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Peugeot's aggressive pricing policy means its 3008 Crossover will take pole position in the race to corner a new market, writes Campbell Spray

IF IMITATION is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Nissan Qashqai must feel pretty proud at the moment. The Japanese-owned British-built car has won success in spades.

Not only is it holding one of the top five slots in 2009 sales in a very depressed market -- standing alongside the VW Golf, Ford's Focus and Fiesta and the Toyota Avensis -- but the model is developing its very own sector.

With the image of the SUV -- and its consequent secondhand prices -- at an all-time low, the Qashqai's "crossover" concept of blending certain SUV attributes, such as robust image and high driving position, to a compact car's dimensions is paying dividends, with a 266 per cent growth in such cars over the last 10 years.

While the Qashqai has already got some formidable big-name competition, such as the Ford Kuga, these rivals have made very little inroad into the Nissan market share and are seen as just nibbling around the edges of its rather stout bum.

However, this is likely to change soon with the arrival of even more compact "crossovers", such as the Toyota Urban Cruiser and the Kia Soul; and, more directly, an aggressive pricing and marketing policy from Peugeot for the autumn launch of its 3008.

There is no doubt that the 3008 will have all the advantages of being developed in the shadow of the Qashqai. It is better looking, more adaptable and far better specced, but most of all it completely eschews any pretence of four-wheel drive and has brilliant road-holding, courtesy of its front-wheel drive and dynamic roll control fitted to the rear suspension and grip control systems.

There are some innovations on the car which are rarely seen in this market segment, including head-up display, distance alert, electric parking brake, hill assist and and a good sat nav. The 3008 Crossover will be Peugeot's first vehicle to be equipped with diesel hybrid technology when it arrives as a four-wheel drive version in 2011.

For the moment, there is a BMW-sourced 1.6 100bhp petrol engine and a 1.6 110bhp diesel, which may be the only variant available here at the launch. With an emissions rating of 139bhp, it will come into the €156 motor tax bracket and enable it to be priced at around €26,000, just above the diesel Qashqai.

It is this pricing that David McConnell, Peugeot Ireland's managing director, believes will be the key to going from "selling three or four hundred cars to three or four thousand". In a briefing to Irish journalists at the European launch last week in Croatia, Mr McConnell was very firm in saying that they had the Qashqai in their sights.

This was a marked contrast to the French representatives of Peugeot, who tied themselves in Gallic loops so as not to mention the Q word.

The 3008 is aimed at "sport-loving couples, active families and adventurous senior citizens", says Peugeot. As there are, or will be, over the next five years or so elements of all that in my profile, I was very keen to drive the 3008 and on the whole, reckon it is a good egg.

I thought the split tailgate, the multi-positioned rear floor, and easy folding seats were first class; the road-holding was amazing and the power of both engines was really competent. I didn't like the so-called "ergonomic and particularly luxurious driving position calling to mind the cockpit of an aircraft". It was needlessly fussy and inhibiting and I think it would make smaller drivers claustrophobic. It reminded me of the excesses of a large 4x4, rather than a more friendly car "positioned at a crossroads between SUV, MPV and hatchback".

It does feel very well-built, despite a lot being done to reduce vehicle weight to further help emissions and consumption. The safety systems are aimed at the higher, 2009 five-star Euro NCAP standard.

The 3008 attracted me in a way that cars like the Ford Kuga, the Citroen Crosser, and others haven't. I would especially like the panoramic glass roof which helps to mitigate the effects of the driver's cockpit. I think it could be a vehicle worth waiting for and will be a welcome relief from the army of Qashqais.