Despite some mixed messages from CEO Carlos Tavares, Stellantis is taking the EV market seriously, with its Peugeot brand leading the charge. The French automaker has had reasonable success with the e-208 compact hatchback and e-2008 crossover, plus a couple of electric vans. But strangely there was no regular SUV, considering this format has been a focus for most brands when electrifying. With the e-3008, that all changes. After the popularity of the 3008 in fossil fuel form, selling over 1 million cars by the end of 2021, can the new electric update challenge the current market leader in this class, the Tesla Model Y?
No 435-Mile Range Just Yet
One factor that made the e-3008 look promising when it was launched was that a version with a 98kWh battery was planned, offering around 435 miles of range. This is still coming, but for now only the basic 73kWh battery will be available. The Long Range version is expected (in the UK at least) in November. Around the same time, a dual-motor option will also arrive, although only with the 73kWh battery. That will make three drivetrains – the basic 210hp front-wheel drive version I tested, a 230hp FWD version with the bigger battery, and the 320hp all-wheel drive option. There will only be two trims to choose from, however – Allure and GT – alongside three option packs and a host of single-feature extras.
The reason for the absence of the bigger battery is apparently because the gigafactory Stellantis is constructing to make the cells in is behind schedule, and for now the e-3008 will be using pouches from BYD instead. This is a shame, as the 73kWh front-wheel drive car is much less exceptional on paper than the Long Range. But it’s still representative of the new Stellantis platform generation, which shifts the focus towards BEVs first, while maintaining some ICE options.
Unlike Peugeot’s (and Stellantis’s) previous EVs, the e-3008 is not based on a fossil fuel car platform that has been adapted to accommodate electrification. Instead, this is our first taste of STLA Medium, which was announced as being for BEVs, but it would be more accurate to call it “BEV first”. It’s a skateboard design, so the battery packs are under the floor, like most pure-play BEVs, which is optimal for interior space. But STLA Medium can also accommodate an internal combustion drivetrain. There’s still no transmission tunnel, however, because the ICE hybrid vehicles will be front-wheel drive.
Peugeot e-3008: Exterior Design and Interior Space
The e-3008 follows the current trend in design towards “SUV coupes”, which can be very hit or miss, and mostly miss. Peugeot claims this choice is for aesthetics and aerodynamics. Sensibly, though, the rear roof slant isn’t so far forward it affects back seat passenger headroom or cargo space significantly. The rear doors are also a regular shape, so you won’t risk banging your head on entering the back either. Overall, Peugeot’s coupe design is quite attractive.
The interior in the GT trim I drove feels quite lush, too, with sumptuous black Nappa leather upholstery. There is ambient lighting around the dashboard. The front seating area is dominated by the high central console, which incorporates a couple of decently sized cubbies. Americans will be pleased to see that there are two cupholders as well, although not large enough for big bottles of soda. There’s wireless phone charging as standard in UK models, although the pad for this is somewhat hidden in front under the dashboard.
There’s an openable panoramic sunroof, which is a £900 ($1,100) option with the Allure trim and appears to be part of the £1,200 ($1,500) Sensation Pack with the GT, which also includes a premium FOCAL sound system and air filtering kit. This glass roof adds a sense of space to the rear, but there is plenty of room already. People up to six feet tall will have sufficient head and knee clearance. The GT spec also gets a middle-seat armrest with cupholders and phone storage.
The rear cargo space is quite generous for a car this size. With rear seats up, you get 520 liters, which is beyond a compact station wagon and way more than a hatchback. But the Tesla Model Y dwarves this capacity, and the Skoda Enyaq offers more too. With the rear seats down, the capacity is a decent 1,480 liters – but here again a Tesla Model Y goes much further and has a frunk too. The e-3008 can at least tow up to 1,250kg braked. The towing bar is a £500 ($600) option in the UK.
Peugeot e-3008: Controls and Infotainment
The most noticeable new infotainment feature with the e-3008 is the 21in curved widescreen that includes both the instrument panel and media. The e-3008’s controls will be mostly familiar to anyone who has driven an electric Peugeot before (and several other Stellantis EVs that use the same system), except that the rocker for selecting drive, neutral and reverse has been moved to the dashboard. The rocker for switching between Eco, Normal and Sport power modes remains in the central console. If you add the Advanced Grip Control extra, you also get Sand, Snow & Mud and Hill Ascent Control options.
