story by: Danie van Jaarsveld 11 March 2010 What is a crossover, or for that matter, just what is an MPV or an SUV? Are these engineering terms or are they classifications termed by the marketing people whose job it is to create markets, define the products that will fit into these markets and then sell them into the niche that they’ve created.
 
In the simplest possible terms, an MPV is a kombi that’s not quite a kombi and a SUV is a 4x4 that prefers tar roads. By their very definition, these vehicles are compromises between a “normal” car, whatever that might be, and the recreational capabilities of the segment that they are aimed at.
 
So when Peugeot announced the 3008 as a Crossover, part hatchback, part SUV and part MPV it sounded like a ghastly compromise, comprised of compromises.
 
In order to experience this mother-of-all-compromises, I drove one from Johannesburg to Natal and back to follow the TOTAL Tour Natal Rally. Such a trip would require some 1,800 kilometres made up of the N3, the narrow twisties in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, a good whack of the smooth gravel roads that criss-cross the sugarcane fields where the rally would take place and the odd rough patch where your ordinary passenger car would no longer be able to proceed. To evaluate its credentials as an MPV, I took three colleagues, fellow photographers, on the trip complete with their sacks of camera gear.
 
First impressions of the 3008 are favourable. The car is big on a small footprint and offers better than hatch space inside. It won’t hold a candle to Honda’s F-RV, an Espace or, my favourite, Fiat’s unloved Multipla when it comes to moving people, but it is a roomy, well appointed five seater. The driver’s compartment is a genuine cockpit from where he can operate the vehicle with ease and in comfort. In a first, obvious concession to recreational vehicle status, the luggage compartment in the centre console is big enough to carry a case of beers, it is refrigerated and the plastic lining will clean easily should any liquid spill in its cavernous interior. In the Executive model that we used, the roof is made of glass and is covered on the inside by a lengthy “sunroof” which can be extended or withdrawn as the occupants prefer. While this gave rise to lots of oohs and aahs in the early morning hours, we kept it shut in the harsh midday sunlight.
 
The multitude of controls sprouting from the steering column reminded me of a friend many years ago, an aeronautical engineering student who explained to me that there were three ways to do anything - the right way, the wrong way and the French way. In all fairness to the French, once one had the hang of the various stalks and their functions they started to make sense and by the end of our journey I could do most things without any serious conscious effort.
 
The trip down to Durban showed the 3008 to be an effortless cruiser, able to maintain the speed set on the cruise control – law abiding of course – without having to change down from 6th gear on uphills. Unusually, the speedometer proved to be remarkably accurate, deviating from the GPS speed by less than a percent. The stubby gear lever provides for quick and precise swapping of the cogs and the ratios are sensibly spaced, with 6th gear being a logical top gear, not just an overdrive. The ability to adjust the headlights on the fly came in handy while travelling through the fog on the escarpment and the Pug delivered its occupants to Umhlanga Rocks relatively fresh and rested.
 
Once on the rally proper, the 3008 really impressed on smooth dirt, it neither wallows around like an SUV nor does it feel completely out of place like most hatches do. The Michelins may have a lot to do with it, but traction on the dirt was excellent while there was just that bit of extra ground clearance to make unhindered progress a reality. Both cabin and boot remained completely dust free and despite the firm suspension, there was never a rattle.
 
The boot was big enough to accommodate our luggage on its floor while the photographic bags all lay on top of the dividing shelf which fits across the compartment. This arrangement effectively provided a boot on top of a boot, providing us with free and unfettered access to the cameras and lenses we had all brought along while the tailgate soon proved its worth as a seat, workbench or table.
 
Upon our return, my beloved pointed out that our ETA back in the city of gold was thirty minutes too late for me to enjoy the roast lamb that she was busy preparing before watching the eight o’clock movie on MNET. Always eager to maintain domestic harmony, I undertook to see where I could make up a bit of time.
 
Now after a great deal of investigation and research the people responsible for road safety in our country came to the conclusion that the single most dangerous thing that a driver could be guilty of is to exceed the speed limit at the bottom of a long downhill. In order to discourage this dangerous behaviour they go into hiding at these bottoms-of-long-downhills where sophisticated laser equipment is used to trap and fine those who are guilty of breaking the law. They do so with admirable single mindedness and we watched a bakkie with a three storey pile of mattresses on the back and a taxi towing a taxi with a three metre length of rope at 120 km/h pass serenely through two successive law enforcement points without attracting any attention from the officials, as they focussed entirely on trapping those who might be speeding. The success of this strategy is borne out by the fact that I cannot remember when last I’ve seen an accident at the bottom of a long downhill.
 
In view of the above, it was clear that the only safe way to make up time would be to approach uphills and corners with the enthusiasm that would reduce our travelling time while taking due care not to speed along straight downhills. This we did, and what a delight it was in the 3008, whose road car bloodline shined through on the twisties while the 1600cc turbocharged power plant produced lots of zing to pull the car out of corners and up the hills that Alan Paton wrote of so lovingly in the opening sentences of “Cry the beloved country”.
 
Suffice to say that we got home on time, without incurring the wrath of the law enforcers, and in good spirits. A last stop at the fuel pump showed that we had used 6.2 litres per hundred kilometres, which is excellent, especially in view of our making-up-time efforts.
 
The trip and the Peugeot’s undeniable strengths leave me feeling that it is both unnecessary and unfair to attempt to categorise it as a Crossover, or part MPV or part SUV. It is none of these things and is no half measure. It is a mighty fine passenger car, configured in a way that broadens the types of terrain it can cover while maximising the space available to the occupants without conceding any tried and tested road car virtues; fine road manners, lively performance, a five star NCAP safety rating and excellent fuel economy.
 
In time, more cars will be made like this.
 
Fast Facts:
Model:                                   Peugeot 3008 Executive 1.6 THP                      
Retail Price:                        R305,400
Engine Output (kW):      115 @ 6,000
Max Torque (Nm)              240 @ 1,400
 
A five-year/90 000 km service plan and a three-year/100 000 km warranty is included in the price.