114 whichcar.com.au/wheels
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Playing the long game
The 3008 is more like an expanded hatch on stilts
compared to its hugely commodious rival the Tiguan, but
even though Germany comes up trumps for boot space
when all seats are deployed, the Peugeot’s unique fold-flatfront passenger backrest is an example of the clever
engineering found throughout, and opens up an
enormous loading area for long items like surfboards or
ladders. Business in the front, Bunnings in the back.Style and substance arrives from the French quarter
Grande designs
THE
WORKS
Few interiors on
the market have this
much design f lair.
Fewer still have
the supporting
functionalityAS A YOUNG car nerd growing up in the ’90s,
Sydney was a pretty good place to call home.
Back then the harbour city still had its own
motor show and my old man made a point of
taking me every year. I was almost 11 years
old when we visited in 1997, and my tiny
mind was blown by the Peugeot 306 GTI 6- a sporty hatchback with an outrageously
exotic (for the time) six-speed manual
gearbox – and I’ve been an undercover
Francophile ever since.
Yet more than two decades later I still
haven’t owned a French car. Gallic hot
hatches continue to represent my go-fast
interests, but with a nine-month-old baby
in the house, a firmly sprung five-door with
bucket seats wasn’t the most obvious choice
in family transport terms.
And so it is that my first French fling –
albeit a temporary one – is with a Peugeot
- A far cry from the 306 of my childhood
it may be, but a car I’m no less excited to
park on my driveway.
It was at the Paris motor show almost
two decades after the 306 first broadened
my horizons that this charming Pug of
an altogether different genre reset my
preconceptions about what a mid-size SUV
could be. Here was a practical tool with
likably thoughtful functionality that also
modelled one of the most interesting and
detailed interior executions of any new car
on sale.
I still had the academically brilliant yet
austere second-gen Volkswagen Tiguan fresh
in my mind at the 3008’s debut, and the Pug
felt like a shot of adrenaline for the segment
even on first encounter. It went on to impress
the judges at Wheels Car of the Year toward
the end of 2017, and a similar car to my new
long-termer fared well in a comparison test
shortly afterwards (Wheels Yearbook, 2017).
And so it falls to me to explore the
ownership experience over the next few
months, something first impressions suggest
will be an enjoyable thing to do. Our 3008 is a
top-spec petrol-powered GT-Line that sits just
below the range-topping GT diesel. Its 1.6-
litre four-cylinder turbo produces 121kW and
240Nm and pairs with an excellent Toyota-
sourced six-speed automatic, just like all
other 3008s.
At $44,990 it isn’t exactly cheap for a
front-drive-only model. That retail price
rises to $49,680 as tested with the addition
of metallic paint at $690, and quilted leather
trim with electric driver’s seat adjustment
and a massage function for $4000. But
the GT-Line does boast a feature-packed
equipment list including keyless entry and
start, LED lighting with cornering function,
adaptive cruise control with AEB and other
active safety systems, an electric tailgate with
gesture control, 3D navigation, digital radio
and plenty more besides. If I were buying, I’d
go without the cowhide covers and keep the
lovely grey denim upholstery that’s fitted as
standard to match the textural dashboard
and door trim inserts.
Delving into the pros and cons of its drive
experience will come after a little more time
to evaluate, though I’ve already gelled with
the quickness of its steering and the feel of
its tiny tiller that’s squared off at the top and
bottom. Peugeot’s controversial head-up
digital instrument display really works for
me here, and adds to the 3008’s long list of
charismatic points of difference.
That said, these first few weeks of getting
to know one another haven’t been entirely
champagne and croissants. It’s safe to say
I will never again use the car’s Sport mode
because of its laughably bad synthesised
engine note. The Bluetooth phone
connectivity struggles with the transition
from handset to car when
getting into the 3008 while
on a call, and there’s a slight
amount of play in the driver’s
seat base that I can feel as a
rocking motion when driving
over speedbumps. But none
of this has taken too much
of the shine off my growing
affection for DVI-87Q. It will
be interesting to see how my
highly anticipated French
companion acquits itself over
the months to come.
RYAN LEWIS