There are still discrete buttons for the main climate control functions such as window demisting, but other air conditioning changes must be made using the media screen. When this is in “Home” mode, there are temperature controls either side of the satnav view. To make this screen easier to operate, there’s a smaller touchscreen below providing quick access to media screen views, such as a full-sized satnav, music controls, phone, and Apple CarPlay / Android Auto screen mirroring.
The satnav will calculate optimal charging stops for the fastest routing on long journeys. Peugeot will also be integrating ChatGPT into the voice interface, although this wasn’t available on the car I drove. Instead, I was shown this in another Peugeot vehicle. It wasn’t entirely seamless, failing to tell me which Korean restaurant to choose in the local area, but it was able to provide some very useful insight about subatomic particles. There’s an app with remote access, too, giving you abilities like route planning and remote operation of charging.
Peugeot e-3008: Driving and Range
Although the basic e-3008 still has 210hp, it also weighs a hefty 2,108kg, so acceleration isn’t particularly brusque, taking 8.8 seconds to hit 62 mph. Peugeot hasn’t revealed how fast the other two models will be. Thanks to the skateboard design with the heavy batteries below the floor, however, the center of gravity is low, and cornering is surprisingly flat for a tall SUV.
There’s no sense that this is a driver’s car, and it’s not as much fun as rear-wheel drive EVs such as the Cupra Born or MG4, but it handled the very windy hill roads around Cannes where I was test driving adeptly. Being front-wheel drive, the e-3008 feels like a blip on the accelerator would get you going in the right direction in the event of trouble. As this isn’t a huge SUV, it is also at home on urban streets, although not quite in the same league as a compact car like the e-208. Of the three motor powers available – Eco, Normal and Sport – even Normal is adequate for overtaking, although Eco feels somewhat weedy.
The 73kWh battery promises 327 WLTP miles with the car I was driving, and this barely drops at all with the all-wheel drive version. The larger Long Range battery extends this a lot to 435 miles, which would be game changing for a car in this class. During my driving, which was quite vigorous at times with lots of hills involved but mostly in Normal mode, I managed a decent 3.1 miles per kWh. This would equate to 226 miles of real-world range but I’m sure with more frugal use of the right-hand pedal 250-260 miles will be possible. However, there’s no heat pump as standard in the UK – only in some Northern European countries known for their cold weather. In Britain, this is a £700 ($900) option. So, without this, the range will drop a bit in the winter.
AC charging goes up to 11kW, although most homes will only offer 7kW, giving a zero to 100% charge in 10.5 hours. DC charging is 160kW, which is decent if not quite “state of the art”. With a fast enough charger, you can replenish from 20 to 80% in half an hour – just the right amount of time for a quick snack and trip to the toilet. Overall, this is a step up from the 200–250-mile range of previous Stellantis cars and puts the e-3008 on par with the Tesla Model Y Long Range as well as Korean competitors.
Can the Peugeot e-3008 repeat its predecessor’s success?
The Peugeot e-3008 is a pleasant and comfortable EV with a very usable amount of space both for passengers and cargo. Performance, at least with the basic front-wheel drive powertrain, isn’t that outstanding, but here again it’s perfectly adequate for a family car. The range is much more usable than previous Stellantis cars, too.
The price, however, is a little more than I’d hoped. The Allure version of the e-3008 is £45,850 ($58,000) and the GT is £49,650 ($63,000), and then there are the options on top. I’d kept my fingers crossed that the Long Range e-3008 would arrive for under £50,000, which really would have put the cat among the pigeons. Peugeot hasn’t published prices for the AWD or Long Range e-3008 yet, but it’s likely both will be well towards £55k, which would still be competitive but not such a gamechanger.
With the continuing pressure from Chinese EV brands, the e-3008 has its work cut out for it. Had the Long Range arrived at the initial launch for £50,000, the Tesla Model Y would have been in for some serious competition. As it is, while the Peugeot e-3008 is a very competent family EV, living up to the ICE 3008 predecessor’s sales popularity will be much more of a challenge.
