First Drive: Peugeot E-3008 – French firm’s star goes electric but at a price

What is it?

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Peugeot can arguably lay the success to its recent revival at the wheels of the 3008. The second-generation – and now outgoing – car showed Peugeot was back to making good- looking, well made and practical cars.

This is the tricky follow-up third-generation car that has to take all of those traits that made the previous car a winner, and also take on a whole raft of impressive family SUVs on sale in 2024.

What’s new?

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Everything, to put it bluntly. Peugeot could have played it safe by heavily revising the outgoing car, but as it did with that car when it launched in 2016, it has started afresh. So, there’s a new fastback-shaped body, there’s the firm’s latest design for the front end, and a completely overhauled interior debuting the brand’s new 21-inch Panoramic ‘i-Cockpit’ twin screens.

Oh, and if that isn’t enough, it’s the first Stellantis (Peugeot’s parent firm) car to use its new bespoke electric car platform. Mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions will follow, all using this architecture, though the pure-electric E-3008 arrives first and is the one we’re testing here.

What’s under the bonnet?

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Not only is the platform new but also the batteries. Until now, the largest battery you could find in an electric Peugeot was 54kWh, but the E-3008 exceeds this with 73kWh and 98kWh packs – the latter being larger than nearly every other family-sized pure-electric SUV on sale. The smaller battery powers a single 207bhp motor on the front axle or a pair of motors, one on each axle, to give all-wheel drive and 316bhp.

Meanwhile, the 98kWh pack comes exclusively with a single motor and packs 227bhp. Ranges are 326 miles for the 73kWh single motor and – rather amazingly – for the twin motor, too, while the 98kWh offers an impressive – if you believe the official figures – 435 miles.

Both batteries have 400V and 160kW maximum charging capability, meaning a zero to 100% charge from a 150kW charger should take 35 minutes. Speedy but Hyundai and Kia offer even faster charging with their 800V-capable Ioniq 6 and EV6 models.

What’s it like to drive?

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Peugeot has some pretty fun-to-drive cars in its back catalogue, but the new E-3008 isn’t one of them. The steering feels surprisingly detached from the front wheels, it’s heavy (it weighs over 2.1 tonnes) and the 207bhp motor delivers its power in an almost lethargic way – a Tesla Model Y feels more alert. The ride, too, was a little on the jittery side, but you can mostly blame our car’s 20-inch wheels for that.

But this is an SUV designed for normal family life, after all, and when driven in a manner far more in keeping with the way most owners will drive the car, the E-3008 is a fantastically quiet, refined and very polished SUV.

How does it look?

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It’s quite a triumph when an outgoing model still looks modern and fresh, and you can level that at the now old 3008 – it still stands out in a world of identical SUVs.

The new one evolves this and features Peugeot’s latest design for the front-end – slimmer headlights, distinctive ‘three-claw’ day-running lights and the Peugeot badge sitting large and proud in the middle of the grille. The biggest change is with the roofline, with Peugeot choosing a more curved design. Overall, we feel it’s a handsome car.

What’s it like inside

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You’d expect that fashionable sloping roofline to ruin interior space, but amazingly, it doesn’t. While knee room for six-footers in the back could be a bit better, headroom is good. Single motor E-3008s have exactly the same amount of boot space as the outgoing 3008 at 520 litres. It’s a useful shape and comes with the added benefit of 40:20:40 split folding rear seats, but rivals such as the Volkswagen ID.4, Tesla Model Y and Skoda Enyaq all offer larger boots. The E-3008 also doesn’t come with a front boot, which is a shame.

It’s upfront, though, where the E-3008 really wows you. Again, the design is an evolution of the previous 3008’s with a bold look and the use of tactile fabrics and quality materials. The highlight is the ambient lighting which tastefully reflects its glow on the aluminium strips that surround the dashboard. The new 21-inch ‘Panoramic i-Cockpit’ consists of two crisp displays, and the infotainment system is assisted with a third screen called ‘i-Toggles’. These configurable widgets allow easy access to the system’s many functions.

What’s the spec like?

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The E-3008 comes very well equipped, with entry-level Allure models getting a raft of luxuries such as the 21-inch curved display, ambient lighting, keyless entry and start, 19-inch wheels, LED headlights and wireless phone charging. GT adds Alcantara trim for the seats, 20-inch wheels, heated front seats and pixel LED headlights. It’s disappointing, though, an efficiency-boosting heat pump is a £700 option and not standard.

So it should be well equipped considering the asking price. E-3008 prices start at £45,850 while our GT car comes in at £49,650. This is for the small battery, single motor car, remember, and the dual motor and large battery models are expected to cost even more.

Verdict

The Peugeot E-3008 is a deeply desirable electric SUV with a bold design, impressive battery options and an interior brimming with rich materials and good technology. While it has lost some of the old car’s more agile handling traits, it’s a plush and refined SUV that’ll no doubt be up to the task of family life.

You have to pay for this, though – here’s hoping those finance deals make the car more tempting to buy.