Peugeot e-3008 2024 Review | First Drive

The Peugeot 3008 was perhaps the most successful car the company has built in the 21^st century. It hit a heavenly segment of growth for Peugeot and delivered over a million cars since it was introduced. So, as one of the best performing cars in the entire Stellantis mega-group, it is the logical place to launch the company’s brand-new platform. STLA.

Specifically, this will be the STLA-M platform, the version that will host all Stellantis’s mid-sized EVs. So the first car we’ll see on the STLA platform is the electric version of the 3008 – the E-3008.

The new face of Peugeot is very much evolution rather than revolution. The first changes you’ll notice to the E-3008 over the old car can be found in the front and rear styling, but the major one is the end of the hatchback and the entrance of the fastback.

For both styling and efficiency purposes the new 3008 now slopes toward its boot. Peugeot bods are very clear that they want to call it a fastback and not a coupe. The technical difference is where the cut from roof to sloping rear begins. But in simple terms this means there should be more headroom in the rear and slightly more boot space than if it was given coupe stylings. The sloping rather than bluff rear window also helps to reduce drag and increase range.

The new Peugeot face now features three ‘claws’ dangling down from the headlights, rather than one, and positions those lights above the grille (which is blanked off on the EV version of the 3008). At the rear the light bar is squeezed into an upright rear with a small ducktail atop.

It’s a good-looking thing in person. I prefer the rear view, the transition from sloping fastback to upright rear looks good and the blocky nature is pleasing to the eye.

The new Peugeot 3008 will have five different powertrain options and a pair of batteries. Electric 3008s come in single (210PS) or dual (320PS) guise with either a standard 73kWh or long range 98kWh battery. Both plug-in and self-charging hybrids will follow.

We’re only driving the single motor car with the standard battery today. The motor is mounted at the front and provides 345Nm (254lb ft) and it's 73kWh of batteries propel the E-3008 for 320 miles on an WLTP cycle.

A first impression around town might leave you wondering what the Peugeot engineers have been doing. At slow speeds and across some traffic measures, the E-3008’s ride is very firm. But get away from town and that firmness slips into something a little more assured. Across the smooth tarmac of French country roads the Peugeot was a calm companion and keeps any external distractions at bay with ease. In fact the noise reduction is fantastic, leaving the 3008 experience distinctly unruffled.

Power delivery is quite restricted in normal mode. The throttle is not set to dump strong electric torque onto the road. That does help to settle the experience rather and the brake pedal feels instantly comfortable as it balances the calls of regen and braking.

Getting the E-3008 onto a cruise is where it feels much more collected. As the speeds increase movement decreases. Admittedly the roads of the Alpes-Maritimes department are much less busy than the ones in Sussex, but journeys from town to town feel pretty relaxed.

There are three driving modes for the E-3008. Eco will restrict output to 170PS (125kW), Normal releases 190PS (140kW) and you’ll need to be in sport mode to experience the full 210PS. Even then it's not unleashed like wild hounds. The pedal is a little limp and you will find yourself exploring its full limits to find power. On these greasy French lanes it often struggled to pull itself in a straight line, but that could well be more about the conditions.

Steering is also adjusted quite strongly by a change to the drive mode. The weighting is light but acceptable through Normal and Eco, and becomes artificially heavy if you put it into sport. It has been adjusted over the old 3008 and now doesn’t ever edge toward being darty.

That said, what the E-3008 is really not designed for is pressing on. Give it a lightly spirited drive through the countryside and you’ll get along perfectly fine. The front grips acceptably well and, despite weighing 2,100kg, it doesn’t feel overly heavy or liable to wobble itself into a jelly mould.

Commendable is the aforementioned braking. Regen can be controlled by paddles on the wheel and has three different modes – as standard it slacks the E-3008 off and allows more coasting, but you can crank it up should you feel the need. When called upon the physical brakes are sharp, and the transition from electrical to physical retardation is one that’s hardly perceptible.

