Full disclosure, this is not our first go around with Peugeot’s eco-warrior SUV, but we’re not unhappy at all about the
prospect of another week of 1.7 litres per 100km motoring.

We were surprised as to why Peugeot was so keen to promote the 3008 GT Hybrid4, but then we had a lightbulb moment: aha, the discount is changing…

Peugeot’s 3008 GT Hybrid4 never qualified for a discount anyway since its GT specification level – the highest Peugeot NZ could have specified – made for a plus $80k price when the SUV landed here.

The changes from July 1 aren’t going to have any effect on the 3008 GT Hybrid4, but they will have an effect on similarly sized rival SUVs and make the highly specified 3008 GT Hybrid4 a little more of a contender.

Peugeot’s 3008 GT Hybrid4 has some features which are new for the brand and some significant revisions which might as well represent an impressive package of nouvelle technologies.

What nouvelle technologies are we talking about? First up, the 3008 GT Hybrid4 uses two electric motors as part of its hybrid package, an 81kW motor on the front axle and an 83kW motor on the rear, which technically makes it an all-wheel-drive vehicle.

The 3008 GT Hybrid4 does spend much of its time being driven by, wait for it, the rear wheel motor. In its selectable pure EV mode, the rear motor does all the donkey work.

When more oomph is called for, that’s when the front electric motor and the big ‘suck squish blow’ turbo-petrol engine combine to do what they do best.

When you really give it the beans, the 3008 GT Hybrid4 becomes a front wheel drive powerhouse but handles the shifting between E and ICE drives so smoothly, you’d think there’s double cream brie in the drivetrain.   

Since the 3008 GT Hybrid4 has two electric motors, it stands to reason it has a battery to power them and it does: a rechargeable 13.2kWh lithium-ion battery.

You can tell the 3008 GT Hybrid4 to operate on its battery only for around 60 kms, enough to get most to work and return and then hook into a home power socket for an overnight charge, or if you have a Wallbox, somewhere around three hours or so.

And, while the electrics are the buzzwords as far as hybrids go, we can’t ignore the efficiency of the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol PureTech engine which develops 147kW of power and 300Nm of torque.

The manufacturer’s stated combined outputs of the 3008 GT Hybrid4 are 220kW and 520Nm. We saw a 1.4 litres per 100km reading, and we did get this without trying hard.

In fact, we found the 3008 GT Hybrid4 regarded fuel use with a nonchalance befitting a French aristocrat, and that leads us nicely into the niceties of Peugeot’s sipper of an SUV.

It has beautifully balanced proportions and sits powerfully on the road, presenting a slightly sporting slant forwards in profile and a distinctive front face with the sabre design lights framing a strong grille with its optical illusion grille.

Inside, the 3008 GT Hybrid4’s design is a little more avant garde, the now famous i-Cockpit design toned down somewhat in regards its driver-centric layout, which Peugeot’s design teams have now balanced just right.

This is to say the interior no longer isolates the left seat passenger from the interior features but still gives the driver the sense of ‘all the toys are mine’ when it comes to the controls.

Those controls by the way are a fascinating study in how to make things work, using an incroyable blend of rollers, stalks, switches, touchscreens, hard buttons, chromed toggle switches and joystick (for the e EAT8-speed gearbox) throughout what appears to be a premium, but busy cabin, but which in fact, works brilliantly for ergonomics.

Peugeot’s i-Cockpit demands a head up display but this is not a HUD as we know it. It’s a physical 12.3-inch configurable display screen which by design, sits at the same height and plane as a lit HUD.

Thus, the driver’s eyes do not come away from the road for all the information required but can see it as if it was projected onto the windscreen.

Maybe not as cool as a true HUD, but certainly as, if not more, safe, and more informative.

As to the infotainment touchscreen, this is a 10-inch, high-definition colour affair with integrated 3D navigation as just one of its many functions. As mentioned, the passenger can easily view and access this screen as they please or when the driver requires them to do so.

As to the drive experience, the 3008h is a slick shifter which comes as something of a surprise to the casual observer. The SUV is well proportioned and spacious, but that does come with a visual price of looking a little ‘chunky’. Its characteristic wide nose reinforces this.

But for all that, the 3008h is nimble, agile and can tackle Kiwi coastal roads as you would find in Coromandel, Maraetai, Raglan or Queen Charlotte Sound, with a spirited willingness to enthusiastically attack corners more in keeping with the performance of a spunky hatchback.

What’s more, the chassis dynamics allow it to do so.

Being a hybrid, the expectation is that the 3008h may not be as fast on its feet as perhaps a pure ICE or an electric version.
It’s fair to say a five seat SUV is not usually known to be a roadgoing rocket ship, but the 3008h will surprise and delight – just don’t expect your electric only range to be as good as it could be.  

The 3008h was never going to make its bones in this country by benefitting from a government handout or subsidy.

This is somewhat unfortunate as $8k off the $89,990 + ORC price would make the 3008h a very tasty offering, allowing potential buyers to focus on the positive attributes beyond the five-star safety rated SUV’s buying price: namely power, poise, practicality and of course, ‘phuel’ efficiency.