► All-new Peugeot 3008 for 2016
► New spy shots show winter trials
► Less MPV, more SUV this time
Latest target for our long-lensed spies is the all-new Peugeot 3008, which has been spotted undergoing winter trials in Sweden following hot-weather testing in southern Europe. And the proportions beneath that mind-bending camouflage pattern suggest it’s heading in a far more SUV-oriented direction than the original.
Incidentally, that’s some pretty remarkable camouflage don’t you think? Some kind of houndstooth textile pattern meets Bridget Riley op art creation; it’s enough to make you feel a bit dizzy if you stare at the pictures for too long. Anyway, we digress.
2016 Peugeot 3008: what’s new?
The current 3008 was one of the original identity-crisis crossovers, blending elements of high-riding off-roader with boxy MPV practicality. This time around it seems Peugeot’s tipping the styling balance far more heavily towards off-roader – hardly a shock move given the rampant popularity of SUV-flavoured crossovers currently.
That sidestep in product placement will pitch the 3008 more directly against some tough rivals when it reaches the market in 2016, including the sales phenomenon that is the Nissan Qashqai.
When the camo comes off, expect to see styling heavily influenced by the Peugeot Quartz concept. We spent a day up close with the Quartz concept and two of the company’s senior designers recently, to learn a little about the potential styling direction of Peugeot’s next batch of production models.
You can read the feature in full here, but don’t be surprised to see the 3008 successor combine a backward-slanting grille treatment, very smooth surfaces (yet very sharp headlights, vents and other features) and a continuation of the tiny-steering-wheel, high-instruments theme seen on the 208 and 308 inside.
While a Geneva motor show debut is possible in March 2016, Peugeot may opt to launch the new 3008 on home turf at the 2016 Paris show in October.
It’s probably not unfair to say that the current Peugeot 3008 is one of the more challenging looking cars on sale at the moment. Shame really, because behind that Quasimodo styling is a practical, decent-driving and entirely reasonable MPV-cum-crossover. Could there be a more handsome beast lurking beneath that hallucinogenic disguise this time around?
Click here for everything you need to know about the current Peugeot 3008.