Peugeot 4008 Reviews

The first thing the other half said when he first saw Peugeot's new SUV was: "Gee, it looks like that Mitsubishi ASX." He'd be right. And unsurprisingly, the next question was the one on everyone's tongue: "Why would you buy the same car with a different badge?"Why indeed. For $3000 less, you can get the shared chassis/engine/gearbox combination from Mitsubishi. In a few more months, you will be able to buy yet another version with a Citroen badge on its bonnet. But as it turns out, three grand buys you more than a badge and the cachet that comes with it. And in the competitive compact SUV market, it's the fruit inside and out that wins the buyers, not its beating heart and bone structure.VALUEFor a Euro SUV, the price point is pretty impressive. The base Active manual starts at $28,990 in 2WD form, with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) costing $2500, and on-demand, lockable 4WD a further $2000. Standard features include cruise control, dual-zone air-con and air-cooled glove box, parking sensors and a reversing camera which flashes up in the rearview mirror, and a six-speaker stereo with steering wheel buttons, Bluetooth and auxiliary connections.It sits on 16-inch alloys, but for $1000, the Active can be optioned with the Allure's two-tone 18-inch alloys and chrome side skirts; a pretty persuasive argument. The Allure is available in 4WD with CVT only for $38,490 - almost $10K more. It strangely misses out on standard sat-nav, but gets leather electric and heated seats and trim, chrome highlights, piano black trim on the doors, and those huge 18-inch alloys.The only options available are metallic or pearlescent paint ($800/1300), leather trim and electric heated seats on the Active ($3500), and the centre-mounted sat-nav and multimedia centre on both models ($1495). Peugeot Oz is also offering a capped price service plan that stays with the car, not the owner; $330 a year for three years or 60,000km.TECHNOLOGYUnfortunately, there's nothing new about the Mitsubishi-sourced 2.0-litre four-cylinder; the manual is only a five-speed, and the on-demand AWD system, which switches quickly enough, still has overt front-wheel-drive characteristics. Peugeot is lauded for its diesel technology, so why a conventional 2.0-litre four? Simple: no auto. Not yet, anyway. The excellent Peugeot RCZ coupe has both options, but the manual-only diesel accounts for just 10 per cent of sales. Plus, compact SUV sales are about 80 per cent automatic. So Peugeot saw no reason to offer the engine here - yet. We should see a diesel and six-speed auto in about a year's time.DESIGNThe 4008 is quite sleek and resolved, while retaining a French essence and air through individual and up-spec treatments both inside and out. Look a little closer, and the design lines such as squared-off wheel arches, relocated license plate recesses and soft-touch interior panels and trim set it apart from the Mitsubishi. In fact, only the door panels, roof and rear glass are carried over from the ASX; everything else is pure Pug. It also manages to avoid that 'adolescent kid with braces' look of some of its stablemates, such as the polarizing 3008 people-mover/crossover, or the bulky imposition of the outgoing Outlander-based 4007 mid-sized SUV.SAFETYFor its five star rating, the Pug works with seven airbags, a well-calibrated ABS and traction/stability control, hill holder, rear parking sensors and reversing camera. The ABS is sharp, but the stability control is buried pretty deep, and didn't dull all engine power delivery for seconds after coming on either - all good attributes in off-road applications. There is also a full-sized spare, though the 16-inch steel wheel is rated to 80km/h in the 18-inch shod cars.DRIVINGGiven those 18-inch rims, firmer spring and damper rates and recalibrated ABS and steering, we were a touch skeptical when turning off the beaten track and onto potholed, corrugated dirt roads south of Sydney on the local launch earlier this week. Only a few years ago, one wouldn't dream of taking an 18-inch-shod softie onto unsealed roads covered in potholes and cut up by causeways.But surprisingly, the car is quite deft both on and off the road with more speed than would be typically used by its buyers, provided you set it up and balance it for each corner. Body control is admirable, and while the steering is a little artificial in its speed detection, it is easy to drive if you drive it smoothly without any sudden jerky moves. The paddle-shifters on the CVT are easy to use, and the manual has a nice throw and seemed well-geared.In fact, the limiting factor to its cornering dynamics seemed to be the all-terrain tyres; simply not bitey enough on the hard-packed dirt with a layer of dust, and tending to give up a little at the front in faster corners. The trade-off on tarmac is a tendency is to push incrementally, not squeal or fold under, and the 225/55 profile has enough rubber to absorb without extricating mercury from molars. The 16-inch alloys and 215/70 rubber were not available to test, and will likely dull the steering and handling, but possibly offer more front-end bite on dirt depending on the rubber.While the ride and handling is a pleasant surprise, the drivetrain is disappointing in contrast. Neither the manual nor the CVT can hide the obvious hole in the torque, which leaves the car slowly building speed, brick by boring brick, until it climbs over the 3500rpm wall. It does acquit itself well once the wheels are rolling, but in this era of turbocharging small fours and excellent diesels with mounds of low-down torque, the conventional two-litre with a relatively peaky power and torque band (110kW at 6000rpm, and 197Nm at 4000rpm) is frustratingly weak from standstill or on steep inclines.Add four or five passengers and some luggage to its 1375kg - 1470kg kerb weight, as is this car's demographic, and your ears will no doubt fill with the whine from both engine and gearbox as they nab power from the peak, and no extra Pug padding in the uprated cabin will stifle it. You could add double-figure fuel use to that mix as well. But in the end, some may not notice nor care about such things. The downsides of slower initial acceleration can be countered by lofty specification and equally down-to-earth pricing, making the once unattainable Euro SUV a genuine proposition.VERDICTA solid SUV with decent spec and a distinctive look. It's no revolution, French or otherwise, to the compact SUV segment, but a diesel auto would be - will be - a different story.

