Peugeot E-3008 SUV (2023 - ) Electric review

The all-electric, front-wheel drive E-3008 we tested will be sold alongside a mild hybrid petrol, with a plug-in hybrid version to follow. There will also be a four-wheel-drive and long-range versions of the electric model arriving in due course. You’ll pay a hefty premium of around £11,000 for the electric version over the mild hybrid and prices start at nearly £1,000 more than the Tesla Model Y. While company-car buyers will gain the Benefit in Kind tax advantage for going fully electric, the cost of the E-3008 looks steep for private buyer. However, if you can charge at home this should help keep running costs down.

The E-3008 is all new so it’s too early to judge reliability. However, the same foundations will be used in many other cars in the wider Stellantis group so it’s a critical model. Peugeot is confident in its product, using the E-3008 to launch its new Allure Care package providing up to eight years/100,000 miles of warranty if owners stick to the service schedule. This will give huge peace of mind to buyers who in many cases will change their car long before the cover ends.

The E-3008 offers many safety features as standard such as lane keeping assist, speed limit notifications, parking sensors, reversing camera and emergency braking. Each driver aid has its own corresponding bing or bong, but they can be turned off from the car settings menu each time you set off. However, on both trim levels you will need to add the optional 360° Vision & Drive Assist Pack to get useful safety features like bind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and rear cross traffic alerting which will stop the car if it detects you are about to reverse into oncoming traffic. By adding this pack, you will also get you a 360° camera to help visibility when manoeuvring so we would recommend selecting this option.

Inside, the E-3008 is distinctively Peugeot. The small steering wheel helps to make a large SUV feel sportier. Upgrading to leather upholstery gives extra levels of comfort in both trim levels. On the entry-level Allure trim, it adds heated front seats and manual lumbar adjustment. While for the range topping GT trim opting for leather gets you electrically powered heated front seats with massage function, seat ventilation and rear passages can enjoy heated seats too. Peugeot has thought about the comfort of rear passengers and has made sure the slope of the fastback roofline doesn’t impede headroom. There’s a decent amount of legroom in the rear, though things will feel cosy if you’ve got three adults in the back. A good use of space means there are lots of storage compartments to safely stow life’s essentials, including a handy chilled compartment underneath the central armrest. We particularly like how Peugeot has added a light to the wireless phone charger so you can see that your phone is charging even though its screen is obscured. Out on the road, comfort is impacted by extremely firm suspension, which is particularly noticeable around town where you’ll feel even the smallest bump in the road.

The interior of the E-3008 is dominated by the i-Cockpit, a sweeping 21-inch curved screen that floats above the dashboard with a smaller screen used for shortcuts below. In addition, there are some physical buttons that can be used to switch between driving modes, to control the volume, and to select some of the heating options. Although some of the screen menus are a bit fiddly, we salute Peugeot for displaying information in the driver’s eyeline. For this the E-3008 excels over Teslas and Volvo’s EX30 as you don’t need to take your eyes off the road to check your speed or see satnav instructions. Another highlight of the interior is the mixture of materials used throughout the cabin. The combination of fabric on the dashboard with configurable ambient lighting is a key part of the E-3008’s swanky, modern, and distinctive character. Peugeot has jumped on the ChatGPT bandwagon and will be integrating it into the E-3008 shortly. This wasn’t yet available on the car we tested, but in theory should mean your car could direct you to the highest rated restaurant in your area or teach you all about the history of Peugeot. Something to be aware of is that unlike the Renault Scenic E-Tech, a heat pump will not be included as standard in the UK on the E-3008 but can be added as a cost option. This might be worth considering as it will improve your battery range in colder temperatures.

The E-3008 is not fast by electric car standards, however it has enough go to negotiate traffic and confidently join motorways. It’s smooth and easy to drive with consistent brakes and direct steering. The E-3008 feels stable in the corners and has an impressively tight turning circle making it nimble around town. While most people will stick to the Normal driving mode, there’s an Eco mode for maximising range and a Sport mode which adds extra weight to the steering and ups the power. Each mode feels distinctly different and the ambient lighting changes colour too. We liked how the level of regenerative braking is easily adjustable using the paddles behind the steering wheel recouping varying amounts of energy back into the battery. The model we drove was the 73kWh front wheel drive standard range car. Peugeot highlights the 326-mile WLTP range won’t be achieved in the real world. On our test drive the E-3008 averaged a respectable 3.7 miles per kWh suggesting range is more likely to be around 270 miles. This should be plenty for most day-to-day needs. Later in the year there will be a more powerful all-wheel drive model using the same 73kWh battery. A long-range version with a bigger 98kWh battery claiming over 400 miles of range will also join the line-up.