To give credit where it’s due, the 2020 Peugeot 3008 1.6T CKD is a great car to be in. It rides fantastically well, has a beautiful interior, and comes with premium feel-good features price at RM 163,888 (OTR without insurance).

Although Malaysians may not have the best impressions for the Peugeot brand, we can’t deny that this French SUV is not only on par than other popular SUVs in the class, in some areas it even betters them.

The Peugeot 3008 is as dynamic as a Mazda CX-5, as practical as a Honda CR-V and as stylish as a Volkswagen Tiguan. It is not lacking in convenience features either with the digital instrument cluster, paddle shifters, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, powered tailgate, ambient lighting, and a panoramic sunroof.

Performance is also par for the course with a 1.6-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine pushing out 167 PS and 240 Nm of torque.

However, there is one area that the 3008 is sorely lacking – safety. It lacks Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and in this day and age, it is something hard to look past.

Other class rivals have the option for a full suite of ADAS which includes AEB. We can overlook the lack of adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous driving feature but AEB should be available in cars of this segment and price point.

That is not to say that the 3008 is not safe, it is covered with 6 airbags, Electric Stability Control, ABS along with Blind Spot Monitor, and Lane Keeping Aid.

The lack of AEB just makes the Peugeot 3008 a little bit less enticing for potential buyers reading from the spec sheet and definitely a deal-breaker for those who view very highly of ADAS.