… Peugeot 3008 1.6 HDi GT-Line …
I don’t know what the current crop of Peugeot designers are on, but whatever they are drinking, chewing, injecting or smoking, then it’s working. I don’t care what anyone else thinks, the new Peugeot 3008 is a smart looking motor. It’s even smarter inside. Perhaps too smart.
Once you get past the handsome exterior and plonk your buttocks inside you’ll see what I mean about ‘smartness’. When you first fire it up, you’ll think you’re still suffering the after-effects of a weekend on the bevvy. That’s because the speedometer needle spins clockwise, but the rev counter needle goes anti-clockwise. It’s a very minor thing but because it is so unusual, it is immediately noticeable.
And there’s more. If you get too close to the car in front, the speedo dial changes colour to orange and flashes up a warning text. This new digital dashboard display has many other functions, far too many to list, but lots to play with if you actually buy a 3008.
And there are many reasons to do so, especially if you have a family. The 3008 is not only digitally enhanced and technically advanced, it is also a supremely practical five seater with plenty of room for human accessories like, heads, legs and shoulders. Just one quibble, the driver’s seat squab was just a tad too short for the longer-legged variety of human.
As for the steering wheel, that’s up to the buyer. It is much smaller than the average car steering wheel. At 351mm in diameter it is some 20mm less than a typical ‘standard’ wheel which doesn’t sound much, but it makes a noticeable difference. On first acquaintance it feels really nice. However on longer runs it was noticeable that my shoulders were angled ever so slightly inwards. I didn’t like that so much, but maybe I could get used to it.
The rest of the car is so nice to drive that it would be good to have the car for longer just to see if the small steering wheel became more acceptable or annoying!
The 3008 comes with a choice of 1.2, 1.6 and 2 litre petrol and diesel engines and the test car might be considered a mid-range choice with the 1.6 litre diesel although it came in GT-Line trim which meant it looked a little bit fancier and came on 18 inch rims. Not my own personal choice.
With a modest 118 bhp on tap, it’s never going to be attractive to the hot-hatch day trippers to Knockhill, but it drives well and handles well so no complaints there.
On a return trip to Arbroath I was getting over 50 mpg to the gallon over mixed roads which is pretty good for that size of car.
As well as the rims, the GT Line spec added self-levelling LED headlights, various interior and exterior styling upgrades and a smartphone charger but it also benefitted from a few additional extras. The Visio Park 2 system comprises a 360-degree camera and automated parking for an extra £450 which I thought pretty good, and an electrically operated tailgate for another £750. The opening glass sunroof was another 990 quid option.
I also liked the heated front seats and Advanced Grip Control which worked ell even on wet grass and it had a detachable towbar (Towing limit 1300 ks).
The 3008 is an entirely likeable car. It wouldn’t be my first choice of personal transport but I could happily live with it if I had to.