Peugeot has some hugely important new cars coming this year in the form of the e-3008 and e-5008 electric SUVs. But that doesn’t mean the French carmaker has forgotten about existing models like the 2008 crossover. And with good reason: the second-generation 2008 was once a regular top-five performer in the European sales charts where it rubbed shoulders with its 208 subcompact brother and was the continent’s best-selling SUV. But between 2021 and 2022, the 2008 fell from 5th to 12th place in the new car registrations table, with sales falling a massive 28 percent.

It’s now four years on from the model’s 2019 launch, so bosses would have been planning upgrades for this year anyway. But disappointing sales numbers have ratcheted up the pressure on the facelifted version snapped here by our spy photographers. Like the previous prototypes we’ve spotted, this test car rides on basic steel wheels and still has its nose and tail covered with camouflage. But we can make out a redesigned front bumper whose DRL fangs appear to be straighter than they are on the current car. And this time the photographer got close enough to snap the grille, confirming that (base trims, at least) will get a new design of grille with vertical bars, rather than horizontal slats. We know this car is a base model because it has plain halogen lights, rather than the more funky-looking LED units with claw-style DRLs seen on upscale GT trims.

 

The e-3008 and e-5008 coming this year will ride on the new Stellantis SLTA Medium platform that’s been designed primarily for EVs, but can also accommodate combustion engines. Being a simple facelift, the refreshed 2008 will obviously stick with its older CMP platform, but that doesn’t mean it’ll miss out on EV power or new powertrain technology.

The electric e-2008 will get the same upgrade from 134 hp to 154 hp enjoyed by this season’s e-208, and combustion versions are also likely to benefit from Peugeot’s brand new mild-hybrid technology. Earlier this year the company revealed new 99 hp and 128 hp 1.2-liter mild-hybrid PureTech engines, each equipped with a 21 kW (28 hp) electric motor mounted inside the six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The engines are reported to improve efficiency by 15 percent, though whether they can improve the 2008’s sales by a similar amount, only time will tell.