Peugeot 3008 GT Premium Hybrid 2025 Review

The 2025 Peugeot 3008 GT Premium Hybrid is a stylish medium five-door five-seat SUV about the same size as a Mazda CX-5. However, the French manufacturer has bestowed rather more upmarket ambitions upon it with a $64,990 plus on-roads official price tag.

Just months after the local launch of this third-generation 3008, it was on offer on the Peugeot Australia website for $65,990 drive-away. Sales are a bit slow, put it that way.

The 3008 GT Premium is $12,000 more expensive than the $52,990 (plus ORCs) 3008 Allure Hybrid. The two vehicles share their 107kW (combined) 48v mild-hybrid petrol-electric 1.2-litre triple-cylinder, six-speed dual-clutch, front-wheel drive powertrain. So differentiation all comes down to equipment levels.

GT Premium exterior exclusives include a panoramic sunroof, acoustic and laminated windows, a powered tailgate with foot activation, Pixel LED headlights and 3D-effect LED tail-lights.

Interior highlights include a 10-speaker sound system (replacing a six-speaker unit), extended ambient lighting and a rear drop-down armrest with cupholders. Seating is a big step up. Front seats are powered (10-way plus lumbar), and provide cooling, heating and massaging. Outboard rear seats are heated. Trim is leather versus the Allure’s fabric.

While most safety gear is shared, the GT Premium adds active lane centring. Worth noting the 3008 range gets a four-star ANCAP rating because of its low (65 per cent) safety assist score.

It was marked down primarily due to its autonomous emergency braking’s inability to avoid crashes when crossing the path of an oncoming car, and because it lacks rear seatbelt reminders, and provides limited drive monitoring.

All other testing was in the five-star range. Both models come with six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, and a 360-degree camera.

Equipment for the 3008 range includes 19-inch alloy wheels, the latest generation 21-inch dual screen i-Cockpit instrumentation, dual-zone climate control with an added filter system in the GT Premium, satellite navigation , wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless smartphone charging, AM/FM and digital radio bands, and internet-connected services such as live traffic routing, and fuel station location and pricing.

Metallic paint will set you back an extra $690. There is no spare tyre.

The 3008 range is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty. Service intervals are 12 months/25,000km – so 12 months for most people – and average out at $558.80 over five visits.

Pre-paid three-, four- and five-year service plans average no more than $400 per annual visit, so that’s pretty appealing.

The best thing about the 2025 Peugeot 3008 GT Premium is the way it drives.

Some cars have great tech, some cars have great packaging, some cars are great to look at. Where the 3008 delivers most impressively is its core job: rolling down the road.

It helps that the 3008 is based on the latest STLA Medium architecture produced by its parent, Stellantis. The platform is intended to underpin a vast array of models from Peugeot, Citroen, Jeep, Opel, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and DS.

It’s a monocoque platform that’s set up in the case of the 3008 to be front-wheel drive, with independent MacPherson strut front- and torsion-beam rear suspension. Steering is electrically assisted, and braking is via discs all around.

The two most notable traits are quick steering and a well-sorted ride.

Directed by the i-Cockpit’s small squircle steering wheel, the 3008 nimbly negotiates tighter turns and streets. Perfect for urban duties, but also not out of place on the open road.

In fact, the basic handling set-up is very adjustable. Lift off mid-corner, and the rear will swing around, tightening the turn. It’s a surprise the first time it happens, evoking Pug GTi models of yesteryear.

The ride feels well tied down but not coarse. Yes, the suspension set-up is simple, but there’s not much in the way of bang and crash. Instead, it irons out the kinks very well.

The powertrain plays a supporting role. The electric motor housed in the transmission produces only 15.6kW/51Nm, and the lithium-ion battery pack is rated at just 0.876Wh capacity.

That means the tiny turbocharged 100kW/230Nm petrol engine does plenty of work driving the wheels and replenishing the battery. It does it in a pretty enthusiastic yet surreptitious way, aided by a sweet-shifting gearbox.

Sure, it’s no firebrand, but it is effective and capable. There are multiple drive modes, but they seem more placebo than anything substantial.

It’s also worth giving i-Cockpit a guarded plug here in the positives. Not because it’s especially good, but because it is better than before.

This is the set-up that previously dumped the steering wheel in your lap so you could see the instrumentation. Some people swore by it; I hated it.

In the latest iteration, the steering wheel is bigger (still small though) and the instrumentation has been raised higher. That way a more orthodox seating position can be attained. Thanks Peugeot, I feel like we’ve spent a long time going nowhere.

The actual instrument panel is clear and large, and offers no less than five different layouts from minimalist to detailed, including a graphic showing which way the energy is flowing between the engine, motor and battery.

Storage opportunities are good upfront, including a bin with a beautifully damped sliding lid. Trims are premium, including a distinctive grey fabric stretched across the dashboard and into the doors and even the seats.

The gear selector is now a tab protruding out of the centre stack, so it’s well out of the way. Lickety-split manual changes are completed via flappy paddles on the steering wheel.

Boot volume is solid for the class – 520 litres with row two in place, 1480 litres with it split-folded.

Price is a massive issue for the 2025 Peugeot 3008 GT Premium.

This is not a better car than the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4 that lead this segment. And you can get into any of those for less money than the Allure, let alone this model.

You could argue the Peugeot is actually a Benz or BMW competitor, so the pricing makes more sense. That’s a tough argument; this is not a badge with that sort of credibility.

Below-average resale value is another factor, as is a small sales and service network.

It doesn’t help that the hybrid system isn’t at the cutting edge for fuel economy either. It will run on electricity alone, but not often enough in our varied experience to make the 3008 truly thrifty. Maybe it would do better if slow urban running were the entire focus.

We achieved between 6.0L/100km and 7.5L/100km versus the 4.9L/100km claim. That’s on more expensive 95 RON as well. The fuel tank is a sizable 55 litres.

Up front, the instrumentation and controls are confusing. The way the centre console is shaped like a boomerang with buttons arcing away from the driver isn’t helpful.

It’s as if flipping the boomerang in the shift from left- to right-hand drive was dismissed as unimportant – or unaffordable.

It doesn’t help that some buttons are hard to read or a long way from the driver.

There’s also too much drilling down into the centre infotainment touchscreen to perform basic functions, although shortcut toggles do help.

Also, watch out for your phone. It will go flying out of the centre console when cornering, as the container is too shallow.

The 3008 is also compact in the rear seat. While there’s a decent number of features – two map pockets, two door pockets, adjustable air vents and two USB ports – leg and headroom is limited, and the seat itself is small. It’s a negative if you’re thinking about transporting lanky teens in the backseat.

At the end of our week with the 2025 Peugeot 3008 GT Premium, there were two clear lines of thought.

The positive went along the lines of: ‘gee, this thing drives better than I thought it would, and it’s really encouraging that Peugeot can deliver something so well-rounded and enjoyable’.

The negative went along the lines of, well, most other things, but mostly price.

At $50,000, the 3008 might make some sense as an idiosyncratic choice for someone in search of something different yet impressive. At $65k, it’s irrelevant to all but the most rusted-on Pug diehards.

In a market where the Chinese are resetting the price and equipment paradigm, Peugeot needs to rethink its strategy.

2025 Peugeot 3008 GT Premium Hybrid at a glance:
Price: $64,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol-electric
Output: 100kW/230Nm (electric motor: 15.6kW/51Nm)
Combined output: 107kW
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 4.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 111g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Four-star (ANCAP 2025)

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