Peugeot 5008 SUV review

When it was time to design this latest version of the Peugeot 5008, consumer tastes had moved on from the dull old people carriers that were once the staple diet of families. With buyer demand for stylish family cars gathering pace, the latest 5008 abandoned the dowdy MPV styling of its predecessor, morphing into a more contemporary modern looking SUV. The same approach was taken with the smaller Peugeot 3008, and both vehicles have been highly successful.

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The Peugeot 5008 fights for attention with a range of other highly successful SUVs, including the Skoda Kodiaq and Nissan X-Trail. As a seven-seater, the 5008 can also be seen as a rival to the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and Land Rover Discovery Sport. To keep pace with such strong competition, the 5008 has benefitted from a mid-life facelift that mirrors the style of the newer Peugeot 508.

Power for the 5008 comes in the form of two petrol engines, both turbocharged – a 129bhp 1.2-litre and a 178bhp 1.6-litre only available in top trims, along with and a range of diesels. These haven't changed much for the midlife refresh, and the lack of hybrid technology could start to hold the 5008 back compared with its rivals. Of these, the 1.5-litre BlueHDi engine with 128bhp is the most economical. A 2.0-litre diesel engine with 175bhp – completes the diesel line-up. The most powerful petrol and diesel engines are only available with automatic gearboxes.

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The 129bhp 1.5-litre diesel returns up to 60.8mpg and emits 122-148g/km of CO2. This last figure has a bearing on first-year road tax but from the second year, all petrol and diesel cars will set you back the standard annual rate for VED regardless.

Although the bold styling stands out, you shouldn't expect to be as wowed by the thrill of driving a 5008. Instead, the focus has clearly been on creating a comfortable set-up, and thanks to its well-tuned chassis, this big SUV rides smoothly on all but the lumpiest roads. The handling is respectable for a large seven-seater, too, but the rival Skoda Kodiaq feels a little sharper through corners. Peugeot's small steering wheel design isn't really ideal for a car of this size either, making tighter turns difficult to negotiate.

Just like the 3008, the 5008 has a striking-looking dashboard featuring Peugeot’s i-Cockpit instrument display as standard, which impresses. It has been updated in the facelifted 5008, with a new 10-inch infotainment display and updated 12.3-inch 'head up' cockpit screen.

Rear-seat space is more of a mixed bag. Go for the panoramic sunroof and six-footers sitting in the second row will find headroom tight, while the third-row seats are easy to access, but best reserved for kids. The same can be said of many 5008 rivals, but an MPV like the Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer is a better bet if you plan on using seats six and seven regularly.

There’s no official word on safety yet, but standard autonomous emergency braking should help the 5008 do well when it’s assessed by Euro NCAP, and the mechanically similar 3008 scored five out of five when it was crash-tested. Peugeot performed fairly well in our 2021 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, coming 11th out of 29 carmakers.