Feel you've got a firm handle on what Peugeot's new double-zero designation is all about?
Don't be so sure. Last year's 4007 may have left an impression that all nought-nought models are four-wheel-drives. Sorry, zero score. The new 3008 oversized five-seater hatch isn't all-paw, and neither is the 5008 seven-seater MPV coming next month.
So what is the common link?
It's substance; they're all larger than your average Peugeot.
Here in New Zealand this new array of models has a pivotal role to play in restoring the fortunes of a marque that has slipped from its former glory - now eight years in the past - of being the country's top-selling European brand.
Grant Smith, the recently appointed group boss for distributor Sime Darby wants Peugeot at No.3 within 18 months. That means beating BMW and Mercedes-Benz and achieving 1000 registrations in 2011, a 200 unit increase on the probable 2010 count.
Enter more models, including the 3008 and 5008, intended to present the best bits of an MPV, an SUV and a hatchback. Hence a raised driving position, big glass areas and more space.
There are three trim levels for the 3008: Active, Sport and Luxury, with the choice of a 1.6-litre turbo petrol or a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel in each of the three versions, all six-speed automatics.
A diesel-electric hybrid may follow in 2012.
The Active is the only version without Peugeot's signature glass roof, but it still gets cruise control, rear parking aid, a boot with a double-height floor and automatic lights and wipers.
Sport adds extra brightwork, Bluetooth, a USB plug, power-folding mirrors, extra lighting in the cabin and a head-up display, while Luxury ups to leather, heated front seats and front parking radar.
Drive impressions on the Bastille Day launch were limited to the petrol, as motor-writing fellows who made it into the diesel first were so impressed they refused to hand over the keys.
The cabin feels big and spacious, and has some neat design touches, although it's a shame you can't remove, or slide, the rear seats.
The talking point is the head-up display: an aircraft-inspired digital readout that projects on to a toast-sized piece of Perspex that rises up out of the dashboard. My driving companion found it a bit hard to read when wearing polarised sunglasses, and we agreed the provision of no fewer than six switches to control the head-up functions is excessive.
Over a mix of roads, the 3008 evidenced more body roll than a 308, but nonetheless gripped strongly. Ride comfort impressed. Less so the steering.
And when will Peugeot be the number one in NZ again?
Well, no comment there and understandably so. Even if the French lion can claw past BMW and Mercedes to third in 2011, there's still the formidable duo of Volkswagen and Audi standing in the way of first place.
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