I’d been looking forward to getting my hands on one of these since I first saw the press photos last year.  There were 2 versions to play with at the 2017 SMMT Media Day at Millbrook, the manual 1.2ltr PureTech 130 petrol and the auto 2ltr BlueHDi 180 diesel. For my first drive I opted for the former.

I love the interior, though it isn’t for everyone.  The steering wheel is ovalish and sits low enough for you to read the instrument panel above it, and the left hand side of the dash tapers in like you’re in a cockpit.  However, for all of its funkiness, the manual version has 2 flaws. The first being that the foot rest is a tad too wide and too close to the clutch pedal, which in turn hinders gear change as I couldn’t fully depress the clutch.  Having said that, I’m confident that after a week or so of driving it I'd get used to repositioning my left foot.  The second annoyance is that the bottle / cup holders are right behind the gear stick making it difficult to change gear with bottles in situ.  I find it difficult to believe that no one ever noticed this during tests, it's such an obvious design flaw.

Acknowledging my moans, Mason, Peugeot’s media guru suggested I try the automatic version as not only does it have just the 2 pedals, obviously, but the auto gear stick suits the interior far better, and by-jove he was right!  

Driving the auto around the hill route was fun, there was a little wallowing, but that’s the nature of the road.  The auto box worked well with the 2ltr diesel, and I’m looking forward to spending a week with one to see how it copes on the daily commute and longer journeys.  Unfortunately Peugeot aren’t giving the 3008 a 4wd system, though on certain models it does have their remarkable Grip Control.