Peugeot has been focusing itself on crossovers lately. The 2008 has been roughened up,
the 5008 is now a big crossover instead of a boring MPV,
and the 3008 has apparantly made such an impression, it became Car of the Year.
As you'll probably know, we have a 3008 as a longterm, and it isn't just a regular 3008.
It's the GT with a big 2,0-litre diesel, which produces 180 horsepower.
And it's quite the car, especially considering it's got a lot of equipment.
But, however it may look like a SUV, the Peugeot 3008 only comes with front-wheel drive.
You might say; 'that's not how it's supposed to be', but they aren't the only ones.
BMW, always renowned for their rear-wheel drive in everything, also equips their X1 with front-wheel drive.
It's called S-Drive, because X-Drive means four-wheel drive.
In this case, S-Drive doesn't mean rear-wheel drive. Nope, the X1 is a front-wheel drive car.
That's good, because now we can compare the two.
There's also a 2,0-litre diesel in here. This is the X1 2.0d, which produces 190 horsepower.
Whilst 180 horsepower is the strongest engine available at Peugeot, the 190 horsepower in the BMW is just above average.
That means the comparison will be good.
When you're comparing cars, you'll have to consider the room as well.
In this Peugeot, you'll notice what I mean. The car had to be raised to toughen it up,
but that came at a price. The headroom isn't very good, especially because of the glass roof.
To compensate, they've kept the rear seat low, but look. That gives my legs this angle.
It's like a triangle, and above all, I can't fit my feet beneath the front seat.
So as an adult, the space for your knees is nice,
but the seating position just isn't very good. Sure, you could handle it for half an hour,
but if you went on a holiday with this thing, it would get annoying very quickly.
In the X1, things are different.
If we look at the X1, you can see it's a whole other story.
The floor is deeper relative to the seats, so my legs fit better.
The headroom is a little better than the Peugeot, and my knees are free as well.
So that gives us the weird conclusion, that BMW wins the comparison when it comes to legroom.
That doesn't happen very often.
When the new X1 was first introduced, I didn't think the step to front-wheel drive was very drastic.
For the 2-Series Active Tourer or the future 1-Series, it will be a bigger shock.
For a car like this, it doesn't really matter what drivetrain the base version has.
The typical BMW-balance is gone however, the previous X1 was more of a low-crossover.
A totally different car. This has really become a SUV.
When you're driving it, you don't really notice. Of course, it's still a dynamic car.
BMW still demands a kind of sportivity for their cars. So it's quite sporty.
The steering is heavy and direct, the suspension is quite hard.
If you put it in Sports Mode, the optional dampers become even harder.
So it becomes a hard car. In return, you get a car which steers very sharply.
Especially for a car in this segment. You can corner very boldly,
you can encounter bumps and the damping makes sure it stays rigid.
So there's still a lot of driving pleasure in the BMW.
Also, the car is much roomier than its predecessors, like I've just shown you.
Even better, it's roomier than most of its rivals.
When it comes to luggage space, this has about 15 to 20 litres more than the Peugeot 3008,
so we're talking about 520 litres for this X1.
The 2,0-litre diesel produces 190 horsepower, more than enough for a car like this.
You get from 0-100 within 8 seconds, nothing to complain about in a SUV.
It isn't the most refined diesel, it could be quieter.
It isn't annoyingly noisy, but it isn't silky smooth as other diesels from other brands nowadays.
Then again, the 8-speed ZF-gearbox is very supple.
It reacts perfectly to the throttle. There aren't a lot of cars that come close to BMW on that front.
If you want to use the flappy pedals, that's also possible. Also with a quick reaction.
That's a different story than in the Peugeot.
The biggest difference between these two cars, is the ambiance.
The Peugeot is a very relaxed car, but this BMW is more active.
When it comes to the finishing, it's very good in this car.
You notice that it's a very good car, qualitatively speaking.
The used materials however, besides this beautiful leather,
especially down here, all these plastic edges. It becomes cheap and hard plastic.
That goes for a lot of the entry-BMW's. They don't do their best like some premium rivals.
I'll admit, Peugeot isn't a premium rival, but the 3008 GT has a very royal trim.