Peugeot’s people are quite open about the fact that most of the time you won’t get close to that WLTP range figure. Expect to lose around 30 per cent the moment you get on the motorway was their instruction. Including some sections of throttle abuse we experienced about 19kW/100km, which translates to around 250 miles on a full charge. Probably expect that to nudge closer to 280 when on normal jaunts.

The real trump card that the new Peugeot 3008 has is its interior design. Much was made in our trip to France of the idea of bringing more of the home into the car. While that has a touch of marketing babble about it, the use of fabrics across large swathes of dash and centre console is excellent.

Starting in front of you there is now a new version of i-cockpit. The wheel has been expanded ever so slightly and now has touch buttons on it. In front there is a giant screen which runs right from the window to the passenger’s side of the centre console. This is a single screen, at least to the eye, and houses both the instrument clusters and infotainment systems over 21 inches. It is perhaps the nicest integration of such a monitor I’ve seen. The unit is slim, curves around the driver and is mounted from the back so it appears to float gently above the dash. There’s also a small secondary screen, as seen in most recent Peugeots for customisable quick access buttons.

This whole setup is totally focused on the driver. The curved screen and the quick buttons are all pointed toward the person in charge, while the dash then wraps its fabric sections around the passenger. It feels like a comfortable cocoon and it works really well. Perhaps the only downside is that the new ambient lighting – which has been deliberately pointed away from incumbents’ eyes and onto the metal or plastic inserts – can at night shine strongly off the window.

Rear legroom is OK, but slightly crowded if you are over six foot and behind someone of similar height. Rear headroom can also bite. There is a recess above you providing extra room, but the panoramic roof surround rather bites into the space in front of you.

The touchscreen’s innards have not been massively updated from before, so if you are familiar with Peugeot’s current system it won’t be a mystery. The biggest change is that the quick select screen on the centre console can now be customised with up to ten different options.

The screen works reasonably, it also allows quick access to the driving controls, quicker than almost any other company. Peugeot still has to comply with rules that state drivers need more than two presses to turn off some systems, but presenting it as a quick option is very welcome.

The Peugeot E-3008 can charge at up to 160kW, and from 20-80 per cent in around 30 minutes. When the Long-Range version arrives that time will be cut further. This also works with Peugeot’s app which allows drivers to monitor charge times and set things like the climate control remotely, but we haven’t had a chance to fiddle with that.

Not rolled out yet, but available eventually will be Chat GPT integration for the voice assistant. This should, in theory, allow richer responses to slightly more esoteric questions when asked – you can ask it for wider recommendations about your destination or even for news updates on the go, if that’s your bag.

As standard the E-3008 arrives with automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, climate control, pre-conditioning, parking sensors, reversing camera, the 21-inch panoramic screen and 19-inch alloy wheels. There are only two specs available in the UK to begin with, Allure, which costs from £45,850 and GT at £49,650. GT spec adds, among other things, hands free boot opening, adaptive cruise control, heated steering wheel, 20-inch alloy wheels and fill ‘Pixel LED’ lights with adaptive high beam.

The new Peugeot E-3008 is a competent mix of style and a decent whack of substance. Despite its drawbacks in town, it’s a car designed with more than just scooting around to the shops in mind. It has a decent range and good charging times so has been aimed squarely at those who might want an EV for more than just a second car.

The new powertrain doesn’t really break any boundaries, so we look forward to seeing how a dual motor setup will affect the balance if you wish for more than just a saunter along. It’s also a much more striking car than many of its competitors, leaning strongly on Peugeot’s recently built-up brand heritage.

At £46,000 it is priced strongly, and is undercut by both the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, it also pushes rather close to BMW iX2 territory, especially if you move up to top-line GT spec, at which point the 3008 is pushing hard on the £50,000 ceiling. The E-3008 has the best interior in its class, if not most classes, and its range and charging make it a challenging prospect. But it isn’t a revolution in any sense.