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By EWAN KENNEDY
29 March 2010
Peugeot was a slow starter in the SUV field. Believing, as did
several other European marques, that the macho SUV look would be a
passing fad. That didn’t happen, chiefly because not all SUV
buyers are interested in traversing the Simpson Desert one day,
but rather they appreciate the added interior room and high
driving position of this class of vehicle.
Late in 2009 we ran a story about the upcoming Peugeot 4007. That
vehicle’s a semi-serious one in the off-road field. Well,
perhaps not off road, but certainly on any unsealed road. That's
because the Peugeot 4007 is a Mitsubishi Outlander behind that
impressive front-end restyle by the Peugeot designers. It will
also feature Peugeot engines, not Mitsubishi ones.
Now comes an entrant in the SUV market that is all Peugeot – the
3008. It was launched in Europe at the end of 2009 to critical
acclaim, and we had a chance to look it over at the Geneva Motor
Show a few weeks ago. We didn’t get to drive it, but examined
its interior as well as the very-Peugeot body style.
The 3008 for 2010 is aimed at those who want plenty of style in
their SUV/people mover. With the distinctive ‘big-mouth’
Peugeot grille it stands out from the crowd. In profile there are
hints of the Mitsubishi/Peugeot 4007, but there's no denying they
are two different vehicles when you see them side by side.
Peugeot 3008’s spacious interior aims at giving the impression
of a coupe when you're sitting in the front seats. Yet the cabin
is almost van like in the way the seats fold flat to give a large
carrying capacity. A lot of effort has gone into the flexibility
of the seating arrangement. A horizontally split tailgate adds to
the permutations of the load area, as does a boot floor that can
be set at three different levels.
The lower part of the split tailgate can support up to 200 kg, in
other words a couple of footy players should be able to sit on it
to put their boots on.
We can't wait to experiment with the new 3008’s interior when
the car reaches us downunder in June.
Engine options in for the new Peugeot in Europe are 1.6 litres in
turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel format, as well as a 2.0
turbo-diesel. At this stage we are not sure which powerplants will
come to Australia, but there has to be a good chance we will see
most, if not all, of them.
At this stage the Peugeot 3008 is only being produced in 2WD
format (driving through the front wheels). In today’s
terminology this entitles it to be called an SUV. Indeed, more and
more SUVs, including Australia's own Ford Territory, are offered
with two- or four-wheel drive. A 4WD version of the 3008 is
likely, though not definitely, coming later.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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