2017 Peugeot 5008 first drive

The Peugeot 5008, which is no longer a people-mover, as you may have noticed. That may seem odd, considering it’s a car whose reason for being is that it has seven seats, where its sister car, the Peugeot 3008, does not. Now the 5008 is an SUV – albeit an SUV that won't ever be available with four-wheel drive.

But be that as it may, whichever three letters are used to describe the new 5008’s particular niche, or Peugeot’s reason for repositioning it, what matters is whether this is a good seven-seater. And, after first inspection, we’d say that it is – although perhaps not the very good one they’d have you believe.

The car goes on sale in the UK in June, in a range that mirrors that of the shorter 3008. It will be offered with a choice of petrol turbos engines making between 128bhp and 163bhp, and 99, 118, 148 and 178bhp diesels, most of which can be mated to a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed torque-converter automatic gearboxes. Rated CO2 emissions do a lot to recommend the car and will mitigate the effect of what are likely to be fairly expensive prices when they’re announced later this year for company car drivers. Generous equipment levels will have the same effect, of course.

And for anyone disappointed by Peugeot’s decision to leave out a conventional four-wheel drive system here, it makes amends with an option called Advanced Grip Control, which bundles multi-modal traction control and a hill descent control system with Continental ContiCrossContact hybrid on and off-road tyres.

There are clearly bigger and more expensive large family cars you might buy, so the 5008 has to strike a perfect compromise between fairly compact and manageable exterior dimensions and well-packaged occupant space. It does that well enough, with notable strong suits and a few hiccups.

The car has three individual second-row chairs, each offering plenty of leg room on account of the 165mm that has been added to the platform’s wheelbase as part of the 5008’s making. Each chair folds, slides and reclines into various positions, and each has its own ISOFIX child seat anchorages, thumbs up for that. But to sit in, their cushions feel a bit hard, flat, short and slim, and second-row head room is quite poor if you option your car with Peugeot’s panoramic glass sunroof. Avoid that and head room in both the first and second rows is much improved, alhough it’s well worth noting that with top-line GT-trim cars, you’re stuck with glass roof.