Road test review: Peugeot 5008 GT

Tuesday, 10 August 2021

Peugeot has given the 5008 a slick new face to bring it into line with the rest of its range.

PEUGEOT 5008 GT
Base price: $60,990

The 5008’s interior is largely the same and is looking a bit dated compared to newer Peugeots.

Powertrain and economy: 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder, 133kW/250Nm, 8-speed automatic, FWD, combined economy 5.6L/100km, CO2 129g/km (source: RightCar).
Vital statistics: 4641mm long, 1601mm wide, 1646mm high, 2840mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 962 litres (third row folded), 18-inch alloy wheels.

The achingly cool Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar is here and (nearly) ready to race.

We like: New face is a handsome addition, great ride, excellent engine and transmission, deeply comfortable and practical.
We don't like: Starting to show its age, interior not as good as newer Peugeots, optional wood trim looks a bit naff…

The fact that the 5008 is essentially a long wheelbase version of the 3008 shows in those long rear doors and the impressive rear legroom.

The 5008 was one of the first vehicles to get Peugeot’s latest design language back in 2017. Four years later, it’s time for an update. Does it do enough to keep Peugeot’s largest crossover relevant?

What’s actually new about it?

The 5008 GT is powered by a strong and refined 133kW petrol engine. A diesel option is also available.

The most obvious new bits on the outside is the new face that gets a new grille and new LED headlights with those striking DRLs that swoop down into the new bumper. On the inside the 5008 gets a larger 10-inch infotainment screen that is easier to use thanks to a refinement how the entire system.

**READ MORE:

The 5008 remains a capable and handsome SUV crossover that is impressively comfortable and refined.

* Road test review: Peugeot 3008 GT HYBRID4

* Road test review: Peugeot 508 GT wagon

* Spanish seven-seat SUV is also a bit German

* The SUV that plays with proportional representation

The 5008’s party piece remains – the remarkably versatile second row of seats that can be individually adjusted or folded, as well as the impressive legroom that the longer wheelbase brings. The third row is very much for the smallest – or most flexible – members of the family, however.

New face aside, the updates are minimal however, and the 5008’s interior is looking less impressive all the time when compared to newer offerings from the French marque, particularly the small 208’s brilliant interior.

Isn’t this just a bigger 3008?

Pretty much. Despite being Peugeot’s ‘largest’ SUV crossover, it still isn’t exactly huge – it’s big enough to squeeze seven seats in it, thanks to a bump in wheelbase over the 3008, but not a lot more. Still, it does offer impressive interior space for the segment it plays in though.

The GT we drive here is the top of the 5008 range and is powered by a 133kW/250Nm version of Peugeot’s 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo engine, hooked up to an eight-speed automatic transmission that sends the power to the front wheels.

This is more than enough to push the 5008 along at a respectable rate and, according to Peugeot, is tuned for low-end torque, meaning it is brisk off the line and punchy around town.

It’s a nicely refined powertrain that is quiet around town and, while the transmission is largely a slick shifter, it can occasionally be a bit indecisive at low speed. Generally though, it all works very well.

The ride and handling is what you would expect from a vehicle in this segment – comfortable and responsive enough, but not likely to get the pulse racing in any way. But it is what you would expect because it is what works best for this kind of vehicle, and the Peugeot is a refined and comfortable cruiser that does what it is supposed to do very well indeed, with the same compliant and comfortable attitude it has always had.

Any other cars I should consider?

My default answer when someone asks what mid-size SUV they should buy is “Mazda CX-5” and the Japanese competitor measures up strongly against the 5008, with the deeply impressive CX-5 Takami being only around $800 more.

But it isn’t a seven-seater. And if you really want seven seats, then bigger is generally the way you will have to go. There’s Mazda’s own CX-8 for a start, as well as the cheaper but less well-equipped Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail ST-L.

If you want to go even bigger, there are the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander and Kia Sorento, or the big ladder-chassis bruisers like the Ford Everest and Toyota Fortuner, but they are all significantly more expensive and far less refined.

That leaves the other Euros that are more directly comparable – namely the siblings from the VW Group; the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, Skoda Kodiaq and Seat Tarraco. All three sit roughly around the same price point as the Peugeot, and the Skoda and Seat are also AWD for that money.