Peugeot may be acknowledging mistakes with 2017 all-new 3008

The 2017 Peugeot 3008, which made its debut at the October Paris Motor Show, maybe one of the best Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) ever from the French carmakers. But the facelift may be a sign that the company has finally acknowledged mistakes in the previous versions.

Introduced in May 2008, and showcased for the first time to the public in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the SUV had faced criticism for its styling but the automaker seemed to return armed with arguably a lot of qualities that should make it stand out from the competition.

Frankly, the exterior design is certainly not groundbreaking, but that offered new 3008 a modern, unmistakable SUV presence without offending anyone in the process. This may be a way Peugeot is acknowledging the past mistakes.

The new model comes with long bonnet body cladding and roof bars, wide grille, LED lights, sculpted bonnet and a floating roof line making the vehicle more practical than imagined.

When it comes to the cabin though, it’s a whole different world; Peugeot calls it the “i-Cockpit”, with the dashboard adopting a wrap-around design, usually reserved for sportscars and supercars, making the 3008 a very special place to sit in. An eight-inch touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Mirrorlink is standard, as well as a 12.3-inch display that replaces the analog gauges behind the small steering wheel.

Peugeot 3008 comes with both petrol and diesel variants. In petrol variant, there is 2 engine option 1.2-litre PureTech and 1.6-litre unit. 1.2-litre unit produces around 128bhp of power and is available in both six-speed manual and automatic gearbox. 1.6-litre produces 163bhp of power and it is only available in the automatic gearbox.

The 1.6-litre diesel variant produces 99bhp and 118bhp and it is available in both manual six-speed and automatic gearbox. There is also a 2.0-litre engine variant which produces 148bhp and 178bhp. Both of these engines are available in both manual and automatic gearbox.

Since 3008 is now targeted as an SUV, it is equipped with grip control. This will help the car to tackle mud, bad road and sand. It is also fitted with off-road tyres and hill descent control. The new 3008 is also based on EMP2 platform that helps the car to save weight. In fact the new 3008 will be 100kgs lighter than the outgoing one.

This weight saving also means improved fuel economy and lower carbon emission.