Australia will be one of the first markets to get the Peugeot 4008 compact SUV, but may be one of the last to get a diesel drivetrain.The lack of an auto in the Mitsubishi-based 4008 diesel range means the June launch will be only the petrol drivetrain. For now, that is.“We’d like to get a diesel 4008, but we’d prefer to have an automatic and there isn’t one available in the range,” Peugeot spokesperson Jaedene Hudson says.“It’s not worth it to bring a manual diesel because there’s no demand for it here in that class. We prefer to wait and bring the automatic drivetrain when it’s available.” She says there isn’t one on the immediate horizon, but we can expect more news in the near future.TECHNOLOGYWhile the 4007 it replaces is based on the Mitsubishi Outlander, the 4008 starts from the Mitsubishi ASX platform.Overseas markets choose from the two manual diesels and two petrols. It will go on sale here with the larger of the latter: a 2.0-litre four-cylinder developing 110kW of power and 197Nm of torque. Output is delivered to either the front or both axles via the choice of two transmissions: a five-speed manual or a six-speed CVT with manual mode and paddle-shifters on the steering wheel.It’s an economical little thing in every version, with official fuel figures ranging from 7.7L/100km for the 2WD manual and 7.9L for the AWD. The CVT is 0.2L more for each of the drive versions.A console dial switches the all-paw’s on-demand system between 2WD/4WD/Lock, with varying serves of torque being dished up to each axle as requested – from 85 per cent maximum at the front in 2WD to 82 per cent maximum at the rear in Lock.VALUEPricing will be announced closer to June, but the entry is likely to be sub-$30,000 – a critical level in a highly-competitive field, about $5000 below the outgoing 4007.Spec is yet to be finalised, but Peugeot says it will arrive in two trims: Active on all drivetrains and Allure on AWD only. Features will follow those already on the 3008 that arrived about 18 months ago with a decent helping of LEDs, auto lights and wipers, Bluetooth, parking sensors, cruise, climate control airconditioning, sunroof and 16-in alloys as standard fare. Upstairs can look for leather and heated seats, darkened privacy glass, 18-in wheels and a touchscreen satnav in the goodies bag.SAFETYIt should also echo the 3008’s five-star ANCAP crash rating, with seven airbags, stability and traction controls and anti-skid brakes with extra help for panic stops and to compensate for uneven loads.DESIGNIt’s a stunner. With the front a sculpture of lines and creases flowing back from the imminently-signature floating grille and onto the flanks, it’s got an air of motion even standing still.But the shapely nose gives you no clue of where the corners are from the driver’s seat, and the protection of parking sensors will be a must.The cabin turns the other chic with elegant contours and finely-judged amounts of accent in either metal or piano black finish. The seats are contoured and comfortable, and it seems every surface and shape has been carefully decided. It’s styled-up but not overdone, accessorised but not ghetto-blinged. In a word, it’s French.DRIVINGToo many offroader test drives never get off the road. Peugeot did this one proud, digging up some of the local scenery and sculpting it into a dirt fun-park, complete with steep – about 35 degree – slopes and a healthy layer of loose surface.The 4008 took it with ease, proving the approach, breakover and departure angles handy for weekend warfare, and the AWD system skilled at finding the right torque division between axles. At the finish we were hoping the darkening sky would open so we could give it another shot garnished with le mud. We’re betting it would have been just as unruffled.But to get to the great outdoors, most buyers will have to trek a great deal of highway, and we were concerned about the CVT drivetrain’s performance at higher speeds. A quick litmus test showed at 110km/h it still had more to give for overtaking, but some planning will be needed to tackle a long truck or tight joust with oncoming traffic.There’s serious windrush around the A-pillars, and despite Peugeot’s extra work on sound-deadening, you’re always aware of the CVT’s low mooing soundtrack, with the engine chorus at higher revs.The paddle shifters are beautifully shaped and positioned to invite the hand, but feel flimsy once you start flicking them to toggle gears – with the CVT system showing some run-on when you requested a lower cog for cornering on downhill slopes. The bends also produced a top-heavy sway at any enthusiastic speed.None of that will likely bother the mostly urban owners, and – superficial as we are – we still can’t help but love the 4008 for its looks alone.VERDICTIt’s a great prospect for dirt, less so for bitumen. But it will wow on any café strip, and we can’t wait to see a diesel join it here.