So that's a interesting comparison.
What strikes me about this comparison, is the 3008 in GT-trim isn't very soft or anything.
It's got big wheels, the springs are a little bit stiffer,
which make it a little bumpy. That's why my colleagues say it isn't as comfortable as they expected it to be.
That's partly because it's the GT.
However, if you've driven the X1 before this...
Calling it swampy would be an insult, but it's a very soft car compared to the X1.
It's very comfortable though. Imagine if you're returning from a long flight,
or if you've got myalgia after working out, this is a very nice car to drive then.
Automatic gearbox, a lot of torques, very nice to drive.
It comforts you. That's what it breathes.
And compared to the BMW, it isn't hard at all.
Of course, there's a price to that as well. It doesn't come close to the BMW's dynamics.
It can hold its ground, but it doesn't really offer you driving pleasure.
Describing where a Peugeot is between comfort and dynamics, is very hard for me.
It's almost impossible. That goes for the 308, and even for the 206.
It makes you think; 'Is it a sporty car?', which you'll answer negatively.
That same answer goes to the question if it's comfortable.
It's inbetween. That's not a bad thing, because it doesn't do anything wrong, which leaves an average.
And that makes for a car which is in the middle when it comes to its drive, and that isn't bad at all.
When it comes to the drivetrain, the same goes for the 3008 as for the X1.
With its 180 horsepower it's quick enough, and it's got a decent amount of torque.
It's quite noisy as well, not quieter than the X1 or anything.
The automatic gearbox is a little softer than the BMW's. It does react quite fast, but when you want to use the pedals...
It's a nice gimmick, but if you want to use it pro-actively in corners... It's not very useful.
One of the big pro's of this car is the interior. It all looks very special, especially in GT-trim.
The finishing is very good, the materials are great, even in the lower regions.
On top it's also very good, just like the doors. It all looks very neat,
they have really tried to picture this model as a flagship or anything, and they've done a pretty good job.
On the multimedia-aspect, Peugeot has really improved a lot.
The controls are a lot easier to use than before, but that's mostly because of the previous system.
It also looks very good, especially the screen. Controlling it is also very nice to do.
The buttons down here also look very good, and it really contributes to the appearance, which is nice.
But let's not forget BMW's i-Drive is still the best system around, so this round goes to the BMW.
Right. When you're comparing, one of the most important parts is the price.
Right now we're talking about a premium BMW, versus a non-premium Peugeot.
I'm sorry guys, but 'premium' plays a role here. Especially when it comes to the price.
Let's start with the BMW. A X1 S-Drive 2.0d producing 190 horsepower, like I've said.
Of course, it's got quite a few options. Driving assistant plus, a new hifi system, an X-line-trim, it's a High Executive as well...
Sports seats, seat heating... So, the total amount you would have to pay is €67.100, and some change.
That's quite a high amount for a entry-level SUV, especially considering it's a front-wheel drive 4-cylinder.
Then, the Peugeot. The GT-trimmed 2.0, 180 horsepower diesel is the most expensive version.
It'll set you back around €49.600 and some change. For that, you get metallic paint, Pack City 2, bootlid control,
a hifi system and a tilting roof. I do miss seat heating, I noticed that when recording on a cold morning.
I didn't expect that from a car in this segment, of course you can order it on the side.
In total, it'll cost you €53.700. That's about 13 to 14k cheaper than the BMW.
Admittedly, a luxury BMW. The pro's for the BMW then;
it's got more room, not very much but it does have more room. It's more dynamic, but then again it's a lot less comfortable.
For the Peugeot, it's the exact opposite, so that's a question of taste.
But it's very hard for me to give you a winner. The money could be a problem,
but for the money you get a stripped X1 for, you can get a fully loaded Peugeot.
So you can't really get around the Peugeot. But if you want a car which drives like a BMW, you shouldn't want to buy the Peugeot.
I do think Peugeot has made quite a few steps in the right direction. They claim that they're not premium, and they've done that well,
but when it comes to its luxury and comfort, they get very close to being premium.
So it could be an alternative for when you scare yourself to death, you know, when you see the price of a fully loaded X1.
You'll be in safe hands with Peugeot.