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Peugeot’s latest generation 3008 ups the ante with a striking look, tech-laden cabin and new electric option. Is it a family SUV worth shortlisting? Lawrence Allan finds out.
Things you'll like
- Cabin looks and feels premium
- Efficient hybrid or electric power
- Refined at a cruise
Things to consider
- Performance is only adequate
- Unsettled ride
- There are more practical SUVs
What is the Peugeot 3008?
The 3008 is a popular mid-size family SUV from Peugeot that’s evolved quite a lot in three generations. Comparisons to the ugly duckling morphing into a beautiful swan are a bit cliché but work well here.
The first 3008 arrived in 2009 as a kind of halfway-house between the smaller 308 hatchback and 5008 MPV. This was the early days of the ‘crossover-SUV’ phenomenon, and the 3008’s curious blend of estate, mini-MPV and SUV styling didn’t make it a smash hit.
But the foundations were there and built on with the second-generation 3008 which debuted in 2016. Entirely unrecognisable from the first model, it featured a far more elegant and design-led SUV look. Even at a time when the SUV bodystyle was becoming the default for family buyers, it stood out next to blander alternatives for many years.
Time passes, though, and the Mk2 3008’s huge popularity combined with a glut of fresher rivals meant it didn’t stand out any more. Enter this, the third-gen model, once again aiming to rewrite the design rulebook with a sleeker ‘coupe-SUV’ look.
It’s not all style over substance, though, with a range of new technology including an all-electric e-3008 for the first time, as well as a hybridized petrol engne. It’s closely related to the boxier new Vauxhall Grandland, too. But is the Peugeot’s style and charm enough to make it stand out? We’ll find out in this review.
Verdict: is the Peugeot 3008 a good car?
We reckon the Peugeot 3008 is well worth considering if you’re after an SUV with a premium look and feel, but without the higher price tag of BMWs and Audis. Its striking design inside and out is core to its appeal, but it also gets a quality feel, lots of standard kit and decent (but not class-leading) practicality. A refined but not stand-out driving experience lets it down a little, but we’re impressed with the range potential of the electric e-3008.
Pricing, specs & rivals
In early 2025 the Peugeot 3008’s list prices start at £35,660 for the entry-level Allure Hybrid model. That’s around £940 more than the equivalent Vauxhall Grandland, and £500 or so more than the cheapest Volkswagen Tiguan.
The base Tiguan certainly looks like the cheapest model, however, whereas Allure trim in the 3008 offers plenty of desirable kit including 19-inch alloys, the huge 21-inch curved infotainment display with standard sat-nav, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting, LED headlights, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera with a handy lens washer.
Really, that Allure trim offers all the essentials, but GT trim does add features such as Pixel adaptive beam LED headlights, a contrasting roof colour, upgraded interior trim elements, heated front seats, an electric tailgate, front parking sensors and adaptive cruise control. It starts from £38,890.
Opting for the plug-in hybrid 3008 ups the base price to £40,750. It’s a pity that qualifies it for the expensive car tax supplement (adding £410 a year to the VED car tax for five years after registration) but the same applies to rivals like the Tiguan e-Hybrid and Kia Sportage PHEV. GT trim in the 3008 PHEV is £44,190.
Disappointingly, the all-electric e-3008 commands a substantial further premium, starting from just under £46,000 in Allure form and over £49,000 in GT trim. The Long Range versions are £48,650 and £52,180 respectively – not cheap for a car in this class, but good considering the range potential.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see Peugeot drop the prices of the electric version to be closer to the Grandland Electric, which starts from a much more reasonable £37,345. This hasn’t happened yet, though.
In terms of rivals, you’re spoiled for choice in this area of the market. Along with the Tiguan and Grandland, the 3008 goes up against cars like the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Renault Austral and Ford Kuga.
The e-3008, cousin to the Grandland Electric, has a different set of rivals including the Skoda Enyaq, Kia EV6, Nissan Ariya, Renault Scenic E-Tech, Toyota bZ4X and Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Peugeot 3008: Interior comfort, quality & technology
Peugeot’s interior design has gone against the grain for over a decade now, and this latest model is no different. The brand’s controversial ‘i-Cockpit’ layout continues, albeit with a number of changes to make it more user-friendly.
