60-second summary
What is it?
The new Peugeot 5008 is a large SUV replacement for the brand’s former largest MPV.
Key features
Seven seats, upmarket cabin, lots of space
Our view
The Peugeot 5008 offers a lot to elevate it above much of the competition in a very congested SUV market. Not many of its rivals are large SUVs, and fewer still are quite so versatile, offering both the option of seven seats and a big boot.
Add this to a package that is well built, with quality finishing, bang up-to-date technology and a solid performance on the road, and the 5008 will tick a lot of boxes for potential buyers.
Similar cars
Skoda Kodiaq, Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace
Full review
Introduction
The new Peugeot 5008 is very different from the first-generation model. Following a well-established trend, the French brand has abandoned the MPV format of its Mk1 5008 in favour of an SUV, because everyone wants an SUV these days and there have never been more to choose from.
In the process, however, Peugeot has created an SUV that actually has few direct rivals, because prime in the design has been retaining the versatility of the previous people-carrier – the designers are targeting those people who want the looks of an SUV, but need the carrying capacity of an MPV.
So every version of the 5008 comes with seven seats, and that means its direct rivals are the Skoda Kodiaq, Nissan X-Trail, the extended Allspace version of the Volkswagen Tiguan, and not a lot else…
Mind you the 5008 is effectively an extended model too – in looks, layout, just about everything it is the Peugeot 3008 on steroids. That car launched a year ago, we liked it and we were not alone, the model winning European Car of the Year. Does its bigger sister maintain the breed?
Buying and owning a Peugeot 5008 SUV
The new 5008 comes with a wide line-up of power plants. Core petrol choices involve the 1.2-litre 131hp unit which is a three-time class winner at the International Engine of the Year awards, and combined with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. There is also a 1.6-litre petrol unit with 165hp matched only to the auto gearbox.
Diesel buyers have a wider choice. There are 1.6-litre units in 100 and 120hp power outputs and a 2.0-litre 150hp variant offered only with the third of four trims, GT-Line. The range-topping GT model, meanwhile, exclusively employs a 180hp version of the 2.0-litre diesel, with either the six-speed auto ‘box or an eight-speed version.
Our test car is the 131hp petrol unit with the six-speed manual gearbox. With the increasing switch to petrol among UK buyers, this is likely to be the best seller – particularly as it boasts a plus-55mpg combined cycle fuel economy and CO2 emissions of only 117g/km. The best emissions, by the way, come courtesy of the 100hp diesel, at just 106g/km, which considering the size of the vehicle is seriously impressive.
What is not an option, currently at least, is all-wheel-drive. Peugeot is clearly taking a very different view of the market for its big SUV than rival Skoda, which sells virtually every version of its Kodiaq as an AWD model.
You can, however, specify the optional grip control system on all versions of the Peugeot. Costing £470, it does most of what AWD can do, includes mud and snow modes and also hill descent control.
We have our test car in the GT-Line trim. As mentioned, there are four to choose from and each comes well specified – even entry-level Active models include Peugeot’s superb ‘i-Cockpit’ (more on which directly), dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors, a DAB digital radio, full smartphone compatibility, and automatic headlights and wipers.
We would pay £3,700 more than an Active for our GT-Line, and the extra equipment one gets for the money includes navigation with voice recognition, a rear parking camera and front sensors, powered folding mirrors, wireless phone charging, LED head and fog lamps and lots of visual enhancements.
The 5008 also scores well on its safety package. While at the time of writing it hasn’t been specifically crash-tested by EuroNCAP, it is effectively a bigger version of the 3008 that scored five stars in 2016 and, accordingly, gets to share its smaller sister’s five-star rating.
Automatic emergency braking, a distance alert and lane departure warning are standard on all versions. As soon as one moves above the entry level, uprated versions of all these driver aids are fitted, including ‘Active Lane Keeping Assistance’ and blind-spot detection, along with Peugeot’s Connect SOS assistance service.
Inside the Peugeot 5008 SUV
Many will be buying the 5008 for its interior space, and it is a roomy vehicle. While based on the same underpinnings as the 3008, it is 190mm longer than its smaller sister, and 110mm longer and wider than its predecessor. Most of the extra length goes into the wheelbase, extended by 165mm over the 3008, but those sitting in the second row (on three individual seats) will also find significantly more space around the knees.
The larger car is no taller, however, which helps with the exterior looks – the 5008 SUV offering a much more attractive visual profile than the boxy proportions of its MPV predecessor. And despite the compact roofline, interior headroom is not compromised even in the third row, where occupants will find more room above than in the old car.
The third row of seats is compact overall, and on long journeys particularly only really suited to younger, smaller occupants. A neat touch is the fact they are removable, each weighing just 11kg, and when you take them out you are left with a truly enormous boot of 1060 litres capacity.
The cabin scores highly on its quality. Not only is it well finished with upmarket materials, it also boasts lots of upmarket high-tech touches, such as blue ambient lighting.
The highlight is without doubt Peugeot’s i-Cockpit 12-inch digital instrument panel, effectively outdoing Audi. You can choose from a number of options as to what you want displayed on it, from speed, range info and such like to the satnav map (in addition to the eight-inch centre console touchscreen display), and the way the dials tumble and reshape as you run through the modes is almost hypnotic.
Our GT-Line model even includes completely different finishes to the display, dubbed ‘Boost’ and ‘Relax’ which you select according to your mood…
Driving the Peugeot 5008 SUV
The driving position of the 5008 is high up and with good visibility ahead. Behind is not so great, but the reversing camera makes life a lot easier. Viewing the instruments is greatly helped by Peugeot’s more compact steering wheel – this departure from the norm has garnered mixed reviews but we found it no problem to live with.
While this is a big vehicle to move around, it doesn’t feel so – the enthusiastic yet unflustered way the petrol engine accelerates the car is impressive. A 0-62mph time of just under 11 seconds is respectable and whether at 30 or 70mph the car feels smooth, refined and a quality environment to travel in.
The 5008 is a big machine with the emphasis on comfort and, as such, it’s not expected to top the charts in handling prowess. However it returns a pretty solid performance, being easy to navigate through a series of bends, a little body roll evident but nothing to get excited about. It’s certainly a big step up on its MPV predecessor.
Overall, the 5008 proves highly competent on the road and a journey of several hours munching the motorway miles should not prove particularly fatiguing.
Summary
In a market that is now very congested the Peugeot 5008 would be expected to have a battle on its hands. But, in fact, not that many of its rivals are large SUVs, and fewer still are quite so versatile, offering both the option of seven seats and a big boot.
Add this to a package that is well built, with quality finishing, bang up-to-date technology and a solid performance on the road, and the 5008 will tick a lot of boxes for potential buyers.
