A preaching from the converted
The pro-suv crowd welcomes another member to the movement
WITH EVERY passing day of 3008 ownership the closer I creep toward SUV advocacy. I never thought I’d say it, but maybe the Australian buying public is onto something.
My second love after cars is cycling, and though it’s not often I need to move one of my bikes in a vehicle, this month I did. This can be a colossal nuisance depending on what’s available to drive, but here’s how it went down with the Peugeot.
Step one, wheel bike to back of car. Step two, hope nobody is watching and wave leg under rear bumper, then wait for motorised hatch to open. Step three, flip seatbacks down using remote levers. Step four, insert bike. Provided there’s nothing in the way, the boot floor will be flat, and there’s enough length in a 3008 that even a large bike will fit as-is, both wheels attached. That’s all there is to it.
It’s this kind of ease of use that would make me buy a new SUV. Sure, you can achieve a similar thing with some wagons (the kind of car I always thought would be my family’s first) but my wife simply will not go back to that combination of low hip point and short roofline for as long as we have to lift a baby into and out of a car seat. The 3008 won a supporter there long ago.
I also need to eat humble pie, because I judged too hastily. In earlier nit-picking I criticised the 3008’s thirst for fuel, but with more mileage on the dial and less time spent in peak hour traffic, its efficiency has improved significantly to a whisker less than 9.0L/100km, down from the 11.0L/100km at the time I cried foul. With an official claim of 7.3L/100km I’ll be sure to mention it if the trend continues.
Otherwise, the past month of driving has been largely unremarkable, and I say that in a good way. The 3008 hasn’t left me wanting. The only annoying thing has been the discovery that if I were to receive this car now, it would have a panoramic sunroof.
Since taking delivery of my 3008 earlier in the year, Peugeot’s local distributor has rationalised its list of optional extras and bundled the leather trim with an opening glass lid for the same $4000 that the seats alone used to cost. Good for you, bummer for me. If you’re reading that and scoffing (as I know some of you will), know that the black on black on black interior, from carpet to roof-liner, can feel a little gloomy. A bit of sunlight wouldn’t hurt.
A more positive discovery was the unearthing of a workaround for the 3008’s lack of a one-touch wiper function. A single dip of the wiper stalk only activates or deactivates the auto mode, but a quick enough squeeze of the lever will trigger the washer function and do the job with a single flip of the blades, sans suds. Now, if anybody knows how to make the gear selector quicker to respond...
The Pug’s odometer is now approaching the 4000km mark, which means we’ve passed the point where a typical 3008 owner would have been back to the service centre for an early (and free) progress check. So, next month I’m venturing to the dealership to see what I’ve missed out on.