You still get a compact, low-set steering wheel and a high-set dial display so that you look over the wheel rather than through it. But unlike the old model, where drivers of certain shapes and sizes would struggle to get comfortable without obscuring the dials, the new dash design and larger dial display allows for a more natural seating position.
You also get supportive, smart-looking seats giving a good view out, although it’s a shame that lumbar adjustment is only standard on GT trim. Rear visibility is a weak point, however, thanks to wide pillars and a narrow, coupe-style back window.
Elsewhere, the interior’s bold, multi-layered design makes it look more premium than, say, a Ford Kuga. Similarly, material quality is among the best in class, with loads of dense-feeling soft-touch plastics and a classy fabric covering for the dash and doors. The neatly integrated ambient lighting on high-spec models adds to the upmarket air, too.
Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity
A big part of the 3008’s interior appeal is the vast 21-inch curved infotainment and dial display panel, standard across the range. It looks more special than a lot of offerings in the class and has bright and crisp graphics. If you’re after a bang up-to-date feel in your new car, this certainly offers it.
The main display is also complemented by a small third touch display in the centre of the dash, dubbed ‘i-Toggle’. This first debuted on the latest 308, and allows you to set up shortcuts for key features you use most often. The icons are large and easy to hit, making operating the screen easier to use on the move – but physical shortcut buttons would be better still.
Similarly, the 3008’s infotainment and ergonomics aren’t without fault. The screen looks great and the menus are reasonably intuitive, but the screen can occasionally lag or freeze, while the temperature controls disappear if you use the wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Again, we’d much prefer physical climate controls – although you do get a few below the main dash for key functions such as demisting.
All version of the 3008 get wireless smartphone charging, connected sat-nav and voice control, as well as four USB-C connectors split across the front and rear. The standard six-speaker sound system is perfectly acceptable, although GT models get the option of a 690W, 10-speaker Focal sound system.
How practical is the Peugeot 3008
With dimensions of 4.54m in length, 1.9m in width and 1.64m in height, the new 3008 is a full 10cm longer and 5cm wider than the outgoing model – although it’s smaller in every dimension than the Grandland on which it’s based.
You’ll have no space complaints up front even with taller or broader adults, but it’s in the rear seats where you notice this car isn’t up with the best-in-class for outright practicality. Legroom is no more than adequate, for example: six footers will fit, but they won’t have much space to spare.
Interestingly the coupe-like roofline doesn’t impede on headroom as much as you think it would, but while there is enough width for three adults across the rear bench foot and knee space remains a bit disappointing.
Storage and boot space
While passenger space isn’t outstanding, storage for odds and ends is pretty good. Up front you get a deep space below the posh-feeling centre armrest that’s chilled via switchable air vent, plus a pair of cupholders in front of that.
Then, you’ll find another surprisingly deep lidded cubby below the dash itself, plus roomy felt-lined door bins and a sunglasses holder in the roof. The only black mark is the glovebox, which is cut in half by the placement of the fuse box.
In the rear the door bins are also a good size, but the pockets in the front seatbacks aren’t much use. The phone holding pockets from the Grandland are also absent here, but you do get a phone cubby in the centre armrest along with the cupholders.
It’s also great to see proper 40/20/40 split for the rear seatbacks to enhance flexibility. There’s also easy hands-free opening with the electric tailgate, while the boot itself doesn’t have a load lip. The boot’s 588-litre capacity (reduced to 548 litres in the e-3008) is very competitive, too – on paper at least.
You see, while the 3008’s luggage area below the parcel shelf is well-shaped and a good size, that sloping roofline restricts the room available with the parcel shelf removed. If, for example, you’ve got a tall piece of furniture or stacked up luggage for a holiday away, the Grandland’s taller boot area is a better option.
Performance & drive: What is the Peugeot 3008 like on the road?
The Peugeot 3008 and Vauxhall Grandland share the same mild hybrid petrol and fully electric powertrain options. However, the Peugeot also adds a third dimension with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant now available to order.
So far we’ve tried the regular 3008 Hybrid and the e-3008. Although the former has hybrid badging, it can be considered more of a mild-hybrid, blending a 136hp 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine and six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox with a 28hp electric motor and 48-volt tech.
