May 23, 2016 01:00 AM

Peugeot gives the 3008 a radical restyling

Peugeot expects the new 3008 to boost sales in China.

PARIS -- Peugeot has completely changed the look of the 3008, giving the car a more aggressive design to help the model stand out in the compact SUV/crossover segment.

The new 3008 will compete against vehicles such as the Nissan Qashqai and Renault Kadjar. Its fresh design does away with the minivan styling of the current model. Instead the new model has a long flat hood, vertical front end, body cladding and high ground clearance.

Peugeot CEO Maxime Picat said the brand changed the 3008's styling so that customers will clearly see it's an SUV. The current car's styling that's a cross between a sedan, minivan and an SUV did not work well in certain markets, he said at a press event on Monday to reveal the second-generation 3008.

The car is the latest PSA Group model to be based on the automaker's EMP2 architecture after the Peugeot 308 compact hatchback and Citroen C4 Picasso compact minivan.

The 3008 will get Peugeot's latest i-Cockpit generation which includes a small steering wheel, an 8-inch touchscreen and a piano-inspired "toggle switch" for infotainment features. Its instrument panel is a 12.3-inch customizable screen.

Its Mirror Link function allows the infotainment system to be connected with Android or Apple smart phones displays.

For off-road driving the SUV is equipped with PSA's Advanced Grip Control electronically enhanced front-wheel-drive system.

The engine range comprises five diesels and three gasoline units, with a gasoline plug-in hybrid arriving in 2019.

The current 3008, shown, was launched in 2008. It has minivan styling. The new generation will be more rugged-looking.

The new 3008 is about 100kg lighter than the current model, helping to improve fuel economy. At 4450mm, the car is 80mm longer. Its width is the same at 1840mm and its height is 19mm lower at 1620mm. It also has more interior room and rear occupants now have an additional 24mm legroom and 36mm headroom. Luggage space increases by 90 liters to 520 liters, rising to 1,580 liters with the rear seats folded down.

The five-seat 3008 will have its public debut at the Paris auto show on September 29, together with a longer, seven-seat version that replaces the 5008 compact minivan.

Peugeot sold 16,932 units of the 3008 in Europe in the first quarter, up 4.1 percent on the year before, according to JATO Dynamics market researchers. Sales of the 5008 in the same period were 7,965, up 1.2 percent.

IHS Automotive forecasts that European sales on the new 3008 will peak at 135,300 during 2017, up from the current model's high of 117,635 units in 2010. This would make the 3008 the region's third best-selling compact SUV after Volkswagen Tiguan and the Nissan Qashqai, IHS said.