I do not mean to sound pedantic, but a lot of shitty products "resonate with buyers". Squeaky laptops with stamp-sized trackpads come to mind. I think the resonating is mainly related to price. Like those laptops, Peugeots are probably good value for many. That does not however negate, that they are also shitty cars...
(For reference, my own car is a 2010 Honda Jazz (Honda Fitt in the US), so I'm not comparing a Peugeot to a luxury Mercedes sedan or something...it's just that the Honda seems to be a car people actually though about before they started building it)
The 3008 is not cheap, I think people buy it for the expressive style and the great comfort. So "resonate" is not meant as "resonate because of low price". Also, the new 508 and the upcoming 208 seem to be amazing cars. Give them a chance in a year :)
Talking about the play in the steering wheel, I have none but once scared myself driving the Ford of a friend because of this issue.
They are probably cheap and are all driven by seniors who wouldn't notice the difference with a proper car anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TnGjq9mWSI > very accurate.