PEUGEOT'S 3008 SUV goes right to the top of the class as far as I'm concerned.

It is hugely stylish and avant garde, impressively comfortable over all surfaces and very easy to drive in all situations.

In fact, it's an almost perfect family sized load lugger with more new technology than any competitor, including cordless smart phone charging, built-in Wi-Fi with its own sim card, and the brilliant i-Cockpit digital instrument binnacle - of which more later.

More and more these days, I request the petrol versions of cars, because they usually cost less to run over four or five years than the diesels.

Some diesel family hatches can take an amazing nine years to break even with the equivalent petrol model from the same range.

The 3008 is nowhere near as bad as that, but the 1.6 diesel in the same spec is likely to take more than four years to pay for itself when compared to the 1.2 turbo petrol I drove.

A 1.2 I hear you ask?

Yes, you that's right. This little beauty is a three cylinder turbo to help keep emissions down, but it has 130bhp on tap, which is not far off the previous model's 2.0-litre unit and in the gears it pulls even harder.

It's as smooth as silk, very quiet and beautifully willing. It pulls well from low revs and hard from 2,000rpm in all the lower five of the six-speed manual gearbox.

There is even enough urge in sixthgear for most manoeuvres on the motorway, but third and fourth are perfect for quicker overtaking and lane changing.

The gearchange is sweet, the clutch light and the brakes brilliant.

All are two-wheel-drive (2WD) the same as most of the other medium SUV's, where four-wheel-drive (4WD) is only available at the top of the range.

And, to help traction in slippery conditions, it's available with Peugeot's Grip Control system, which always send the power the wheel with the most grip.

The ride is superb - better than most of the others - although not by much since they are all pretty comfortable.

But this one floats over poor surfaces with complete aplomb and yet never feels as though it's wallowing.

It takes speed humps very easily and yet, despite the suppleness of the suspension, it still takes the corners with great agility and safety.

There are also two diesels available but the benefit in kind tax for this one is the same, so there's not much gain.

The boot is huge and there is big legroom behind my six foot frame.

The i-Cockpit dash is excellent in most ways and has a numer of different layouts for the driver to choose at the flick of a switch.

The only thing wrong with the whole car really is a niggle - the rev counter sweeps anti-clockwise and it just looks wrong.

Equipment in the GT-Line 3008 I drove includes a multi-function steering wheel, keyless entry and starting, cruise, electric child locks for the back doors, electric tailgate, Bluetooth, half leather seats, an electric parking brake with automatic off as you pull away, sat nav and a sunroof.