It’s more advanced than most mild hybrids, though, allowing you to travel just over half a mile on electric power alone at low speeds. Peugeot reckons it’ll do this around 50% of the time in typical urban driving, which is believable in our experience. It’ll also allow the engine to turn off when coasting at higher speed.
That’s all great, but while the 3008 hybrid is smooth and efficient it’s relatively pedestrian in its performance thanks to the modest power trying to shift 1600kg of bulk.
It’s fine when pottering about town and cruising, but needs working to get up to speed on faster roads – particularly when fully loaded. At least the fairly slick automatic gearbox does a decent job of keeping you in the power band, with a proper manual mode for full control via the steering wheel paddles.
Despite being around half a tonne heavier, the e-3008’s 213hp electric motor feels significantly stronger in the real world thanks to instant responses. That’s the benefit of having no turbocharged engine to rouse and no gearbox response to wait for – it picks up speed the exact moment you hit the throttle.
Outright performance still isn’t startling by any means, so if feeling a proper shove in the back matters to you then there are better EVs. It’s ample for most needs, and comparable to a Skoda Enyaq 50, but well short of the performance delivered by an Ariya, Model Y or IONIQ 5. Keen drivers should wait for the upcoming high performance Dual Motor model.
In terms of braking, the e-3008 hybrid has a surprisingly noticeable regenerative effect to top up the mild hybrid’s small battery – usually, such systems are more subtle. You soon get used to it, but the brake pedal response isn’t the most consistent.
The EV, meanwhile, has three selectable regen modes via wheel-mounted paddles. This is ideal in theory, but in our experience there wasn’t a huge difference between each mode, and even the most severe is nowhere near strong enough for proper one-pedal driving. The electric version gets much larger brakes than the hybrid, though, and seems to have better pedal response.
Power, 0-62mph times
- Peugeot 3008 Hybrid: 136hp/10.2 secs
- Peugeot 3008 Plug-In Hybrid: 195hp/7.8 secs
- Peugeot e-3008 Single Motor: 213hp/8.8 secs
- Peugeot e-3008 Dual Motor: 322hp/ 6.4 secs
Ride and handling
Not all 3008s are equal, at least when it comes to the driving experience. The 3008 and e-3008 don’t just feel different in a straight line, they’re also distinguishable around corners and over bumps.
Most of that is down to the extra 500kg or so that the e-3008 carries, but there are suspension differences too. The 3008 Hybrid has a simpler torsion beam rear set-up, whereas the EV uses multi-link rear suspension with frequency selective damping.
Both versions are more suited to laid-back driving than attacking apexes, as although both have plenty of grip and neither leans too aggressively in the bends, the light steering (ideal for town manoeuvres) doesn’t give a real sense of connection with the road surface.
That’s fine, and entirely appropriate for a family SUV. The ride is a slight disappointment, though. The 3008 is never jarring or harsh, but even on the 19-inch wheels it can be upset by sharper potholes or really craggy surfaces, letting them intrude into the cabin too much for our liking. The e-3008 is worse still, fidgeting and bouncing over even relatively smooth tarmac. Only on motorways does the electric version settle and become a decent cruiser.
If you’d like a similar EV with a more comfortable ride there are several alternatives – not least the related Grandland Electric which seems to smooth out bumps a bit more effectively.
Noise and refinement
Other than those suspension thumps over poor roads, the 3008 is a refined cruising companion. Both wind and road noise are very well isolated – almost at premium SUV levels – while the engine settles into the background at a constant speed. The hybrid’s three-cylinder unit does sound a bit gruff when extended, however.
The e-3008 has the obvious advantage of no combustion engine noise and goes about its business even more smoothly. In some EVs, the lack of an engine rumble exposes wind or road noise more, but the Peugeot is so well-isolated this isn’t an issue.
Euro NCAP: is the Peugeot 3008 a safe car?
Unfortunately, industry safety body Euro NCAP is yet to crash test the latest Peugeot 3008 or the related Vauxhall Grandland. As those are the only cars to be launched so far on the STLA Medium platform we have no indication their passive safety level, although neither brand’s historic performance here brings any cause for concern.
There’s no shortage of standard safety aids, with all 3008s coming with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and nighttime detection, a driver attention monitor, lane keeping assist and traffic sign recognition. Adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go is only standard on GT trim, however.
