Peugeot’s hybrid 3008 medium SUV has finally landed in Australia, news first covered by WhichCar back in 2021.
The brand has confirmed that the 3008 range will be priced from $52,990 plus on-road costs, making it one of the more expensive options in the mid-size SUV segment.
Two models will be available in Australia: the entry-level Allure ($52,990 +ORC) and the top-spec GT Premium ($64,990 +ORC). A mid-spec GT will join the range later in the year, and a fully electric version was previously confirmed for Australian sales, though its timing is unknown.
Drivetrains and efficiency
The only available drivetrain in the 3008 range for now is a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine that’s supplemented by a hybrid system and a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The engine outputs 100kW of power (at 5,500rpm) and 230Nm of torque (at 1,750rpm), with the electric motor adding an extra 15.6kWand51Nm at certain points of the rev range. The claimed 0-100km/h time is 10.1 seconds with a top speed of 201km/h.
A mild hybrid system unlike the full hybrid system in a Toyota RAV4, for example, the 3008 can still be driven electrically at low speeds for a claimed combined fuel consumption of4.9L/100km. That’s more than the RAV4’s 4.7L/100km rating, but it’s still efficient for a mid-size SUV.
Dimensions
The 3008 measures 4,542mm long, 2,108mm wide, 1,665mm tall and it rides on a 2,730mm long wheelbase, which makes it 95mm longer, 42mm taller and 54mm wider than its predecessor.
Its boot measures 520-litres with the seats up and 1,480L when they’re folded.
Safety
The 3008 is yet to be tested by either Euro NCAP or ANCAP for safety, but is equipped with a long list of safety features like autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keeping assistance with lane departure warning, auto high beam, traffic sign recognition, driver attention monitoring, auto high beam, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree camera.
The GT Premium adds pixel adaptive high beam and adaptive lane guidance.
Available colourways will include Obsession Blue, Nera Black, Artense Grey and Okenite White.
Pricing
Peugeot 3008 pricing (plus on-road costs):
- Allure: $52,990
- GT Premium: $64,990
Standard equipment
- 19-inch alloy wheels with a tyre repair kit
- Dusk- and rain-sensing all-LED exterior lighting, including front and rear daytime running lights
- Rain-sensing automatic wipers
- Keyless entry and push button start
- Heated and auto-folding mirrors with puddle lamps
- Sport, normal and eco driving modes and snow, sand and mud modes
- Dual-zone automatic climate control with rear air vents
- Fabric and leather seat upholstery
- Leather steering wheel
- 21-inch curved instrument panel incorporating touchscreen and driver’s display
- Over-the-air updates, map updates and live services (one-year subscription) with access to the MyPeugeot smartphone app
- Satellite navigation with live traffic
- Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
- Six-speaker sound system
- 4x USB ports
- 40:20:40-split rear seat folding
- Rear privacy glass
- Six airbags
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with low light pedestrian and cyclist detection
- Land departure warning with unmarked road edge detection
- Active lane keeping assistance
- Adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality
- Long range blind-spot detection with rear cross-traffic alert
- Driver attention monitoring
- Traffic sign recognition
- 360-degree camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Pixel LED headlights with adaptive high beam
- 3D LED tailights
- Black roof
- 10-speaker Focal sound system
- Peugeot shield on the front winds
- GT steering wheel
- Panoramic sunroof
- Air quality management
- Extended ambient lighting
- Full leather upholstery
- Heated and ventilated front seats
- 12-way electrically adjustable front seats with massage functionality
- Heated outboard rear seats
- Acoustic and laminated front windows
- Adaptive lane guidance
Service and warranty
The 3008 is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance.
Its annual service intervals are a long 25,000km interval and five years/125,000km of servicing costs $2,779 ($555 annually) though buyers can choose a pre-paid service plan for the same length of time for $1,890 ($378 annually).
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program – better known to all of us as ANCAP – has named Aussie family favourite the Toyota Camry as the safest car it tested in 2024, with an overall weighted score of 88.4 per cent.
More impressively, the Camry’s 95 per cent adult occupancy protection score was the highest individual score of 2024. The Camry also scored 87 per cent for child occupancy protection, 84 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 81 per cent for safety assist.
“The Camry secured top spot in 2024, excelling with a score of 95% for Adult Occupant Protection – the highest AOP score of all vehicles assessed in 2024,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.
“The Camry remains a stable and reliable choice with a safety pedigree that dates back over 13 years.”
