Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008
Test Drive

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

The French have brought a new compact crossover and, it seems, already doubt its prospects. And after we meet, we say that this is one of the main events on the crisis Russian market.

Set aside your worn-out calculators. Close tables with equipment, lending rates, and liquidity summaries. Remember why you love cars - and if it doesn't work out, roll up this article and go get another car sharing out of the snow. Because the mind-bogglingly irrational Peugeot 2008 alone is able to dispel all the darkness that has crept into the Russian market in recent years. But he cannot do without help.

When I talk about irrationality, I mean exactly what interests you in the first place. For more than two million rubles, the French offer a small raised hatchback with a three-cylinder turbo engine for a modest 130 forces, without all-wheel drive and in a rather limited configuration: you simply will not get here either a two-zone "climate", no all-round view, or even a banal keyless entry system. Are you still reading this text? Then the only important thing: Peugeot 2008 is cool.

 

It is difficult for them not to admire, studying the complex plastic of the sidewalls, the "dotted" radiator grille, darkened rear optics and optional, but entourage details like the design notch on the gloss of the rear pillars. Just do not ask why the face of the little "lion cub" is as if cut by a clawed paw: this is not about logic, but about associations in general. Looks cool, right?

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

Of course, we can say that 2008 simply develops the ideas of older relatives who have long been familiar to Russians. All right, but don't you turn around after 3008 and 5008? And can you remain calm when you find yourself in their salons? Peugeot's amazing architecture with a nano-steering wheel and a raised instrument panel is far from new: it is almost 10 years old, but it is still unclear whether it is stupid or ingenious. It would be brilliant - everyone else would have copied it long ago. It would be stupid - they would have been removed from production. Paradox.

In the case of 2008, there are questions to such a solution: the devices should be raised higher, because in most cases they are still covered by the upper part of the rim, and if you adjust the steering wheel so that everything is visible, its hub will mark your navel. However, surprisingly, all this is more unusual than inconvenient: it does not cause any irritation on the go.

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

But in order to go, you first need to detach yourself from studying the interior - and it is oh, how difficult it is to do this. For the first time in a long time, I saw mature, accustomed journalists who behaved like children in a toy hypermarket - touched everything, laughed and commented excitedly. Well, I myself was one of them, because literally every detail was made here with fiction. For example, the proprietary "keyboard" on the center console has evolved, has become even more beautiful and received a second layer of touch buttons that manage multimedia. The volume knob has become an audiophile artifact: it seems to have been removed straight from something incredibly expensive and tube. By the way, the sound from the audio system is wonderful.

The top-of-the-line GT, presented on the test, flaunts a chic lime-green stitching on the leather that covers the front panel. On the armchairs - the most delicate nappa, and they themselves manage to combine home comfort with powerful lateral support and massage traditional for the "French": honestly, in sum, all this does not look like other cars at all, but very cool. True, even for the GT version, nappa, electric drives and massage are an option for $ 1. But the "carbon" linings are already in the basic configuration, and even with them everything is outlandish: in fact, the material is soft, even rubberized. Have you seen this anywhere?

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

Have you seen the sculptural frame around the dashboard with the "handles" for which you just want to hold on? The flap itself is a separate story altogether. Already in the middle configuration, it will not just be digital, but three-dimensional. A second screen is built into the visor, which projects data onto an additional glass located in front of the main panel. Thus, the French received two physically separated layers of data, to which, in addition, they created a bunch of ingenious design options: when you first see how the navigation arrow casts a "shadow" on the map, it's hard not to curse with delight.

But even if all these decorations leave you indifferent, you cannot but appreciate one decision of the French. They turned the cover of the box at the bottom of the center console into a phone stand. A special ledge is made there and a small rubber mat is laid - as a result, the device is securely fixed at least vertically, at least horizontally, and at an ideal angle for viewing.

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

Do you understand? They did not hypocritically mumble that mobile phones while driving were evil, but were the first in the automotive industry to go to meet the way everyone does in real life. Such is the analogue of a path trodden through the lawn, which normal people asphalt, and not block with a fence. Right next to it, by the way, are both USB ports of both types, and an optional shelf with wireless charging. In general, everything is for people.

In the second row, however, it is not so blissful. There is surprisingly enough space even for large adults, but there are no special amenities. No ventilation deflectors, no center armrest, no heating - just a couple of sockets for charging devices. But the trunk pleases with a neat finish, a decent volume of 434 liters under the curtain and even a two-level floor.

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

What else can you complain about in the interior? Well, on a small and "bald" glove compartment. Or to the colorful, but too confused multimedia, which is impossible to just pick up and start using right away. The fact that with a single climate control zone the temperature is displayed as if for the driver and passenger - such a cheap deception in the style of Geely Coolray and other "Chinese". For one more cartoon made purely out of poverty: the rear-view camera is blown out for the entire all-round visibility system according to the principle of "transparent hood" in Land Rover and Toyota - it remembers the picture and puts it under the silhouette of the car. It turns out badly.

