Peugeot 5008 GT: I am in love with this car

When the Peugeot 5008 was dropped off outside my house, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. This vehicle, which I was loaned for a week,  looked ginormous. In fact it was so big I was tempted to put on my wife’s FitBit and see if I could sneak in 10,000 steps simply by walking around it. Not only was I amazed at quite how large the vehicle was, but the 5008 looked incredibly stylish, more so than any Peugeot I have previously driven.

First impressions of the Peugeot 5008

When I walked around the car, I was, at first, reminded of the Audi Q7. The Q7 is a vehicle we fell in love with as a family after we took one on a road-trip to Scotland a couple of years ago. So appealing did I find the 5008, that when Mrs Adams returned from work that night, I had to tell her that, based on my first impressions, the 5008 was at least as good as the Q7. 

The Peugeot 5008 was very spacious with seven seats. The exterior of the car was very well designed but it was the interior that really impressed me. Peugeot’s signature i-Cockpit (the instrument panel) had a sleek design and all controls, with the exception of one, were easy to find (I’ll come on to that).

The interior lighting was great, and it was very comfortable with lots of space in the back seats. Despite its size, the 5008 was also very easy to drive with the most amazing power-steering system. Oh yes, my first impressions were good, very good indeed.

Details about the model I was driving

I was driving the Peugeot 5008 GT. It had a 1.6 litre petrol engine and eight speed automatic transmission. For those of you thinking of the family, this vehicle has a five star NCAP safety rating.

In terms of size, the 5008 is 4.6 metres long, 1.8 metres wide and 1.6 metres tall. You get an impressive 952 litres of storage space in the boot increasing to 2,150 litres if you collapse the seats.

The 5008 has the usual two seats in the front and three in the back with an additional two pull-up seats in the boot. My daughters, Helen and Izzy, loved these seats and they made a dash for them every time we drove anywhere!  If you don’t need all that space, but like the sound of the car, you may want to explore the 3008 model which is a bit smaller but is just as well styled.

In terms of fuel efficiency, Peugeot claims you should get between 38 and 64 miles to the gallon if driving on city streets. I noticed that the 5008 was thirsty when I took it on short, stop, start journeys. When I went on longer journeys, it was very fuel efficient.

Performance

I found the Peugeot 5008 was a dream to drive. It was so comfortable and the power steering so good, that it didn’t feel like I was in a large car at all because it was so easy to manoeuvre.  The car accelerated very well and I really enjoyed driving it.

The Peugeot 5008 is also incredibly quiet. Regardless of whether you are sat inside the vehicle or stood outside right next to it, you can hardly hear the engine when it is ticking over.

Other stand out features of the Peugeot 5008

I made good use of the amazing features the 5008 boasts. There was a spot in the central console for cordless mobile phone charging, in addition to USB ports.

The reverse cameras were exceptional, providing an amazing view of any parking space I tried to get into. There was also lane control and the 5008 comes with park assist so you can, should you wish, let the car park itself. Watch the video below to see the park assist in action.

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I think the most random feature of all were the environmental settings. You can adjust the settings of the car to your mood so it will play you certain music and fill the car with your chosen fragrance. If you do wish to adjust the fragrance, my advice is to keep the settings quite low unless you want your car to smell like the reception lobby of a four-star hotel.

This was a fun feature to play with. Although fun, it was a bit of a gimmick and I might leave that feature alone unless on an epic road trip.

Points to be aware of

I’ve mentioned the size of the Peugeot 5008. I’ve you don’t need or want a seven-seater, I would say the 3008 model is well worth looking at.

I’ve also mentioned fuel efficiency. The Peugeot 5008 wasn’t inefficient, but there was a noticeable difference in miles per gallon between town and open road.

The only other thing I can think of to mention is the cruise control function. This is something I have come across with Peugeot vehicles in the past.

You first challenge is to find the cruise control, which is tucked away behind the steering wheel on a short stick that can’t be seen unless the steering wheel is pulled sharply to the left or right. I eventually found where it was located. At that point, memories came back of me struggling to find the cruise control when I tested the Peugeot 308 (and narrowly missed getting arrested when a police car drove past as I was lawfully removing a safe from a church and loading it into the back of the 308 at 11am one rainy, Sunday morning).  

Your second challenge is to actually get the cruise control working. It’s clearly been designed with the intention of being using solely by touch, but there are too many buttons on the control itself and it’s a bit confusing.

I don’t think I could ever be put off a car because of the location or ease of using its cruise control. It is, none the less, the one flaw in the design of Peugeot’s i-Cockpit.

On the road price of the Peugeot 5008

I mentioned the Audi Q7 at the beginning of this article. The Q7 and the Peugeot 5008 are both exceptionally well-designed cars with many similar features. When it comes to price, however, the two diverge.

The Peugeot 5008 GT I was driving can be on the road for about £36,000. If you go for the lower specification Allure model, however, you can be on the road for a shade under £27,000. By comparison, the starting point for the Audi Q7 is around £52,000.

Concluding thoughts

The Peugeot 5008 is an exceptionally nice SUV. I thoroughly enjoyed driving the vehicle and my children enjoyed being passengers in it.

You may not have the £36,000 for the model I was driving. If you do, fantastic. If you don’t, there are lots of other variations that are easier on the wallet. There’s also the five seat 3008 to explore. Price-wise, you should find something that suits your family and finances.

As a family car, it had lots of space so you could easily get shopping, camping gear or suitcases etc. in the boot and fit your family in the car as well. The power steering made it very simple to manoeuvre and it’s also boasts lots of safety features. Rarely have I enjoyed driving a car so much. If you are looking for an SUV, I would definitely put the Peugeot 5008 on the list of vehicles you should test.

Further information about the Peugeot 5008 can be found online on the Peugeot website.

Disclosure: I was loaned a Peugeot 5008 SUV for the purposes of writing this review. Thoughts and opinions entirely my own.