Peugeot 3008 interior, tech and practicality

From a cabin comfort perspective, the 3008 scores pretty highly, especially for front-seat passengers. The seats are comfy and supportive, and you'll find plush-feeling part-leather and Alcantara suede upholstery on GT models. All versions include plenty of cloth-style textile on the dashboard and door panels, which is a welcome change to rivals that just present a sea of black plastic.

The back seats are trimmed in similarly pleasant materials but the overall experience is limited by the car's sculpted bodywork. There's just about enough space to seat one tall adult behind another, but there'll be no leftover room to stretch out. Access to the rear seats could be easier, with the door opening being compromised by the 3008's sloping roof.

As we've come to expect from vaguely coupe-shaped SUVs, forward visibility is pretty good, but the view out back is poor. That sloping rear roofline means a thick C-pillar to obscure your over-the-shoulder view, and a letterbox-shaped rear window to see out of. Thankfully, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are standard equipment.

Most 3008s come in either Allure or GT trim.

Allure models get 19-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and part-faux-leather upholstery. You also get the sweeping 21-inch driver's display and infotainment screen complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Stepping up to GT adds 20-inch alloys (on electric models), all-round parking sensors, a powered bootlid, heated front seats and steering wheel, ambient cabin lighting and part-Alcantara suede upholstery. In addition, there's adaptive cruise control and LED headlights with adaptive high beams.

The infotainment setup in the 3008 looks ultra-modern. Its sweeping 21-inch dash-top panel seamlessly includes the centre infotainment controls and the driver's dials. The latter are a bit unusual as you look over the oddly small steering wheel at them, rather than glancing at them through the wheel's rim.

For the most part, the screen's graphics look glossy and upmarket. Though we do find there's a few too many icons and data points competing for your visual attention across the display. As a result, you might have to cast your eye around for longer than you'd like to find the feature you're looking for.

On the plus side, you can use the configurable 'i-Toggles' just above the centre console to jump between your most often used features. These are big, mostly monochrome icons that are easy to hit out of the corner of your eye while driving. They also let us pretend to be Captain Picard aboard the USS Enterprise…

Pick the 'Sensation' option pack and you'll also benefit from an upgraded Focal stereo. This includes 10 speakers and 690 watts of power for impressive sonic performance. We tried this system in the Peugeot E-408 and were generally impressed with the sound.

Rear-seat space is nothing to write home about in the 3008. You can just about seat one tall adult behind another one, but the rear-seat passenger will find their knees scuffing the seat back. Access to the back seats is actually worse than the overall space available, with noticeable intrusion from the sloping roof that threatens to bonk you on the crown every time you stoop your head.

There are Isofix points on the two outer rear seats. These are accessible behind zipped covers, which we find fiddly when you're trying to negotiate a seat base into position while also restraining your offspring.

At 520 litres, the 3008's boot is entirely average for the class. The space is usefully square and it'll handle a pushchair or a big weekly shop with room to spare.

While most rivals are similar in size to the Peugeot on paper, most of them are more useful in practice. This is because the space above the parcel shelf isn't counted in the boot-capacity figure, and the 3008 loses out to most alternatives here due to its steeply sloped rear roofline.

If you like the 3008's style but need a little more space, check out the Peugeot 5008.