Long-termers
European Car of the Year, the 3008 SUV is Peugeot’s best product. Why, then, have sales been sluggish? We have 12 months to find out
IAM sitting in the driver’s seat on the rst day of 365 with Peugeot’s 3008, idly playing with the touchscreen infotainment system’s functions on gridlocked roads (when isn’t there traf c in Cape Town, I hear you lament), and I can’t help but wonder why I don’t see more 3008s plying the roads of the Mother City. This type of vehicle – midsize Suv/crossover – is the perfect fodder for Cape Town’s trendy itting between home, of ce, gym and beach. And the 3008 is easily one of the most stylish of the breed.
Just look at it. Despite this being the base Active spec, shorn of brightwork on various trim bits and the large, dual-tone alloys that form part of the agship Gt-line spec, the 3008 looks balanced; aggressive snout countered by a chunky rear and abounding in cool details (those rear lamps – meant to emulate the slashes made by a lion with anger issues – are easily my favourite).
The inside is even better. An evolution of Peugeot’s divisive i-cockpit design approach, which downsizes the steering wheel and places the digital instrumentation above its rim, it looks unlike anything else in this conservative class, feels a cut above most and, even in entry-level guise, is as well equipped as you could rightly expect. Niceties such as climate control, auto lights and wipers, a comprehensive infotainment package with USB and Bluetooth, park distance control and lane-departure warning are all standard. The only bits I’m missing are adjustable lumbar support on the driver's seat – it’s a touch too rm for my liking – and Apple Carplay that’s standard from the next model up.
Still, at R414 900, this is a lot of midsize SUV for the money. While the Peugeot might look compact when viewed on the road, in reality it measures up well to VW’S Tiguan and the Mazda CX-5. Jump in the back and there’s suf cient room for a brace of six-foot okes baying for their beers at a beach café, while the 312-litre boot is easily capacious enough for a set of weekend luggage (or even a surfboard; cleverly, the front-seat backrest folds at).
I really like the way it drives, too. Quieter than the 1,4T FSI in my departing Audi Q2, the 1,6-litre turbopetrol matches nicely with the six-speed torque-converter. Plus, on those plump tyres, the ride is old-school supple.
So far, so good. Over the next 12 months, I'll try to establish why the 3008 sells in such conservative numbers. As always, your opinion is very welcome.
Kawasaki is one of those do-itall Japanese companies. From ships to helicopters and trains, Kawasaki Heavy Industries builds them. But, most visible to petrolheads is the motorcycle division.
The company started building bikes in the 1950s, but things moved into top gear with the purchase of Meguro Motorcycles in the 1960s. There was competition right from the start, not just from the Europeans and Britons, but from Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki. Nothing has changed, of course, and all still compete strongly for their slice of the market.
These days, motorcycle styling is pretty much like car designs: manufacturers mostly employ variations of the same theme. Only the retro designs take a few steps back in time. With this Z800, however, the stylists have at least tried to offer something a bit different. Could another word for different be alien? There are distinct ribs, scales and pointy bits that give it an artistic, edgy flair.
The Z800 is a naked bike without a windscreen and just a cowling for the headlamps. It’s also naked in that there is no added wizardry such as traction control; it’s all up to you. Our test bike is fitted with ABS braking, however, which is great.
So far we’ve been suitably impressed by the smooth and torquey engine, coupled with an easy-shifting gearbox.
One annoyance is digital instrumentation that’s small, making it tricky to know what’s going on unless you take your eyes off the road for a second or two.
For the first 100 km, we have been asked to keep the engine revs below 6 000 r/min. After that point, the bike will go in for an oil service before we start exploring the upper reaches of its rev counter.