The 3008 Hybrid’s 1.2-litre mild hybrid powertrain featured briefly in the last-generation 3008. It’s a hybrid system that features a 22bhp electric motor integrated into a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, driving the front wheels, and primarily draws power from a 134bhp, 1.2-litre, three-cylinder turbo petrol engine.
The system has no selectable EV mode (in contrast to other hybrid systems, like Toyota’s), instead determining on its own when it can run solely on the electric motor under lighter loads; and that’s mostly at low speeds.
This drivetrain wasn’t an instant hit when we drove it in the outgoing 3008, and so it proves again in this application in the new model. A couple of key issues are prevalent: it feels underpowered at times, and lacks refinement when working hard – which it needs to do fairly regularly.
The lack of power was an issue in the older car and thus it remains, even more so with an extra 0.2sec on the 0-62mph time. That’s down to the weight of the third-generation 3008, which is almost 100kg more than before.
Around town, the hybrid system works quite well, being quiet and smooth, and requiring no particular allowance or thought to drive it well. In urban traffic, the combustion engine starts and stops quietly, and there are no funny, lumpy drivability quirks to the power delivery.
But out of town, the powertrain tends to need more throttle than you think you should be applying to make only averagely brisk progress; and in providing it, you trigger plenty of revving that tells you how hard the engine is working.
