The 5008 is still the epitome of the modern family car. Peugeot struck gold in the previous generation and refined the formula with this new model.
Forrest Gump said life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you are going to get. Pretty cool line. And something we all tell ourselves sometimes for many different reasons.
I know a girl named Tiz. Tiz was reading a book. Just a normal novel, not The Grapes of Wrath or anything. In this book, the main character wanted to be a rugby player for the Ireland National Team. It just so happened she travelled to Ireland while she was reading the book and, because of the book, she convinced her parents to go and watch a game by the Ireland National Team. Everybody loved it.
Had she not been reading the book, that specific day in Dublin would have been completely different. A certain randomness, or a chocolate in Forrest-speak, is a beautiful thing.
Ah – but why am I writing about Tiz, you may legitimately ask. Well, because it makes for a logical context for my text on the Peugeot 5008.
My daughter’s birthday was last month, and she said she would like to take four of her friends to our house in Alentejo for the weekend. And she would like all of us to go together in one car. So that’s five girls and me and Mrs. M. We needed seven seats.
It seemed like a pretty good reason to drive the new 5008, a car I may or may not have driven otherwise. We rounded up the girls and off we went, all seven of us in one car, plus everyone’s (admittedly small) bags.
It’s amazing how a car fit for purpose can be so enjoyable. There is something to be said for a vehicle that allows you to do things others cannot. Would I rather be driving a Ferrari on that weekend? Absolutely not.
‘The new 5008 may just be the best family car in the market right now. With only the Renault Espace to contend with, this seven-seater has almost the whole market to itself’
A Ferrari would not have allowed me to keep all of us together and enjoy the trip (and the endless chit-chat) for a whole weekend. So, weirdly, and in a strangely satisfyingly life-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates kind of way, the Peugeot 5008 is the best car in the world for when your daughter wants to go away with her friends (What about a Mercedes V-Class, you may be asking, and rightly so. Well, that’s a van, not a car, so it does not qualify).
I always thought the second-generation 5008 was a great car and this current model is a natural evolution, one that betters its predecessor in such important elements as ride and interior quality.
The press car was a 5008 Hybrid. Where once there was a 1.6 diesel before – what a great second-hand buy that diesel second-gen is these days – now Peugeot offers only a petrol-hybrid along the e5008, the all-electric option.
Despite being quite a big car, the 5008 makes do with a small 1.2 litre petrol engine, mated to a 29 horsepower electric motor, plus a 0.9kWh battery. Gearbox is a six-speed double-clutch auto for a total output of 136 ponies. Peugeot says its CO2 emissions are 130g/km and fuel economy stands at 5.7l/100km. There were times I did even better than that, but it is an honest number for the average consumption in general.
Not being a plug-in hybrid, the system manages everything related to the electric module and does so brilliantly, maximising performance and efficiency. I never thought I wanted the 5008 to be any brisker and I drove it around for almost 750km and gave it back to Peugeot with more than 100km left on the board computer. With seven people on board the whole time. That was quite amazing.
The car I drove was an Allure version, starting at €35,650, which includes such goodies as full-led front lights, 19-inch wheels, the i-Cockpit infotainment system with two 10-inch panoramic screens, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, triple-zone AC, keyless entry and a few others.
One very important thing about the 5008: the middle-row seats slide back and forward independently to adjust the necessary space for those in the back. A small detail, but when you are traveling seven-up, it makes all the difference in the world.
All in all, it was the perfect car for the job. In fact, it may be the perfect car for many family-related jobs, because it’s the closest thing to an MPV (remember those?) we can get these days – and the MPVs always were better family cars than any SUV ever will be.
The 5008 is, therefore, a good one in my book and I thoroughly recommend it. As for the seemingly random reason why I got to drive it, well, what can I say? Life flies some of us to watch the Ireland National Team; others drive to Alentejo for the weekend on a seven-seat French SUV.
Let’s just enjoy the chocolates while we can.
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