Peugeot e-3008 review

EV ushers in third generation of Peugeot’s family SUV and a platform that will underpin endless Stellantis group models

mark-tisshaw-autocar
by Mark Tisshaw
27 November 2023

Never has a Stella been so significant. No, not a pint of Belgium’s finest enjoyed at 6am in Luton Airport to kick-start the holiday of a lifetime, but rather Stellantis’s new STLA (pronounced ‘Stella’, geddit?) architecture.

It’s going to underpin two million cars per year from the diverse brands within the Stellantis stable and the first of them is the third-generation Peugeot e-3008. Given the current Peugeot 3008 has been a phenomenal success for Peugeot since its 2017 launch, selling 1.3 million units in 130 countries, the pressure is on the new car to not just keep that run of form going but also to ensure sound fundamentals for so many other models to come.

The second-generation Peugeot 3008 won the 2007 Car of the Year title
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

The e-3008 launches at a similar time to another car fitting that description, the Renault Scenic, and has a broad spread of rivals ranging from the likes of the Kia Niro EV to the Tesla Model Y.

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DESIGN & STYLING
peugeot e 3008 review 2023 02 panning side

The STLA Medium architecture (there are also Small, Large and Frame ones in the works for other sizes of car, but Medium comes first) has been designed for electric cars first and foremost and then adapted to house internal combustion engine and plug-in hybrid powertrains rather than the other way around. But the differences are such that it could almost be considered a native architecture for electric cars. 

The STLA M’s chief engineer, Hervé Scheidegger, says “everything has been chosen around the battery” and the battery has been used for lots of secondary functions, including rigidity. One focus has been to simply make the battery as big as possible and a 98kWh battery is offered with up to 435 miles of range. A 73kWh battery is standard and can be recharged from 20% to 80% in 20 minutes at a 160kW charging speed.

Visually, it has way more presence than an Audi Q4 E-tron, which itself looks increasingly dated
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

The STLA M architecture is designed for cars between 4.3m and 4.9m in length, and with wheelbases of 2.7-2.9m. So at just over 4.5m long and with a wheelbase of 2.7m, the e-3008 is towards the more compact end of models that will use STLA M yet it still sits in the heart of that ever-growing 4.5-4.7m-long family electric crossover class and a marginal increase on the current car.

The e-3008 is now in its third generation and in each generation it has taken on a different form. It started as an MPV, became a crossover and is now, according to Peugeot, a fastback.

Parked side by side with the second-generation car, it comes across as a positive and stylish evolution, smart looking and premium and with excellent proportions.

INTERIOR
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The exterior overhaul is one thing but the interior one is quite another. The e-3008 has an interior of real style and very high levels of perceived quality. There’s no chrome and minimal leather, but instead has lots of nice fabrics and aluminium trim. It’s also one of the best uses of interior lighting I’ve seen, with the fabrics on the dashboard backlit and the colours changing depending on which of the Eco, Normal or Sport driving modes are selected. It’s not at all gimmicky and is a key part of the interior’s quality look and feel. The word ‘allure’ is used by Peugeot in every other sentence to describe the car and the brand, and while that’s laying it on a bit thick, I get what they mean. 

The technology is new inside too, Peugeot’s i-Cockpit - basically a small steering wheel that can block your view of the driver display if you don’t have the wheel on your lap - has now evolved to what Peugeot calls the Panoramic i-Cockpit. This keeps a small steering wheel, but the displays move to the top of the dashboard and you can see it unobstructed, although shorter drivers might find its high mounting obscures their view of some of the road. The Panoramic i-Cockpit has a 21in display that seamlessly blends two screens: one for the driver on the left and a touchscreen on the right for infotainment. The display lacks a bit of grace and jars against the quality of other materials, and the graphics on it feel like they need an update. The Scenic is much slicker visually with the on-screen display.

The front passenger will enjoy the most space of all as from here the dashboard feels a long way in front of you
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

There are no physical buttons to go with the touchscreen but instead a row of large digital i-Toggles that you can customise to a granular level based on what you want (eg call your mum, turn your heated steering wheel on). These work well and are clear and easy to use. Other manufacturers should take note instead of sticking everything on the touchscreen.

However, the touchscreen itself didn’t work on our test car. We drove pre-production cars with changes still to be made, so we’re not going to haul Peugeot over the coals for it because it will not be an experience representative of the one customers will get come the car’s UK launch in the spring. Yet it does leave a significant question about the car unanswered, especially with the usefulness and usability of touchscreens now under more scrutiny than ever before, given how many significant functions they are being increasingly packed with. 

The e-3008 is an easy car to get comfortable in and the seats are great; a good driving position is easy to find. Rear passengers can also enjoy plenty of leg room and in particular head room (the doors are ‘normal’ in size thanks to some design trickery despite the sleeker profile) although perhaps not as much leg room as in the Scenic. The boot capacity, at 520 litres, is 25 litres down on the Scenic's but is a big and wide space with a flat floor. That capacity is the same as the previous 3008's, too, even with the more rakish roofline.