The Toyota Camry Ascent Sport recently polled second in Wheels COTY 2024-25, behind the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, with veteran motoring journalist Peter Robinson writing: “No potential rival goes close to matching the Camry’s long-acknowledged low operating costs, reliability, and practicality.”
In second place was the recently tested Mazda CX-80, with an overall weighted score of 87.6 per cent. According to ANCAP, it scored solidly across the board, particularly its 92 per cent score for adult occupancy protection and a full point score in side impact, far side impact, whiplash protection and oblique pole crash tests.
The CX-80 also scored 87 per cent for child occupancy protection, 84 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 83 per cent for safety assist.
Rounding out the top three was the new Chinese all-electric SUV Zeekr X, which was only recently launched in Australia. Its overall weighted score was 87.4 per cent, which was only just behind the CX-80. Its 91 per cent adult occupancy protection score was also impressive, while it also scored 87 per cent for child occupancy protection, 84 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 84 per cent for safety assist.
Significantly, ANCAP noted that of the 23 vehicles tested in 2024, close to half (11 out of 23) were new models not previously known to the Australian and New Zealand markets, and 10 of those achieved a full five-star result.
2025 is set to be a busy year for ANCAP with a number of new models from brands such as Geely due to arrive on Australian shores. First cab off the rank is believed to be the new Kia K4, which has just been launched locally.
Kia’s EV6 is currently having a song-and-dance made over it at the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne as part of the Korean maker’s signature event sponsorship, but the EV’s facelift was originally revealed last year.
The EV6’s styling has been updated in line with newer Kia models like the smaller EV5 with sharper ‘Star Map’ lighting – the company’s latest design signature – and sharper-looking bumpers which have brought a 15mm increase in overall length.
The taillights have adopted new graphics, while the rear bumper has been redesigned for a similar look to the front. There are new wheel options ranging from 19- to 21-inches in size.
Under the body a new 84kWh battery replaces the previous 77.4kWh unit for more driving range. Though Kia is yet to confirm local figures, the Euro-spec GT-Line RWD claims an increase in driving range from 528km to 582km (WLTP).
The top-spec GT has seen revised ride and handling tuning for “increased natural feel and grip levels, as well as improved rough road control and improved steering feedback”, according to Kia. Part of the changes included a stiffer rear sway bar, softer front sprints and a new steering system.
Inside, the EV6 has also been updated with the company’s latest ‘ccNC’ infotainment system with features like over-the-air updates and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. These features are seen through new dual 12.3-inch screens for the infotainment and driver’s display.
The EV6 range also features a redesigned steering wheel design, an updated centre console with revised materials and fingerprint recognition (for the GT-Line and GT).
The EV6 was the first car Kia designed as an EV from the ground up, using a dedicated platform and electricals not shared with a hybrid/plug-in hybrid.
More details about the updated Kia EV6 will be announced closer to its second quarter 2025 launch.
The recently released Mazda CX-80 has scored the highest five-star rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), enhancing its appeal to safety-conscious family buyers of the large seven-seat SUV.
Awarded to the whole CX-80 range, ANCAP gave the CX-80 scores of 92 per cent for adult occupancy protection, 87 per cent for child occupancy protection and 84 per cent for vulnerable road user protection.
According to ANCAP, the CX-80 performed well in the side impact, oblique pole, whiplash protection and far-side impact tests, achieving maximum points.
The CX-80 also demonstrated good levels of protection for all key body regions of both child dummies in the frontal offset and side-impact tests, and provided good physical protection for pedestrian’s pelvis, femur, and lower legs.
The CX-80 performed less well, however, in detecting a crossing cyclist when making a left-hand turn, which was noted as poor. Performance in turning scenarios involving motorcyclists was also assessed as poor. On the plus side, its lane support systems were given a full point score.
The CX-80 range is now on sale in Australia, priced from $54,950 plus on-road costs.
Based on Wheels’ Car of the Year 2024-25 winner the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, the new DK Edition adds a number of parts to enhance its drifting ability – all with the approval of Japan’s ‘Drift King’ Keiichi Tsuchiya.
Upgrades to the special edition vehicle include new six-piston monoblock callipers with larger brake pads, new H&R lowering springs with a 15mm lower ride height, and a new 21-inch alloy wheel design with a special ‘sawtooth’ structure on the barrel for better grip to the tyres.
The IONIQ 5 DK also gets a new front splitter, new side skirts and a new rear wing for increased downforce, all in carbon fibre. There are also green exterior accents inspired by Tsuchiya’s iconic all-green racing suit.
