Peugeot E-3008 sets new standards for electric SUV design
The Peugeot E-3008 is an alluring electric car that combines neat lines, smart tech and an idiosyncratic interior
This is the new Peugeot E-3008, an all-electric ‘fastback SUV’ that gives the French manufacturer one of the largest fleets of distinct pure EV models of any manufacturer. Following in the aesthetic footsteps of the larger Peugeot 408, and foreshadowing the even larger Peugeot E-5008, this new model joins the swollen ranks of compact SUVs that now seem to make up the majority of European car sales.
First things first. Somehow, Peugeot has managed to eke a claimed 422-mile range for this machine, an impressive achievement for any contemporary electric car, let alone a mass market, non-luxury name. In the Stellantis pantheon of brands, Peugeot sits squarely in the middle, leaving luxury to Maserati, sports to Alfa Romeo and quirky mass market design to former sister company Citroën.
Visually, the compact – or ‘urban’ – SUV is one of the toughest typologies to whittle into a piece of well-proportioned design. Peugeot has had a decent stab at it, with the E-3008’s rakish rear screen and the way body panels fold and crease and dive beneath elements like the rear lights.
In fact, there are a plenty of visual tricks going on to keep the E-3008 evenly balanced, such as the blacked-out C-pillar, the dark sill detailing that compresses the height of the side elevations, and the multi-layered front end with its mildly triskaphobia-triggering grille. In the ‘Obsession Blue’ paintwork, seen here, we detected a hint of Gallic 1980s elegance.
Inside the Peugeot E-3008
Inside, it’s a different story. For the past few years, Peugeot has been pushing what it calls the Panoramic i-Cockpit. This approach to cabin architecture places the main digital 21-inch display screen above the main body of the dash, a ribbon of information that can be irritatingly bisected by the small steering wheel. A separate touchscreen deals with key functions and favourites, while the gear and drive selector are set in the swooping asymmetric centre.
The trick is to lower the wheel to just above your legs to get an uninterrupted view of the dash, an unconventional driving position that sets the Peugeot apart from its peers and encourages you to drive with a different mindset. It’s less car-like and more futuristic, an impression aided by the punchy electric motor.
The Electric 230 Long range Single Motor model, with its 98kWh battery, is the only specification that’ll get you that headline range (on a warm day with a following wind), but both the Electric 210 (with a single motor at 73kWh battery) and the Electric 320 (with twin motors, all-wheel drive and 73kWh) offer a very respectable 326 miles. All models come with steering wheel paddles to swap between three levels of regenerative braking. Fast charging up to 160kW is available for swift top-ups where available.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Although a petrol-hybrid model will be offered later in the year, Peugeot is issuing a strong signal of intent by releasing the EV model first. It’s a very easy car to live with, relatively compact at just over 4.5m in length, with a cavernous interior aided by fold-flat rear seats.
Peugeots have traditionally been dynamically refined, and the E-3008 is no different, with well-weighted steering that doesn’t feel too light and feathery. The interior is different but not distracting, and the palette and detailing throughout have been pared back to reduce the number of parts and materials required (over 500kg of the car’s mass is made up of ‘green’ materials, including recycled plastic).
Although the E-3008 isn’t the affordable EV of everyone’s dreams – it represents a serious hike in prices from the brand’s usual range – it does its thing differently, with confidence and without compromise. The impressive range is the icing on a well-made cake.
Peugeot E-3008, from £45,850, Peugeot.co.uk, @PeugeotUK
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibition
Maude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
By India Birgitta Jarvis Published
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which features a 1990s-inspired riff on the G-Wagon
Unveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Cathay Pacific’s new business class Aria Suites take flight
Cathay Pacific raises the bar for business-class travel with the launch of the much-anticipated Aria Suites
By Lauren Ho Published
-
All hail the arrival of true autonomy? On Tesla’s proposed Robotaxi and techno-insecurity
Tesla’s new marketing push predicts a future of robot cabs, automated buses and autonomous home androids. We already want to get off
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
We report from the theatrical, laser-lit launch of Lynk & Co’s first European EV, the 02
In the future, will we treat cars like streaming services and simply subscribe to them? That’s one way that Lynk & Co envisages customers getting into their cars, including the new 02 EV
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
We make off with a MOKE and experience the cult EV on the sunny backroads of Surrey
MOKE is a cult car with a bright future. Wallpaper* sat down with the company's new CEO Nick English to discuss his future plans for this very British beach machine
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The mibot is a tiny single-seater ‘mobility robot’ for traversing Japan’s crowded city centres
Japan is the undisputed centre of compact car culture, and KG Motors' new mibot is one of a new wave of micro-EVs that look set to take the country’s cities by storm
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Ora-ïto transforms the Renault 17 into a futuristic yet retro-tinged vision
The R17 electric restomod x Ora-ïto is the fourth in Renault's series of designer-led reimaginings of iconic models from its past. We think it's the best of the lot
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Specialist car-maker Ariel explorers the power of electrification with the E-Nomad concept
The Ariel E-Nomad is an all-electric, go-anywhere sports car concept for the dedicated enthusiast. Could it be the shape of sporting EVs to come?
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A new exhibition at Los Angeles’ Petersen Auto Museum charts the rocky road to electric cars
‘Alternating Currents: The Fall and Rise of Electric Vehicles’ brings together EVs old and new, from forgotten prototypes to legendary innovations. We take a tour
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Four tiny electric motors offer a space-saving take on modern urban transport
This quartet of ultra-compact city cars prove that big is definitely not better when it comes to last mile, last minute short haul travel in a built up area
By Jonathan Bell Published