My drive to and from work adds up to 300+ miles per week, so for a while now I have been toying with the idea of trading my current car in for something a little more fuel efficient. Usually, a fuel efficient car means something small and relatively underpowered, so when CDG-Cars.com asked me to do a weekend test drive of their metallic sky blue Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4, I jumped at the chance.
The Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 turns out to be quite unique in the motoring world in that it was the first and is one of the only hybrid vehicles available in the UK that has an electric motor combined with a diesel engine. Other hybrids on offer from the likes of Honda and Toyota combine electric motors with petrol engines, so Peugeot seem to be on the right track using the great fuel efficiency of a proven strong diesel engine with their hybrid technology.
Externally, the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 is a typical crossover design – a tall five door estate sitting on 17 inch alloy wheels. Chrome highlights accent the front and sides and privacy rear windows add to the smart style of the vehicle. The extra height gives the driver a commanding view of the road and means that ingress and egress is very easy indeed.
Under the bonnet sits a 161hp 2.0HDI engine which provides the majority of the power through the front wheels. A 35hp electric motor provides minor power to the rear wheels and when combined, nearly 200hp is on tap with all four wheels being powered. The engine is hooked up to a smooth shifting automatic gear box– or you can choose to shift gears manually by selecting the ‘M’ mode on the central dial and using the paddle shifters. This particular version of the Hybrid4 has a CO2 rating of 104g/km which means it falls into Tax Band B, so if you buy a brand new model, your road tax will cost you nothing for the first year and £10 per year afterwards.
On the inside, the cabin consists of many creature comforts including full leather seats, which are electrically adjustable and heated, sat-nav, cruise control, heads-up display, ESP, climate control, Bluetooth connectivity, full panoramic glass roof with electric blind. The dashboard centre console is full of buttons and the dash dials are large and easy to read. The heads-up display proved very useful and clearly projects your speed in digit form onto a clear plastic card that automatically comes out of the top of the dash when starting the car. Seating is comfortable and legroom in the front is good. Rear legroom is a little tight for full sized adults but the back of the front seats have been carved out to give slightly more room to passenger’s knees. Rear passengers have their own air vents, side window sun blinds and cup holders in the rear arm rest. There is plenty of storage space for your bits and pieces with large deep door pockets and a very deep centre console.
The boot with its double doors at first seemed quite small, but then I realised that there is hidden under-floor compartment storage which is handy for your valuables. I did notice that there was no room for a spare wheel – just a can of puncture repair spray.
Driving the car was a good experience. Upon starting the engine you hear nothing – just silence. Put the transmission into ‘A’ for auto, put your foot on the accelerator and the electric handbrake automatically disengages. Up to about 20mph there is no engine sound at all – any faster and then the diesel engine cuts in. Official 0-62 times range from 8.5 to 9.1 seconds and the top speed is limited to 118mph. Overtaking times were good too with instant pick up. Fuel economy was great and under normal driving conditions on A and B roads from Eastbourne to Rye I averaged 60mpg. On one journey I drove with a light right foot and the on-board computer displayed that my average fuel consumption was a very impressive 66mpg!
Conclusion: In my opinion the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 is a good looking, fully loaded car with good performance and impressive fuel economy. It saves you £s on fuel and £s on road tax yet can haul a family of five with their luggage in complete comfort.
Good interesting read.
Good, informative and interesting read.
Hi David,
I currently have a Skoda Superb estate (previous model to the one you reviewed) and am thinking of swapping to a 3008 Hybrid 4 and wondered what your thoughts were on comparing the 2 after test driving them?
Regards,
Chris.
Hi Chris,
Sorry for my late response to your email, but thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Having driven the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid and the Skoda Superb, comparing the two is quite hard because they are both so very different. I was intrigued by the Peugeot Hybrid initially due to its amazing fuel economy claims, however in ‘real world’ driving, the actual MPG’s fell short of the claimed figures. Things I liked were the high up driving position, all of the gadgets and the seats were typically French (comfortable). I was surprised how compact it felt inside especially for rear passengers considering it’s a fair sized vehicle. The Skoda Superb proved to be a very nice car indeed with fantastic build quality and loads of space both in the cabin and the boot. On long drives I found that the Skoda had similar fuel economy figures to the Peugeot Hybrid and seemed a lot quieter and more powerful even though the Skoda power was rated at 140hp and the Peugeot 200hp. In my own opinion, the Skoda was the winner of the two mainly because of the better build quality and the yet unknown life expectancy of the Peugeot Hybrid batteries.
Hope this helps!
Kind regards,
David