Moses Akaigwe
The multi awards-winning Peugeot 3008 has added yet another accolade to its long list of honours: The ‘New Car of the Year’ won at the annual Auto Trader New Car Awards ceremony held in London recently. More than 63, 000 UK drivers voted for the impressive SUV to beat key rivals for the title.
This is coming about one year after the assembler of Peugeot vehicles in Nigeria, PAN Nigeria Limited, unveiled the mid-size people’s choice at a well attended launch in Lagos.
The win is the 66th award for the Peugeot 3008 SUV, making it one of Peugeot’s most successful models. Unlike many other awards which rely on editorial judging panels, the Auto Trader New Car Awards are decided by more than 63,000 real car owners who voted via a survey.
Drivers review vehicles in 16 different criteria, ranging from reliability and performance to running costs, to give potential buyers a complete picture of ownership. Consumers are also asked about their overall satisfaction with their car and how likely they would be to recommend the model to others.
Owners rated the Peugeot 3008 SUV highly in a range of areas, including its design, interior practicality and its innovative tech, including the Peugeot i-Cockpit® infotainment system.
Commenting on the win, Erin Baker, Auto Trader’s New Car Editorial Director, said, “The PEUGEOT 3008 SUV was a stand-out winner and has been highly commended for how comfortable and safe it feels when driving, as well as the quality of its interior and its good .”
According to Baker, “Owners were quick to highlight the quality of the technology that comes as standard and its features and accessories. It’s a fantastic all-rounder and a wholly worthy winner of New Car of the Year.”
Excited at the award, Peugeot UK Managing Director, David Peel, said, “Certain awards stand out for us in the industry. Any award based on owner feedback is extremely important for us and it’s fantastic to see so many owners praise their PEUGEOT 3008 SUV. Our commitment to building vehicles that feature uncompromising quality, an instinctive driving experience and sharp design is clearly paying off.”
The New Car of the Year award is just the latest in a range of accolades won by the Peugeot 3008 SUV, including Carbuyer’s ‘Best Medium SUV’, ‘Mid-Size SUV of the Year’ in the 2019 Fleet News Awards and ‘Best Mid-Sized SUV’ in the 2019 Driver Power survey.
The Peugeot 3008 was officially unveiled to the local market by PAN Nigeria Limited at a launch held in Lagos in the first quarter of 2018, where excited SUV lovers predicted a bright future for the new kid on the block.
Exhibiting a sleek design, 3008 was introduced as combining robustness with elegance even as guests sounded very optimistic that the vehicle would live up to Peugeot’s sterling reputation and raise the lion brand’s market share in the country substantially.
Some of the guests that witnessed the launch of the 3008 in Lagos, including a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Femi Pedro; the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun; and the Chairman, Nigeria International Security, Benjamin Wilcolt.
They were informed by the Chairman, Board of Directors of PAN, Alhaji Munir J’aafar, that the new SUV was introduced in response to the demand of discerning SUV lovers in the country.
Reacting to Peugeot 3008’s latest award, the Managing Director of PAN, Ibrahim Boyi, said the SUV’s string of honours is a confirmation that all the attractive technological, safety and luxury features the company highlighted at the launch last year, were no marketing gimmicks, but true attributes of the car.
Boyi had drawn guests’ attention to the highpoints of the new SUV, saying the vehicle had been equipped with all the trappings of a luxury, safety, comfort and new technology, adding that it would be competitively priced compared to endear it to the market.