“I’ve experienced the IONIQ 5 N many times and have been surprised and delighted every time, and I met Hyundai N to tune the best high-performance electric vehicle to my style,” Tsuchiya said in a statement.
Hyundai says it plans to release the IONIQ 5 DK Edition in South Korea and Japan – which is actually a relatively new market for the brand – in the first half of this year, but other markets are yet to be announced.
Considering Australia’s love of sporty cars and Hyundai N cars, we’d be surprised if at least a few of the DK Edition didn’t make it Down Under or that its special parts were made available as dealer-fit accessories.
The unveiling of a GR Yaris M Concept car at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon has given us a tantalising look at the potential future of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing sub brand.
While Toyota has definitely got its sporting mojo back, it has given no indication it plans to produce a mid-engined hot hatchback, so one might wonder what the purpose of this concept car is.
But some industry insiders believe a new mid-engined sports car using the legendary MR-2 name will be produced in the coming years and this GR Yaris is a likely preview of its form.
But while that mid-engined layout is important, this GR Yaris M Concept also debuts a new engine. Instead of the ‘G16E-GTS’ unit that appears in the regular model, it uses a new work-in-progress turbocharged four-cylinder 2.0-litre engine codenamed ‘G20E’.
Toyota is rumoured to be launching the new engine in the coming years with as much as 295kW of power and 550Nm of torque, though the ‘entry-level’ version of the engine will still make similar outputs to today’s GR Yaris at around 221kW and 400Nm. An unrestricted racing version of the engine will reportedly pump out 441kW.
Other Toyota exhibits from the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon included a new GR Yaris race car for the Nurburgring 24 Hour race and a new aero package for the GR Yaris.
In the midst of the pre-Christmas rush I’m asked if I can do one final shoot and test drive for the year of the 2025 Mahindra Black Edition.
Why not, I thought? Navigating packed shops in the quest for Christmas food, gifts and final location shoots should give me a fair impression of the capacity of this substantial seven-seat family SUV to cope with the business of daily life.
Priced from $43,990 drive-away, the Mahindra Black Edition is currently a limited edition and costs $4k above the variant it’s based on, the XUV700 AX7L.
First impression on collecting it for the drive was wow, it’s stealthy! Black gloss paint, black 18-inch alloy wheels and blacked-out front grille make it hard to recognise what brand it is at first glance.
Mahindra is not exactly new to Australia but it’s certainly not immediately recognisable in the Black Series variant. That didn’t matter once on the road – it certainly turned heads.
JUMP AHEAD
Sleek and modern interior
The new interior presents as modern and sleek with black synthetic leather-look upholstery, dark chrome trim on the steering wheel, interior door handles, air vents and gloss black interior accents. A bonus for the Black Edition is ventilated front seats, which is a blessing on hot days where leather and bare skin don’t match.
A 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen allows – in the Black Edition – both Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The high resolution digital instrument cluster provides pages of information including full screen navigation via smart phone. A dial control on the centre console works a treat for changing modes and volume. A minor quibble is the rather small font size of the infotainment display but that may just be old age.
As with many new vehicles, the charge pad can make your phone quite hot to the touch so opting for a USB cable is a good option.
Other standard features include dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and push-button start, six-way power-operated driver’s seat and a panoramic glass sunroof. The exterior boasts automatic LED headlights, LED taillights, and daytime running lights with dynamic indicators.
Safety and drive quality
As you’d expect from an SUV pitched at larger families, the Mahindra Black Edition is packed with the safety and drive assist features, including traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise, EAB, lane assist, high beam assist and smart pilot assist.
My favourite feature is the blind-spot view monitor which activates a live feed with the indication right or left. It’s ideal when driving in inner-city traffic where rampant electric bike delivery riders can quickly catch you unaware.
Rear vision can be impeded by the centre headrest but this is easily resolved by removing it when not carrying a passenger in that spot. The 360-degree view parking cameras, however, are excellent, making parking the 4695mm-long vehicle a breeze.
Powering the Black Edition is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine which delivers power of 149kW and torque of 380Nm. That translates to satisfying off-the-mark acceleration and enough grunt for daily commuting. Despite a tendency to lurch a little at start up and into first gear, it’s an otherwise comfortable driving experience. The steering is light and takes some getting used to but is helpful in busy urban environments when a quick response is required.
On a dash out of town the Mahindra can feel heavy on the tighter corners – unsurprising for a vehicle this size – but the ADAPTIVE cruise control works well out on the highway. Back in urban environs the dampers adjust beautifully with the numerous speed bumps any city driver now has to navigate.
What’s fuel economy like?
