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Did the Peugeot 3008 I really win an car of the year award? For real? Anyway, today we are discussing one of the most comfortable family cars you can buy, which won’t break your personal and interpersonal finances.

Peugeot 3008 I stands halfway between an MPV and an SUV because around 2008, no one was buying MPVs anymore. And they were right; people really weren’t buying vans with windows – I mean, MPVs. If you look at the streets nowadays, you rarely see a Touran, Zafira, or Scenic. Most people now prefer crossovers, more (Qashqai) or less (ASX) successful cross-overs. The Peugeot 3008 T84 targeted a very specific niche that I didn’t even know existed: People who want an MPV but also want an SUV but can’t decide on which, so they bought both in one car. It only needed to be a station wagon, and it would have been an automotive moonshine XXX bottle.

Like the Opel Mokka, Peugeot 3008 T84 is very dependent on the level of equipment more than I am dependent on educational materials with Deauxma and Puma Swede. Combined. It can be a cheap and bad car, an average and decent one, or a good but pricey one, so you have to be very careful when buying one.

As for the car itself, not much in the way of complaints. It’s evident that it’s a huge car, designed for the dedicated family guy who hasn’t heard of vasectomy but doesn’t want something that looks like a van with windows. It has a look from that category of “You either love it or hate it. There’s no middle ground.” And because the brand and the car, in general, are weak in terms of reliability, it drags down the price at all equipment levels, especially the good ones. You could say they intentionally made bad models to have good sales in the used market. It’s a logic worth millions, but in the end we’re talking about Peugeot, a manufacturer from a country where a man’s sexuality is questionable, and they look at other men painted on their faces while eating baguettes with garlic. Oh, I almost forgot. Being a French car automatically means that the NCAP safety test scores are stellar. You only have a questionable 31% score for pedestrian safety; the rest is over 80%. But that’s the pedestrians’ concern, not yours. And if you’ve left one pedestrian lying on the street after taking him for a ride on your bonnet, you can take them with you in one of those two standard places behind the rear bench and rush them to the hospital. Scrap that, you can enter an junction like in bowling ball and not care about pedestrians, as you have space to take about 15 injured people with you to the hospital. 

Peugeot 3008 T84 Engines

Petrol

• 1.2 Turbo EB-eTHP of 130 horsepower – If you really need me to explain why a 1.2 turbocharged petrol is a wrong idea on a Peugeot 3008 T84, you probably need to reconsider your life.


• 1.6 MPI Prince of 120 horsepower – You might occasionally find this engine in the classifieds, but again, it’s a more tortured and exploited engine than an minimum wage worker somewhere in a clothing factory. Timing chain issues are your last concern when you make it carry a 3008.


• 1.6 Turbo Prince of 156 horsepower – The Little Prince gets a turbo too. Responsible for ruining MINI’s reputation for reliability, this engine’s timing chain plays like it’s part of a cheese wheel race. 

Diesel

• 1.6 HDi DV6 of 110 horsepower – My favorite flavor of garbage. It’s my favorite engine because I can always be negative about this engine. After wreaking havoc in Ford, Volvo, Peugeot, Citroen, and wherever it was installed, this mechanical failure is pushed to the maximum load on Peugeot 3008 I, and it shows. The intense effort frequently leaves it without injectors, flywheel, clutch, turbo, EGR, or any sense to buy it.


• 2.0 HDi DW10 of 150 and 163 horsepower – This is why I said Peugeot 3008 I can be an excellent car if you know what to choose. And this is the most suitable engine for this car of the year. Again, how??. Sure, occasional issues with the particle filter and the dual-mass flywheel wearing out, but it’s by far the most suitable engine. It fits better with this body than Puma Swede with Deauxma.

Hybrid

2.0 HDi DW10 + electric of 200 horsepower – When I said good but very expensive, I was reffering to the hybrid powertrain. Yes, the electric system may misbehave sometimes because the car has a lot of technology and an electric consumption worthy of Sunwaves, but overall, it’s a successful experience. It’s not like you’ll be thinking about the planet and saving the environment while driving a Peugeot 3008 T84.

Peugeot 3008 T84 Reliability Issues

• A general issue you will find everywhere refers to electronics. Basically, like any French car. Just that this car has been equipped with a lot of technology (from Heads-Up Display to lane departure warning sensors), so check every button and function to see if it works.


• The semi-automatic gearbox on the 3008 doesn’t impress anyone, not even the mechanics. It has so many reasons not to work that even they are not excited because they will have to search more than I have to search for meaning in life. Although, pouring my mental garbage here seems like a pretty good ideea.


• Apparently, the rear doors were installed after the car left the factory gate, as they are either not 100% aligned or have issues with the locks. Or both. I can almost see how a 3008 came out without rear doors, and the French mechanics said, “Oh ho ho monsieur, but we forgot the doors! Let’s physically satisfy ourselves first, and then let’s install the doors! Oh ho ho mon ami! Gerard, give me the baguette!!!”

Peugeot 3008 T84 Verdict 

It’s not a conventional car, so I have to get into the mind of the buyer for something like this. Again, it’s for the sort of person who wants both an SUV and an MPV but can’t decide, so they buy both. And if you go for the 2.0 HDi engine, you have a regular, spacious, impressive car with minor reliability issues. Still, I’m impressed that you can find decent cars even at Peugeot. Oh ho ho mon ami, avec le croissant! Gerard, bring me the baguette! Anyway, I recommend it rather than a classic like Touran or Scenic.

Which engines do I recommend? For petrol, I recommend the tortured 1.6 MPI because I have to recommend something, and for diesel clearly the 2.0 HDi in either 150 or 163 horsepower flavors.