Peugeot 5008 review

It’s a quietly satisfying thing to drive, hustling down the road competently in a way that belies its size. That is as long as you don’t drive it on the limiter everywhere, which your passengers will be none too thankful for.

The minuscule steering wheel gives the impression of driving a car far smaller, and it takes some adjustment in those first few miles. Like all the controls it’s light and there’s little feel, but when the kids are doing their utmost to distract you in the back we doubt you’re going to be complaining too much.

Otherwise body roll is minimal and the ride well managed, making it agreeably comfortable for the most part. Around town it soaks up all but the biggest bumps adeptly, and at higher speeds it’ll happily waft along with minimal noise.

How do the powertrains compare?

We’ve only tried the mild hybrid so far, which gets the 1.2-litre petrol coupled with a 21bhp electric motor and 0.9kWh battery. It’s a tried and tested powertrain that’s shared across pretty much every Peugeot model, with the petrol engine and the electric gubbins working alone or in harmony when best suited.

Essentially you rely on the engine most of the time, with the electric motor there to assist on startup and under acceleration (0-62mph takes 11.3 seconds). Aside from very brief periods, such as when you’re crawling around town with the engine (which isn’t particularly refined and does complain audibly when you ask too much of it) switched off, you wouldn’t know there was any electrical assistance at all. Which is a backhanded way of saying it’s all very smoothly integrated.

And it also serves to make the 5008 that much more frugal to run, with Peugeot reckoning on a 15 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency compared to the petrol engine on its own. Officially the WLTP figures are 44.6-52.5mpg: we averaged 45.2mpg, which included a fair amount of time sat in stop-start London traffic. Pretty handy.

How far will the PHEV take me on paper?

Peugeot claims up to 48 miles of all electric range, courtesy of the 123bhp electric motor and 21kWh lithium-ion battery. That’s paired with a 1.6-litre petrol engine, for a combined total output of 192bhp and a 0-62mph time of 8.3 seconds.

That all-electric range figure trumps the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, but is dwarfed by the Skoda Kodiaq (which is limited to five seats, admittedly). As ever, reckon on about two thirds of that range in the real world, or less if you’re fully loaded with passengers.

In reality, most PHEV buyers will likely be those buying on a company car scheme, thanks to its 18-30g/km CO2 emissions. The official WLTP figure is 212.7-356.2mpg, but that’s nonsense obviously. A full charge takes 5h30m on a home wallbox.