But you know, against the general background, all this is nothing more than nitpicking. Because no one else has so many cool features here and now, and in combination with the quality of materials and workmanship, the Peugeot 2008 interior easily furnishes "premium" - all these GLA, UX, X1, Countryman and others like them. Only the XC40 and Q3 are at a comparable level, but look at their severity, and then at what Peugeot offers. Where do you want to sit first?

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

And even more surprising is that 2008 does not give up on the move. It would seem, what to expect from a combination of a tiny 1.2 motor and an old six-speed "automatic" Aisin? But it pulls! Recklessly, enthusiastically growls and diligently accelerates the crossover with three adults and luggage even on mountain serpentines. Of course, passport 10,2 seconds to a hundred is not God knows what, but physically you feel how Peugeot is giving all the best for each "ten": its 130 forces seem even more convincing than the standard 150 for competitors. from a low speed the transmission does not support - instead of a sharp jump, you will get an extended transient, the crossover picks up a little with forces, after which it will again become cheerful and cheerful.

In bends, however, 2008 does not really light up: the weightless steering wheel at parking speeds diligently grows heavier with an increase in pace, but with small deviations, the effort disappears somewhere to appear again with further turn. All this somewhat deprives us of confidence, although it is not a critical problem - and it is possible that the matter is also in the soft winter velcro, forced to work in freezing temperatures. But the margin of adhesion pleases even with such input, and even on wet asphalt.

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

But the best part is that Peugeot 2008 is also a comfortable car with great soundproofing. Again, in the absence of unnecessary hum and excellent camouflage of the road micro-profile, there is a merit of the tires, but the crossover itself is great: the wind is not audible even after 150 km / h, and the suspension perfectly deals with asphalt patches and potholes on Abkhaz roads. But what is there, even really disgusting primers do not make her lose face: you can "punch" the racks only out of stupidity, and the rest of the time you will be surprised at how roundly 2008 works out a very difficult relief. For a purely urban crossover, this is a strong five.

And yes, he is urban. The French still do not offer all-wheel drive, fighting off the electronic Grip Control system with different maps for snow, mud and sand. To be honest, I don't see much sense in it: both on blurry rural paths and on a thick snow layer, Peugeot crawled tolerably well in standard mode. But the very fact of the inaccessibility of the four leaders can scare off many, despite the sturdy plastic body kit and honest 20 centimeters under the belly.

Although what are we talking about? Everything related to the price and equipment of 2008 is more frightening than attractive. The basic version with a derated to 100 horsepower engine and a six-speed "mechanics" costs $ 21 - and for many, the conversation about buying a Peugeot will end right here. The average version of the Allure on "automatic" is $ 658, and such beauty as we have on the test, with all the options (nappa, panoramic roof, navigation, color) will cost almost $ 26! And this is not the end: closer to the fall, crossovers with a 283-horsepower version of the same engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission should reach Russia.

It would be logical to master localization at the plant in Kaluga: the new modular CMP platform, on which 2008 is built, already forms the basis of the Citroen C4 cross-hatch and the second generation Opel Mokka, and in the future 75% of the concern's models will move to it, that is, the benefits of work for such a prospect is obvious. But right now the Russian office of PSA does not understand very well what to do with the insane amount of new inputs: here is the purchase of Opel, and the merger with Fiat Chrysler under the common name of Stellantis - in a word, the new course of development is only being calculated, and before the actual assembly of new models it may take one and a half to two years.

Test drive First acquaintance with Peugeot 2008

Therefore, 2008 is a niche thing for the Russian office of Peugeot. If in Europe last year it sold a super-hit circulation of 154 copies, the expectations from our market are paltry 000 cars a month. And here I want to return to the question that I raised at the very beginning of the article: why, in fact, such skepticism?

Yes, it's expensive. Yes, front-wheel drive only. But this is not a hot hatch, not a minivan or a convertible, but a mass model. One of the rare fragments of the "healthy person's car market" where cars are still chosen because they are cool, and not out of desperation. In terms of design, comfort and driving properties, 2008 is not inferior to the initial "premium" - and the interior, I repeat, simply destroys naked Mercedes and BMWs, where there is nothing at all except nameplates.

And now, imagine what it would be like to show off not a lion on the grille, but a star or rings. Immediately, the perception is different, and more than two million no longer seem redundant - after all, that much, at best, is asked for a "drum" configuration with the same front-wheel drive. I will not insist that this small and cool Peugeot is an alternative to the conventional "Tiguan" for the same money, although I would be glad to know about romantics who will make such a choice.

But in a world where brand magic doesn't overshadow its true strengths and weaknesses, this is the most exciting new entry into the premium class. It remains to be seen whether we live in this world - or are still hypnotized by stereotypes. What do you think?

 

 

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