#PeugeotWinterExperience in Tignes

12. Februar 2014
|In motorsport events, peugeot, peugeot rczr experience
|By dajana

Just spent two days at this wonderful little mountain village called Tignes in the French alps to test drive the new Peugeot Hybrid models, but had the most exciting winter experience ever.

RCZ Rrrrrrrr

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driving the Peugeot RCZ R on snowy conditions

As you might have noticed by now, I am head over heels in love with ht RCZ R … from the beginning I just had a special connection to this very special vehicle. Not only the powerful engine, it is everything about this sporty coupé that really gets me. Maybe it is just a stereotype girly thing but I love the design and after my drive on snowy conditions it is also the simple handling and the fun you can have with it. Bu that’s a side note, as my RCZ R ride hast just been the icing on the cake. Let’s talk hybrids.

PEUGEOT HYBRID4

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20 cm of new snow but we just can smile about

Peugeot launched a brand new Diesel-Electric Hybrid engine combination, called Hybrid4 you can choose for the models 2008, 3008 and 508. We had the possibility to drive all these models with and without Hybrid4 or Grip Control to feel the difference between it.

I really don’t want to go too deep into the technical details – that is something you can read in more technical versed blogs – I’ll try to capture the convincing handling and surprising facility of driving these Hybrid systems even in tough conditions instead.

As I began my trip in Graz, we had an awful weather with snow and rain – people are getting crazy on street and driving extremely slow – at least that gave my enough time to recapitulate my experiences with Hybrid and all-electric systems. We are living in a world constantly evolving and increasingly urban, we want to be always mobile yet do we want to protect the environment. I live in the inner city of Graz,  without a fixed parking space or even a own garage. A few month ago I had the chance to check out an all-electric car with finally bad results. At my opinion there must be a huge change to get electric drive suitable for daily use.

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Peugeot Grip Control test with the 4008

We started our experience by driving on a small mountain road with 20 cm of fresh-fallen snow. After sitting in the 3008 Hybrid4 I have to mention that I felt very comfortable with the handling, it was absolutely easy going – you just have to use a little controller and choose the way you’d like to drive (Auto/ZEV/4WD/Sport).

  • By using the Auto-mode you’re always perfectly balanced between the engine/motor and of course the recharge. The system is fully automatic controlled and offers the best fuel economy and the lowest CO2 emission.
  • The ZEV-mode (zero emission vehicle) allows you a zero-emission drive, completely electric. If in need of more power the Diesel engine will turn on in a few milliseconds and you will go on with Auto-mode.
  • The 4WD-mode (four wheels drive) allows an optimized driving according to the conditions of grip and speed both engines will work together. In need the distribution of the torque can reach up to 40% on the rear axle.
  • The Sport-mode enables the most dynamic drive, with a more rapid gear change at higher engine speed. You’ll reach the full dynamic potential with an optimized workflow between engine and electric motor which brings a “boost” drive to all four wheels.

3008 Hybrid4 Engineering Figures

  • 2.0l HDi FAB Diesel engine 120kw/163hp
  • Electric motor 27kW/37hp
  • Total power 147kw/200hp
  • Max. torque of 300Nm front and 200Nm rear
  • 3,4l/100km
  • CO2 88g/km

In between this two days we also had a workshop on snowy conditions to test drive the difference and get a feeling for it. We started with the significant difference between using the Grip Control mode and could choose, optimized to our specific terrain conditions, between Snow, All Terrain, Sand and ESP off for example by driving through a curve or for speed up. The second workshop was based on the Hybrid4 and the difference by driving in 4WD or for example with front-wheel-drive.

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driving uphill with Peugeot Hybrid4

THE BOTTOM LINE

I’ve never test driven a good working system like this before. It is much more comfortable as at first thought and it seems to be better contrived. The switch between the different modes isn’t noticeable but the effect in any case. So you get in every situation a perfectly balanced and stiff vehicle to feel safety on every conditions of grip. In mind to use the four-wheel drive and to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by the way, I’m looking forward to see more of it on Austrian streets.

Thanks to Peugeot Austria | Peugeot France | Jacques Lemans for supporting this experience!