MOTORS
by MIKE TORPEY
I
t seems so obvious you wonder why it took so long for someone to come out and do it. As an increasing number of car manufacturers have gone super green with hybrid models, all have combined an electric motor with a petrol engine. Peugeot, however, has made the logical move and used the most fuel-efficient type of combustion engine – diesel. Result is the world’s first diesel electric car, the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4, and it has the potential to return up to 74 miles per gallon – fantastic for a substantial and spacious five-seater family vehicle. This year is one of huge importance to the brand with the lion badge because no sooner will this latest model have hit the streets in March than Peugeot will be launching another hybrid, the flagship 508 RXH crossover. And with city slicker the 107 already revamped for 2012, mid-summer will see the much-vaunted 208 supermini flood the forecourts. For now though the 3008 Hybrid4 is the centre of attention with the promise of actually being four cars in one - a zero emission electric vehicle, an economic family car, a 4x4 and a 200bhp performance hatchback. It uses a 2.0-litre diesel engine producing 163bhp to drive the front wheels and a 37bhp electric motor to power the rear and is fitted with a six speed, semi-automatic gearbox which can be operated manually via steering wheel mounted paddles if needed. Key to the Hybrid4 is an ingenious drive set-up which calculates when the car should be using just the diesel engine, only the electric motor or the best of both to provide the optimum economy or performance. There are four operating modes, accessed via a rotary dial on the centre console, comprising Auto – best for everyday conditions – ZEV electric mode for zero emissions, Four-wheel Drive in which both powertrains operate together for all-terrain grip, and Sport mode for quicker gear shifts and more dynamic punch. Peugeot’s launch route was
TESTED: TOYOTA YARIS 8
Edited by Mike Torpey
GAME ON: A pride of lions watch over the new diesel electric Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4
Pride over world’s first diesel hybrid designed to test the 3008 in all types of conditions, starting from a city centre multi-storey in spookily silent electric drive – available up to 40mph depending on throttle action – before the auto kicks in. You can manually flick the dial to Sport on the move, and feel the car spring into overdrive, to summon the full 200bhp punch on fast roads. And the exercise finished with a rutted off-road circuit that included a quite steep hill made all the more slippery by torrential rain, followed by a drive through a safari park. At no point did the Hybrid4
struggle – not even when confronted by a 14-strong pride of lions. To keep the driver in the picture, the dashboard display tells you where the power is coming from at any given time and how much charge there is in the battery. Unlike pure electric vehicles the HYbrid4 doesn’t need to be connected to the mains to keep the batteries alive, so should they get low the alternator feeds in power from the diesel engine. Official figures show that the car can return up to 74.4mpg Combined, accelerate from 0-62 in 8.5 seconds
and speed on to a top speed of 118mph. Stylish looks apart, the 3008 is an impressively comfortable yet dynamic car to drive, boasts a superior quality and well laid out interior, while there’s ample space for five adults – including in the centre rear position. Peugeot expects to sell around 2,000 Hybrid4 models a year, some 85 per cent of them to the fleets and business users, who are well favoured by the tax situation of no VED and a Benefit in Kind rating of 10 per cent due to the car’s hybrid
rather than diesel status. Prices for the pair of available models aren’t cheap though, the entry grade 99g/km version costing £26,950 and the higher grade model, complete with larger alloy wheels which pushes up its CO2 output to 104g/km, costing £28,495. The latter, the tested model, also had leather seats for another £1,050 plus £370 panoramic glass roof, though the car does come with sat nav and a useful head up display as standard. There’s also a five-year warranty on both the battery and electric motor.