Driving around 576km over the week and fuelling up 47.01 litres, the fuel economy was around 8.16km/l. That roughly compares with the model’s official rating of 8.3L/100km on the combined cycle. It’s not particularly thirsty but it would be good to have a hybrid option down the track.
Warranty
The Mahindra Black Edition’s most compelling selling point, of course, is the price. Not only feature-rich, it’s one of the most affordable seven-seaters available and includes a seven-year, 150,000km warranty as well as seven years of roadside assist.
Key rivals
Equipment and specs
- $43,990 drive away
- 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
- Six-speed automatic
- Power/torque 149kW/380Nm
- Fuel efficiency 8.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
- Ventilated front seats with active cooling
- Wireless Apple Car Play and Wireless Android Auto
- Black out grille
- Black out chrome side trims
- Black 18” Alloys
- Black Interior Trim
- Blind View Monitor
- 3D Audio with 12 Speakers
- 360º Surround View
- Stop and Go function in Adaptive Cruise Control
- Telescopic steering
Australians battling the cost-of-living crunch have been reminded they can still buy one new car on the market for under $20 grand.
MG is in the final month of runout sales on the popular MG3 light hatchback which it says is the cheapest new car – and possibly the last – to be priced at $19,990 driveaway.
As WhichCar reported back in June 2024, MG started pricing for the third generation of the best-selling hatch at $23,990 for the MG3 Excite. That was justified on the basis of a significant upgrade in standard equipment, including major additions to the MG3’s safety arsenal.
Driver warning systems (forward collision, lane departure), multi-monitoring (blind spots, rear cross traffic, tyre pressures, “unsteady driver”), and assistance features (adaptive cruise, speed-limit notification, emergency lane keeping) were among the key additions.
All models – Excite and Essence, in either petrol or hybrid engines, include stylish 16-inch alloys and provide dashboards graced with a digital display combination of central 12.25-inch infotainment screen and 7-inch driver cluster.
In reminding about the final month of the runout deal, MG Motor Australia’s Chief Commercial Officer Giles Belcher said: “The MG3 Auto is likely to be the last new car Australians can buy for under $20,000 drive away price.
“Once these models are sold, that will be it for this model of the MG3.
“With ever growing development and production costs, we don’t expect to offer a car for under $20,000 in Australia again.”
The MG3 Auto comes with MG’s industry leading 10- year/250,000km warranty and fixed price servicing. MG anticipate the last of the sub $20,000 MG3 Auto’s to sell out in February. Buyers can visit mgmotor.com.au to find a local dealer.
Buyers of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz CLA due later in 2025 will take advantage of the brand’s upgraded MBUX Virtual Assistant using Google Cloud’s new Automotive AI Agent, allowing them to have “personalised conversational engagement” over multimedia functions including navigation, search and media.
Based on Google Gemini and incorporating Google Maps data, the improved Virtual Assistant will use natural language understanding to deliver a more customised navigation experience, says Mercedes-Benz.
Users can converse naturally with their car and get answers to questions like: “Could you guide me to the nearest fine-dining restaurant for a unique culinary experience?”; “Does the restaurant have good reviews?”; and even, “What is the chef’s signature dish?”
The integration with Google Maps will allow the assistant to access fresh information about 250 million places around the world. Google claims that the map is updated almost in real time, with over 100 million updates made daily.
Because it also remembers past conversations, users are able to continue conversations and reference information throughout their drives. Want to ask the car about the restaurant you were curious about last week? It’ll remember and be able to give you information such as reviews and directions to it as well.
Mercedes is yet to fully reveal the new CLA, but has confirmed that it will feature both electric and hybrid drivetrains, as well as its new ‘MB.OS’ operating system. Australian details are yet to be announced.
The Tesla Model S hasn’t been available in Australia since early 2023, when the American company stopped producing the big electric sedan in right-hand drive.
It continues on in North America, however, and our mate Georg Kacher drove the hero Plaid model not long after it was scrubbed from the Aussie model list.
There appears no sign of a retirement plan for the Model S, but with the 12-year-old EV’s 2021 facelift starting to look a little long in the tooth, we could see another update in the near future.
The question becomes: how will the updated Model S look? Will it take its cues from the refreshed Model 3, or this week’s facelifted Model Y?
The latter may be more likely, given that it would bring the S a little closer in appearance to the big Cybertruck.
The Cybertruck’s overall look has proven polarising, but as the new Y shows, some of its elements – particularly the slim lighting at the front end – can be worked into a smoother shape.
As our mate Theottle shows in his latest rendering, it could indeed work.
