Peugeot 5008 (2017-2024) review

There’s nothing particularly exciting about driving the 5008, but your passengers will at least be glad of that. It’s a relaxed car that doesn’t like to be hustled along too aggressively – both hybrid and diesel powertrains are more into loping than racing about. 

Body roll is fairly well contained (it’s actually fairly light by modern standards at around 1,500kg) and ride is good over speed bumps and potholes. There’s a bit of cognitive dissonance with the tiny steering wheel, and it’s easy to end up throwing the car into a corner if you’re not careful. 

What’s the hybrid setup like?

The Stellantis group rolled out its new hybrid powertrain option in 2024 – it felt a bit strange that this was the latest tech available in a company with such a solid array of electric vehicles on the books. 

On the move the tech feels very rudimentary, it’s not as suave as the setup that Toyota has spent so many years refining. The down changes on the six-speed gearbox can be quite rough, as if the car is going to stall, and the small 0.9kWh battery is only good for short bursts of electric running. 

On the whole it’s closer to a mild hybrid layout than anything fancier, but it does serve to make the tiny 1.2-litre petrol engine that bit more viable and economical. 

The hybrid and diesel do look very close on paper… 

The 134bhp hybrid petrol and 129bhp diesel are indeed within a whisker of each other across the board. Both are officially rated at 45mpg and will get to 62mph in around 10/11 seconds. 

Neither are particularly impressive figures necessarily, but the standard 5008 works for those who are electro-phobic or simply looking to enjoy a few more years of combustion. That said, we got 44mpg driving the hybrid on mixed roads, so the numbers are reasonably attainable. 

As we’ve just said, the six-speed auto on the hybrid can feel a little rough, and while we’ve not driven the current diesel version of the 5008, the same powertrain combination in other Stellantis cars is a solid and unspectacular performer. 

If you’re regularly carrying heavy loads, a full complement of passengers or towing (the diesel is rated at 1,200kg of braked trailer versus the 1,050kg of the hybrid) then you’ll want the diesel and its flexible mid-range.