Peugeot 3008 Review

The Peugeot 3008 has changed a lot over the years, but this latest version feels like a logical next step rather than a total reinvention. It is still a family SUV, but now with a sleeker fastback-style shape and even more emphasis on design. That sounds like the sort of thing that could easily compromise practicality, yet the 3008 remains usefully roomy and family-friendly.

In fact, the Peugeot 3008’s cabin is still one of its biggest selling points. Peugeot has managed to make this new interior look theatrical without tipping into gimmickry, and the panoramic display, layered textures and ambient lighting all help give the car a sense of occasion that most rivals struggle to match at this money.

There is an all-electric E-3008 too, but our Peugeot E-3008 review covers that in more detail. In this review, the focus is on the hybrid and plug-in hybrid petrol versions.

That line-up gives the Peugeot 3008 a broad enough brief, but it also leaves one important caveat. The standard Hybrid 145 is the version many buyers will end up in, and it does not feel quite as polished as the rest of the car. Performance is only adequate, the engine can sound coarse when pressed and the power delivery is not especially smooth. The Plug-in Hybrid 225 looks more promising on paper and brings a useful official electric range of up to 55 miles, which gives it more flexibility if you can charge regularly. The problem is that it pushes the Peugeot 3008 into a much pricier part of the market, and at that point there are plenty of strong alternatives.

So the Peugeot 3008 is not flawless, but it still has a strong identity. If you want a family SUV that feels a little less ordinary than the class norm, it remains one of the more interesting choices.

For most buyers, the best Peugeot 3008 is probably the Hybrid 145 in Allure Premium or GT trim, depending on budget. The standard hybrid is not perfect, but it is still the version that makes the most sense for outright affordability, and the 3008’s main strengths are present regardless of powertrain.

If your budget stretches, the Plug-in Hybrid 225 is likely to be the better powertrain. It offers notably stronger performance and a useful official electric range of up to 55 miles, which gives it more flexibility if you can charge regularly. The problem is that it pushes the Peugeot 3008 into a much pricier part of the market, and at that point there are plenty of strong alternatives.

As for trim, the basic Allure already comes with a lot, but Allure Premium looks like the sweet spot because it adds the extra polish and convenience features that help the 3008 feel fully resolved. GT is the style-led choice, while GT Premium is the version to choose if you want the fullest expression of the 3008’s high-tech, high-design appeal.

In simple terms, Allure covers the essentials, Allure Premium is the smartest buy, GT is the style-led choice and GT Premium is the indulgent one.

The Peugeot 3008 currently starts from £32,945 in Hybrid 145 Allure form. A GT Hybrid 145 sits in the mid £30,000s, while Plug-in Hybrid 225 versions begin above £40,000 and rise to around £44,000 in higher trims.

That means the Peugeot 3008 is no bargain-bin family SUV. Even the hybrid asks serious money, and once you step into plug-in hybrid territory the car starts brushing up against bigger, more practical or more premium-badged alternatives.

That said, the cabin quality, infotainment and visual appeal do go some way towards justifying the price. The question is whether you value those things more than the stronger all-round ability offered by some rivals.

The Volkswagen Tiguan is one of the Peugeot 3008’s clearest rivals if you want a family SUV with a more polished, mature feel. It is less theatrical inside, but it is exceptionally easy to get comfortable in, feels more settled on the road and makes a stronger all-round rational case for a lot of buyers.

The Skoda Karoq is the sensible alternative. It does not have the same showroom drama as the Peugeot, but it is roomy, easy to live with and still one of the most convincing family SUVs if practicality, visibility and straightforward usability matter more than design flourish.

The Cupra Terramar is the style-led rival. It has a more assertive look than the Tiguan or Karoq, a sportier cabin feel and a stronger sense of visual appeal than the Peugeot in some specifications. It suits buyers who want their family SUV to feel a little less conventional without going to a premium badge.

Beyond those three, the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage remain strong all-rounders, while the Vauxhall Grandland deserves a look if you want much of the same Stellantis engineering in a more conventional shape. The Peugeot 3008 makes the most sense if you want your family SUV to feel a little more special than the norm and are prepared to accept that it is not the class leader in every objective measure.

The Peugeot 3008 does a good job of combining a style-led shape with decent family usefulness. Up front, there is loads of room, and the seats are comfortable enough for long journeys. The broad centre console and sweeping dashboard design make the car feel substantial, while smaller storage areas are generous enough for everyday odds and ends.

Rear-seat space is better than the fastback roofline suggests. The bench is set low enough that headroom remains good, and there is enough rear legroom for adults to travel comfortably. It is not the most spacious car in the class, but it is certainly roomy enough for regular family duty.

Boot space is 588 litres, which is a strong figure for a five-seat SUV and enough to make the Peugeot 3008 usefully practical. Fold the rear seats and capacity rises to 1,663 litres. The adjustable floor adds flexibility, even if the folded seatbacks do not leave you with a perfectly flat extended load area.

Overall, the Peugeot 3008 is not the very last word in practicality, but it is far less compromised than its shape suggests. That is one of its better tricks.

The Peugeot 3008 measures 4,540mm long, 1,890mm wide & 1,640mm high. That puts it squarely into the heart of the mid-size SUV class and makes it slightly larger than a Nissan Qashqai while still short of the biggest seven-seat SUVs.

