Peugeot 5008

By Oliver Marriage

December 2009

• Rating:
• Latest deal price: from £14,441 to £21,182

These days, Renault is synonymous with hot hatches like the Megane – but fellow French firm Peugeot has moved away from high-performance cars, and is now focusing on crossovers.

Partnering the 3008 is this: the all-new 5008 MPV. Sharing much with Citroen’s Grand C4 Picasso, the seven-seater goes on sale in January, priced from £16,981.

Video: watch CarBuyer's video review of the Peugeot 5008

There’s nothing especially radical or innovative about the 5008, but it’s capable and well executed. Large rear doors open wide to reveal five individual back seats, all of which fold flush to create a truly spacious load bay. Plus, the middle row tilts and slides, to increase space in the rearmost seats.

Up front, the driving position is good, plus a deep central bin provides decent stowage. This Exclusive model gets lots of kit, too, including a neat head-up display system and a full-length glass roof which lifts the tone of the cabin. Aside from a fussy nose, the 5008 is well proportioned. The A-pillars are narrow enough not to impede visibility too much and the car is easy to place on the road.

The suspension balances comfort and control well, with the only real problem being steering kickback and wheel clatter over potholes. Peugeot diesels have long been strong, and the refined and muscular 2.0 HDi is no exception – even the gearbox, often a weakness for the firm, feels robust.

So the 5008 is a light and easy car to drive, demands no compromises and does the job it sets out to do.

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