Peugeot says the voice control operation is also clever enough to tell which side of the car the commands are coming from, so from their airy throne, the front passenger will also be able to adjust the likes of their side of the climate control through voice alone. 

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE
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From launch, e-3008 buyers will get a front-mounted single motor with 207bhp along with that 73kWh battery for a 326-mile range (from £45,850).

Around 10 months later, the e-3008 range will grow to include a Long Range single-motor version with a slightly more powerful 227bhp motor and that 98kWh battery pack for the 435-mile range and also a dual-motor version of the 73kWh battery with four-wheel drive and a combined 316bhp.

It can be a bit hard to drive the e-3008 smoothly until you get used to using the regenerative braking paddles
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

Also from launch, there will be a mild-hybrid 1.2-litre petrol model in a standard 3008 (from £34,650). A plug-in hybrid will follow at a similar time to the additions to the e-3008 range.

To drive, a word my colleague Matt Prior believes is underused in the car-reviewing business sprang to mind throughout my time in the e-3008: fine. Fine can sound negative, but it’s not meant to be. The e-3008 is fine to drive, a 16deg C fine day where you can leave your umbrella at home and perhaps just wear one layer when the sun comes out from behind the light clouds.

Its most memorable dynamic trait is its refinement and for that the e-3008 should be commended. This is a very quiet car and soothing to drive. There is some motor whine under acceleration but other than that it’s all very peaceful.

It has as much power as you need in the real-world; the e-3008 is quick off the line but acceleration then tails off. The 0-62mph time is 8.7sec and it can reach a top speed of 105mph. It’s not memorable for its performance in the numerical sense, but the way that performance is delivered makes the car so relaxing to drive.

Regenerative braking is controlled through the paddles and is better for scrubbing off smaller amounts of speed. Three different levels of regenerative assistance are available and it works well. However, for the brake pedal itself, the first 10% or so of travel is fresh air and feels unnerving.

We did get a brief go on a circuit in an early dual-motor version, which revealed itself to be much like the standard car, just with better acceleration and a more instant response to the inputs of your right foot. But that's perhaps unsurprisingly, given there are next to no meaningful changes to the car other than an extra 60kg of weight and some software revisions. 

These laps also allowed us to sample the excellent 10.6m turning circle though around some tight cones that had been laid out, which will be a boon for parking and around town.

RIDE & HANDLING
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The e-3008 rides well on the smooth roads of Catalunya, something the sheer heft of the car contributes to. It weighs well over two tonnes. The STLA M architecture is not a lightweight one and unsurprisingly so when you consider it also needs to underpin large Jeeps with off-road needs.

There was just the one bump in the road that unsettled the car but it was a big one. However, given the state of UK roads, this will be one aspect to keep an eye on.

The weight of the STLA Medium makes us nervous for future performance cars from other Stellantis brands off this architecture
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

The weight of the e3008 blunts the handling, though. It’s all very predictable, with body roll well contained, but it’s not in any way exciting or involving. The steering is not as quick as the Peugeot e-308’s but has perhaps been dulled a bit too much.

You come back to ‘fine’ again: it’s all safe, stable and predictable, which is what many buyers will accept and expect anyway. Still, a bit more flair wouldn’t have gone amiss.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS
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The e-3008 is priced towards the higher end of the class. Prices start at £45,850 for an Allure model and the leap to a GT is £3800. Only these two trims and the one powertrain/battery (207bhp/73kWh) combination will be available for the best part of a year, and when longer-range and dual-motor versions follow, they will inevitably top £50,000. That’s Tesla Model Y money.

Peugeot is offering a £1000 ‘loyalty bonus’ to existing 3008 buyers who order the new model and the headline finance offer is a £379 per month deal over 37 months with a £5777 deposit and 6000 annual mileage allowance at 7.5% APR.

Given how many of the e-3008’s standout features are within the GT trim, it’s worth stretching to it if you can
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

We tested the standard 207bhp version in the higher of the two trim levels. The GT rides on 20in alloys and includes the Panoramic i-Cockpit; otherwise it’s two 10in screens for the Allure.

Allure models get 19in alloys as standard and further GT upgrades include pixel LED headlights, Alcantara trim for the seats and that interior ambient lighting. Further option packs are offered on each trim, including automated safety features and a sunroof.

Our indicated range for a full charge in this single-motor version was 269 miles, just shy of 50 miles short of the official WLTP range.

VERDICT
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We’re seeing more and more cars like the e-3008, full of rational attributes and with interiors of increasing quality and desirability (but not always usability) and with dynamic ability that’s objectively fine but all a bit soulless.

That’s not to put a downer on the e-3008. It’s a very competent car that’s desirable and should be nice to own. It’s better than the old 3008, no better than the new Scenic perhaps and no worse either – but it is meaningfully more expensive, a good 10% at least like for like. Our test car was a smidge under £50,000.

It would be irresponsible to put a star rating on the e-3008 just yet because we were unable to try the touchscreen (welcome to 2023) but provided the screen works as we’d expect it to, given the software is largely the same as the e-308's, you could make a good case for an e-3008 star rating that starts with a four.

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?, Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.