In practical terms, it has enough road presence and cabin footprint to feel properly family-sized, but it is not so large that it becomes awkward in day-to-day use. That balance helps the 3008 make sense as a family car rather than just a design statement.

Technology is one of the Peugeot 3008’s strongest areas. Both Allure and GT versions get the dramatic panoramic display that combines the driver instruments and central infotainment into one curved unit, and it gives the cabin a genuinely premium feel.

It is not just a showpiece, either. The graphics are sharp, the screen layout is logical enough and Peugeot’s customisable i-Toggles shortcuts make the system easier to live with than some more complicated touchscreen-heavy rivals. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected navigation, Bluetooth and voice control are all part of the package.

There are still some irritations. Screen transitions can be a little slow, and the climate controls are not as permanently accessible as they ideally would be. Even so, judged against most current rivals, the Peugeot 3008’s infotainment setup is one of the better ones.

The Peugeot 3008’s interior materials do a lot to justify the car’s price. Textile finishes, gloss trim, metallic detailing and ambient lighting combine to give the cabin a very rich feel, especially at night.

It is not perfect. You can still find some more ordinary plastics if you go looking for them, particularly lower down, but the areas you see and touch most often feel properly smart. Higher trims add even more flair, with expanded ambient lighting, richer upholstery and extra trim detail.

This is one of those interiors that really can sell the car on first acquaintance. If showroom appeal matters to you, the Peugeot 3008 has plenty of it.

The current Peugeot 3008 line-up is centred on the Hybrid 145 and the Plug-in Hybrid 225. The Hybrid 145 pairs a 1.2-litre petrol engine with a small amount of 48-volt assistance, while the plug-in hybrid uses a larger 1.6-litre petrol engine and a much more substantial electric motor.

On paper, the Hybrid 145 is adequate rather than exciting. Peugeot quotes 0-62mph in around 10.2 seconds, and that broadly fits the way it feels on the road. It is not dangerously slow, but it does not feel especially strong for a family SUV of this size.

The Plug-in Hybrid 225 looks much more promising. It cuts the 0-62mph time to 7.8 seconds and can cover up to 55 miles on electric power alone in official figures. That should make it much more versatile if you can keep it charged, though it is also significantly more expensive.

There is an electric version too, but our Peugeot E-3008 review covers that in more detail.

The Peugeot 3008 no longer feels quite as enjoyable to drive as the previous model. The ride is on the firm side, and while it is by no means harsh, it does not have the easy suppleness of the best family SUVs in the class.

Handling is tidy enough, but it is not especially sharp or engaging. There is a little more body movement than you might expect from a Peugeot, and the steering feels light without offering much real feedback. In short, it is dynamically competent rather than memorable.

The bigger issue is refinement in Hybrid 145 form. The little 1.2-litre petrol engine often sounds strained when asked to work, and the power delivery can feel hesitant and slightly clumsy. That stands out more because the rest of the car gives such a polished first impression.

If the Plug-in Hybrid 225 proves smoother and quieter in broader use, it could be the powertrain that best suits the 3008’s character. As it stands, the standard hybrid is more about making the numbers work than really elevating the driving experience.

The Peugeot 3008 comes with a broad spread of standard driver-assistance kit, including automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, speed-limit recognition and driver attention monitoring. GT versions also add adaptive cruise control.

That gives the 3008 a decent core safety offering, though some rivals spread their more advanced systems further down the range. Euro NCAP has not yet published a rating for this latest version, so that is one detail family buyers may still want to keep an eye on.

The Hybrid 145 is officially capable of up to 52.5mpg, which is a respectable figure for a family SUV of this size. In real-world terms, something in the mid to high 40s looks more realistic if you drive it sensibly.

The Plug-in Hybrid 225 posts a headline WLTP figure that looks dramatically better, but as ever with PHEVs, that only tells part of the story. If you charge it regularly and keep many journeys short, it should be very cheap to run. If you rely on the petrol engine more often, it will be far less impressive.

So the Peugeot 3008’s plug-in hybrid only really makes full sense if you have easy access to charging and the right driving pattern to exploit it.

Peugeot’s standard warranty is three years from first registration. In the first two years it is unlimited mileage, while the third year is capped at 60,000 miles.

That is acceptable rather than class-leading, and it does not stand out in a market where some rivals offer longer cover. Service history and dealer support will matter, especially on used examples and more complex plug-in hybrid models.

Insurance groups for the Peugeot 3008 currently run from group 22 for the Hybrid 145 Allure to group 33 for higher-spec Plug-in Hybrid versions.

That means the 3008 is not especially cheap to insure by family-SUV standards, and the plug-in hybrid models in particular will sit noticeably higher. The more affordable hybrid versions should still be manageable enough, but this is not a bargain-basement proposition.

The Peugeot 3008 now costs £200 a year in VED after year one, which is the current standard annual rate.

The other thing to watch is the Expensive Car Supplement. For petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, this applies if the list price is more than £40,000. If a Peugeot 3008 crosses that threshold, you pay an extra £440 a year for five years from the second year of registration, on top of the standard £200 annual VED rate. That means a qualifying car costs £640 a year for those five years.

The standard Hybrid 145 can sit below the threshold in lower trims, but many higher-spec and plug-in hybrid versions cross it, and options can push a car over the limit as well. That makes this something worth checking very carefully before you order.