korean crossover like you drive this 3008, you may end up in a ditch. The Japanese and Korean cars are softer and would not even see which way the 3008 came from and where it has gone. As a crossover, the 3008 handles and drives well for something tall and large.

Of course, there are some would think why on earth would an crossover vehicle need to be this agile and fast. Why the heck not? I suppose if you wanted a sporty crossover this would actually make sense. There is also a high level of refinement whilst driving it. There is a slight low speed drone from the 6 speed automatic but even at high speeds, wind noise and road noise it pretty much in check for a car of this price (and type). This is the car for those who have given up chasing their dreams of buying a sports car but still want something engaging to drive.

If you want a human equivalent of the abilities of the 3008 then I have to say that it is like the Hong Kong superstar Sammo Hung. He may be a little chubby, a little round, but boy, he really can kung-fu.