By: IOL Motoring Staff
Some facelifts are just that - a few new pieces of plastic, a choice of new colours for the upholstery fabric, and that's about it.
Peugeot, however, has gone a lot further with its revised-for-2014 3008 crossover, with completely new front styling, an upgraded interior and a new, entry-level drivetrain option, to create a third model variant - the Access - which will slot in below the upgraded Active and Allure versions when it goes on sale in South Africa from April 2014.
ELEGANT LOGO
Out goes the 'egg crate' grille of the previous iteration, to be replaced by a trapezoidal floating grille, a la 508 sedan and 208 hatch, with a polished metal surround, and a more elegant, recessed Peugeot Lion logo.
New headlight clusters feature a black mask, chromed surround and distinctive daytime running lights, with low-mounted separate foglights and a brushed metal scuff plate to underline the 3008's crossover character.
Anoraks will note that there's a new chrome trim along the edge of the roofline and new dark-tinted tail light clusters with LED lights, along with a repositioned lion badge, and model name-badge, above a brushed-metal scuff plate.
COLOURS CHANGING HUE
Even the entry-level Access model has a new upholstery fabric that seems to change colour and texture depending on the light, while the top-of-the-range Allure comes with leather upholstery and a panoramic glass roof, complete with motorised blind, as standard.
Adjustable ambient strip lighting continues the theme, while the Allure's head-up display now features colour-coded graphics.
CHOICE OF THREE ENGINES
In an inspired stroke of parts-bin engineering, the new Access model has Peugeot's proven - if a little dated - 1.6-litre, naturally aspirated VTi petrol four driving the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. Its 88kW at 6000 revs and 160Nm at 4250rpm will take the 3008 from 0-100 in a claimed 13.3 seconds, at a quoted cost of 6.7 litres per 100km.
The 1.6 THP Active turbopetrol is considerably more muscular at 115kW and, with 240Nm on tap from 1400rpm, it will accelerate from rest to 100km/h in 8.9 seconds, will using less than seven litres of unleaded per 100km.
But the flagship of the updated 3008 range is still the two-litre HDi Allure, its 120kW and 340Nm fed to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox. It's also the most frugal of the 3008 line-up, rated at 6.1 litres per 100km in the combined cycle.
PRICES:
(Including a three-year or 100 000km warranty, a five-year or 100 000km maintenance plan and three years' roadside assistance)
Active 1.6 THP - R309 900
Allure 2.0 HDi - R380 750
Pricing for the 1.6 VTi Access will be announced at the SA launch in April 2014.