If the latest Peugeot 5008 looms large outside your house, that may be partly due to its lack of exterior decoration. The designers reduced the number of external decorative inserts and chrome in the interests of sustainability and replaced them with body-coloured parts.
By Brian Byrne.
The result is an expanded impression of size, particularly in the review car’s dark grey; Titane, they call it. Then again, the 5008 IS big. It’s larger, for instance, than the Skoda Kodiaq and the BMW X3. And though it’s the same width as its 3008 sibling, there’s an extra 240mm of length, allowing it to accommodate a third set of seats, or really a lot of luggage.
Overall, it’s more imposing than beautiful, which makes it a bit of an outlier in a brand that specialises in attractive-looking cars. That said, it looks good, even the understated rear
treatment.
The interior follows the theme set with the launch of the latest generation 3008 last year, with a sweeping dashboard style. A wide floating element incorporates the infotainment system and the driving instruments.
It is set high to combine with the small steering wheel and give an over-the-wheel view of them in Peugeot’s trademark i-cockpit style. An asymmetrical centre console feels like it was more a stylist’s than a driver’s creation, oddly offsetting climate control buttons. It also relegates the transmission selector to a strange place on the dashboard. There’s also a peculiar storage space, the lid of which is clearly designed to stow a phone, but the phone has to be lifted away to access the storage. Then, the French are often known for idiosyncrasies, I suppose.
None of that takes away from a driver space that proved to be a really comfortable place, not least because getting in and out of it is easy.
Those in the seats behind also have good stretching space, as should be the case in what is a medium-large SUV format car. The pair in the rearmost seats should ideally be children, but they won’t feel squashed. Nor will luggage have to be, with five onboard, there’s a whopping 748L of capacity, and with seven, there’s still a decent 259L.
The 5008 comes in two grades here; my review version was the upper one, the GT. Key upgrades include LED lights front and rear, the former with adaptive high beam, one of the modern technologies I think is worthwhile. A kick-operated electric tailgate is another part of the deal.
I had previously driven the hybrid, so I’m in the battery-electric version this time. Here again, we have two options: the 73kWh battery in my car or a 97kWh long-range car.
Its minimum rated range is 489 km, with an anticipated real-world range of between 370 and 400 km. Again, all depends on where and how you’re driving. The same comment applies to whether it will suit you. If regular, very long distances are needed, you must be a good route planner to be comfortable.
Again, there’s a caveat here. I regularly hear complaints from my motoring journalism colleagues about the range in electric cars. Still, most people I know who actually own an EV remain happy with their choice.
The drive in the E-5008 is quiet, reasonably brisk with the 210hp on tap, and one doesn’t get tired on longer trips. Interestingly, the car, the motor, and the battery are all made in France, so it is truly a French car. Peugeot in Ireland is currently number eight in the sales league, and the 5008 is the brand’s second-biggest seller. A quarter of those sales are the electric version, which says that a substantial cohort of buyers in that space is committed to leaving combustion
behind.
Part of that might be the pricing; after incentives, both the electric and the hybrid 5008 sell at the same figure.
VERDICT
- What I liked: That it won me over, despite the idiosyncrasies
- Price: From €50,995; review car €54,995
