Quirky is the most overused word when it comes to French cars.
So perhaps the highest compliment I can pay the Peugeot 3008 Active is how conventional it is.
Mid-size SUVs have become the new family cars, combining space, practicality, style and a commanding view of the road into one package. The likes of the Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail comfortably outsell the traditional sedan.
Which is why the 3008 is such an important model for Peugeot as it tries to rebuild its image and sales in Australia. Being too quirky simply wouldn’t work in appealing to the broad audience of SUV buyers.
Having said all that, the 3008 does have some unique charms that make it stand out in the SUV crowd. For starters the design is a little bolder than others, with a clear focus on looking more at home in the city than the country with a smoother, more elegant shape rather pretending to be an off-roader with a boxy, go-anywhere appearance.
Inside though it’s a practical five-seat SUV that does much the same job as a CX-5 or RAV4, in terms of moving up to five-people in comfort.
Peugeot Australia deliberately skipped the circa-$30k entry-level model in an acknowledgment that it simply can’t compete on value with the Japanese and Koreans.
We’re testing the most affordable model in the range, the 3008 Active, which is priced from $37,490 plus on-road costs. That’s a $500 increase since it first went on sale in 2017, but it has added autonomous emergency braking to its standard equipment list.
However, until December 21 Peugeot is offering the Active for $37,990 drive-away which shifts the value equation and makes it more appealing.
5 Door Hatchback, 5 Seat, 1.6 Litre, P/ULP, Sports Automatic.
It may be the first model in the 3008 range but the Active isn’t a stripped-out base-level offering. Standard gear includes 17-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights and taillights and auto wipers. Inside there’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, an 8.0-inch infotainment screen, navigation, digital radio, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, wireless smartphone charging and dual-zone climate control.
Safety is good too, for the price, with the aforementioned AEB supported by forward collision alert, driver attention alert, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.
Peugeot offers a five-year capped price servicing scheme. Over the first three-years/60,000km it adds up to more than $1500 to maintain it, which is relatively pricey in comparison to some of its direct competition but not out of the ball park.
While French cars don’t enjoy the same reputation of those from neighbouring Germany, the 3008 feels solid and bolted together well. Peugeot Australia has acknowledged this perception and introduced a five-year warranty for all new models for added peace-of-mind. But with so many brand’s moving to that period it doesn’t have the same impact it would have 18 months ago.
The 3008 is based on the French firm’s EMP2 underpinnings that has been developed with a focus on keeping weight down. So the 3008 Active tips the scales at 1371kg which is lighter than some of its rivals by more than 200kg.
It has a two-fold effect on the performance of the 3008, firstly improving the way it handles and secondly helping fuel economy. The 3008 may be a spacious SUV but it doesn’t feel big or heavy, which is something that makes it stick its head above the pack.
The i-Cockpit cabin concept is perhaps the quirkiest element of the 3008. Plenty of other brands offer a digital instrument panel but the i-Cockpit also incorporates the company’s philosophy of a small diameter steering wheel along with high-set display.
It’s a love-it-or-hate-it setup because it’s dependent on the prefered position of the driver if they can see everything properly. For this reviewer the small wheel is nice but it has to be set lower than ideal in order to see all the information on the instrument screen. Others, though, have no trouble finding an ideal position, so it really does come down to personal preference whether you think i-Cockpit is a great - or stupid - setup.
Aside from the i-Cockpit's particulars, the rest of the 3008 is comfortable for everyone. The five seats offer good support and are easy to spend long stints in. Even though the Active misses out on leather trim, the grey and black cloth materials used look and feel nice.
The design and quality of the cabin is excellent, with a sense of flair and a level of detail that pushes the 3008 (even in Active trim) towards luxury car territory. Big elements, such as the way the dashboard sweeps around the entire cabin, to the small touches, like the metallic-effect switches, means the 3008 has a premium and comfortable interior.
With 220mm of ground clearance the 3008 has a proper SUV stance on the road but isn’t too big to climb in and out of.
The boot in the 3008 measures 591-litres with all seats in place, but if you need to take a bigger load you can drop the back seats to liberate 1670-litres of room.
Motivation comes from a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine generating 121kW of power and 240Nm of torque. It’s paired to a six-speed automatic transmission and sends its power to the road via the front-wheels.
While its struggles slightly under hard acceleration, most of the time the little engine punches above its size. It feels particularly strong on the move, with a mid-range surge that belies its small capacity.
The transmission needs refinement, though. Several times during our testing the 3008 would roll back on take-off, as if there was a noticeable pause before the gearbox engaged properly.
The combination of a small capacity engine and relatively light vehicle helps the 3008 consume only 7.0-litres per 100km.
As mentioned earlier the 3008 is an enjoyable small SUV to drive thanks to the lightweight chassis and peppy engine.
It feels agile and nimble in the city and composed and controlled on the open road. Not everyone will like the small steering wheel but it does help that feeling of responsiveness.
The other factor that makes the 3008 a nice SUV to drive is the ride. Peugeot has found the sweet spot between making the suspension soft and comfortable to soak up the bumps while also retaining good body control so it doesn’t roll too much when cornering.
It’s an impressive feat and makes the 3008 one our favourite SUVs to drive.
The 3008 Active is an ordinary SUV, in the sense that it casts off the quirky tag that malignes French models by doing all the normal things you expect - and that its Japanese and Korean rivals do well. It’s spacious, economical and drives with polish, but on top of that it has a splash of French flair that actually makes it extraordinary.