Peugeot is pleased as Punch with the interior of its next-generation 3008 crossover. So much so that, to draw our attention to this cabin, it’s released pictures and details of the inside. But it’ll be another month before it shows us the outside. The tease.

Actually, Top Gear has had a sit in and play with the new cockpit, and it really is most excellent. It lifts the company’s screen-and-HMI efforts from being distinctly below par to a position at the top of the class.

No version of the upcoming 3008 will get conventional dials. All have this virtual instrument set, of a kind originally pioneered by Jaguar, Land Rover and Audi. The centre of the dash also gets a touchscreen.

But what really out marks this new-generation Peugeot system from the old one isn’t those basics. It’s the smoothness and quickness of the graphics and animations, and the sensitivity of the touchscreen. The general impression, in other words, is that its calculations are driven by a high-powered processor, and not a small cohort of laboratory mice on Temazepam.

The driver’s display is high-mounted on the dash top, so it’s only a small deflection of the eyes away from the road. It’s visible over the top of the steering-wheel rim, rather than through it. The wheel is relatively small in diameter to suit, and that makes the car feel more agile, and frees up leg space for the driver.