The latter can be added with the Drive Assist option pack, which also brings long-range blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, high beam assist and Highway Assist 2.0, Peugeot semi-automated driving function.
Fuel economy and running costs
Peugeot claims the entry-level hybrid version of the 3008 can run on electric power in town for 50% of the time you’re driving. That’s all well and good, but of more interest is the official combined figure of up to 52.5mpg. That’s similar to a Nissan Qashqai e-Power, for example, and pretty good for an SUV of this size.
The newly launched plug-in hybrid does much better on the official tests, as you might expect. Up to 356mpg combined is promised thanks to up to 55 miles of electric range from its 21kWh battery pack. We’ve yet to test this model, but the official figures put it a little short of the range of the Tiguan eHybrid and well short of that car on fuel economy terms.
The 3008 Hybrid’s CO2 emissions of 122g/km are competitive with petrol rivals, meaning a reasonable first year road tax (VED) rate at the time of writing of £220. For company car drivers it’s clearly less appealing, though, with a Benefit-in-Kind rate of 29% until April 2025.
Contrast that with the e-3008 and it’s miserly 2% Benefit-in-Kind rate, or the plug-in hybrid’s 8% rate, and it’s easy to see why more electrification makes for a more popular company car.
Peugeot e-3008 Electric range and charging:
From launch, both available versions of the Peugeot e-3008 feature a battery pack with 73kWh of usable capacity. That’s a few kWh smaller than the battery found in long range versions of the Skoda Enyaq, for comparison.
The quoted range is up to 327 miles in combined WLTP tests regardless of which version you go for. That’s fractionally better than the Grandland Electric, similar to the Nissan Ariya and slightly ahead of the Toyota bZ4x, but there are longer range versions of rivals such as the Enyaq, Scenic E-Tech, EV6 and Model Y.
Still, Peugeot isn’t leaving thing there. In 2025 a Long Range model will start hitting showrooms with a huge 98kWh battery offering a claimed range of up to 435 miles. That blows all the aforementioned rivals into next week, mixing it with pricier models such as the Polestar 3 and Mercedes-Benz EQE.
While it’ll prove good value in outright range terms, the Long Range commands a chunky premium over the standard e-3008, so it’s worth thinking about how often you’ll need that extra range.
In terms of rapid charging the e-3008 is broadly competitive, with quoted DC peak speeds of 160kW in both versions. That’s similar to the Enyaq and better than the Ariya or Scenic E-Tech, but some way short of the speeds offered by Kia, Hyundai and Tesla alternatives.
In the standard model you’ll be looking at a reasonable 10-80% charge time of 36 minutes. Peugeot quotes a similar time for the Long Range, oddly – suggesting average charging speeds improve with the bigger battery. We’ll need to test that to be sure, however.
All e-3008s come with an 11kW on-board AC charger, with no 22kW option available. Again, it’s worth bearing in mind that the Long Range will take over 15hrs to fully charge on a standard 7.4kWh home wallbox, whereas the standard e-3008 takes less than 12hrs.
How much does the Peugeot 3008 cost to insure?
Interestingly, the petrol-powered 3008 sits in slightly lower insurance groups than its Vauxhall cousin, the Grandland, so it might be a touch cheaper to insure. Allure trim sits in group 22, with GT trim at 24. The e-3008, meanwhile, commands a substantial premium, sitting in group 32 to 33 depending on spec. That’s on a par with most EV rivals (bar the notoriously pricey to insure Tesla Model Y) but illustrates the less discussed potential costs with electric cars.
Peugeot 3008 FAQs
Is the Peugeot 3008 a big car?
The Peugeot 3008 is classed as a mid-sized SUV, with much larger seven-seat options available. However the 2024 model has grown in size compared with the old 3008 – it’s nearly 10cm longer, and over 5cm wider.
Is the Peugeot 3008 a quiet car?
Yes, the Peugeot 3008 is a quiet car, with low levels of wind and road noise. The petrol-powered 3008 does get a bit noisy when you use all of its performance, whereas the electric e-3008 is much smoother thanks to its near-silent electric motor.
What is the range of the Peugeot e-3008?
The entry-level version of the Peugeot e-3008 manages up to 326 miles on a charge officially. In 2025 a Long Range model will arrive, though, boosting that official range figure to an impressive 435 miles on a charge.
