Peugeot gets its act together to offer the best MPV in its class regardless of price

PEUGEOT 5008 1.6 HDI 110BHP SX:PEUGEOT IS having a bit of a rebirth at the moment. At a press conference in a sub-zero Paris recently, the brand unveiled its new badge. Yes, it's a variation on the same theme, a lion, but it is timely. Buyers are getting new reasons to look at the Peugeot brand, writes PADDY COMYN

The 3008 is already selling well. This good-looking crossover may have SUV connotations and a muscular bent, but it also has a price tag that isn’t one bit scary. Peugeot has the flavour of the 3008 just right. Now it has attempted the same recipe with another segment – the MPV, or people carrier as it is more commonly known.

Traditionally, this segment has been rather dull. In reality no one buys a people carrier for any other reason than necessity. Single buyers rarely trade-in their Porsches for a Hyundai Trajet unless they’ve uncovered a long-lost litter.

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Kia Carens 2.0

Yet in recent years the grim functionality and motoring penance that people carriers forced upon their owners for being so fertile has been softened by the success of models like the Ford S-Max. The car proved that carrying seven people could be done in style and with decent handling thrown in too.

Peugeot’s previous efforts at MPVs had fallen a little flat. The 807 and the 806 before it never sold in massive numbers here, mainly because they were expensive and overly bulky.

The 5008 arrives in showrooms about now and has a lot of the look and feel of the smaller 3008. The new 5008 shares similar dimensions to the models it has replaced but has more of an SUV look to it.

It is a good-looking vehicle. Peugeot’s quality has improved of late and the shut lines are tight and the doors open and close with a more satisfying thud than before.

But it’s when you step inside that you notice that the improvements are much more significant. The 3008 marked a significant improvement in interior quality for the French brand and this has been carried over to the 5008. The plastics used are streets ahead of where the brand has been over the last decade and the feel of the steering wheel, gear shifter and the major controls are all first class. The handbrake is placed high up under the gear shifter which frees up space for a larger centre console storage area and the huge glass area, both in terms of the windscreen and the glass roof, gives the cabin a really airy feel. It has a front elbow width of 1,476mm, 1,520mm across the three individual seats in the second row and 1,341mm in the third row. Leg room is also generous, as is headroom.

All three seats in the second row are identical and can be reclined and moved forwards and backwards over a distance of 130mm. They can also be folded individually into the passenger compartment floor to form a flat surface. The front passenger seat can also be folded flat into a shelf configuration – it is possible to load long objects as far as the fascia panel. The load length in this configuration (all seats folded away and the front passenger seat folded flat in the shelf position) is 2.76m.

Getting into the third row of seats is easy. In one movement, the seat cushion lifts and the seat back moves forward, freeing up the maximum space for those wishing to get into the car. If you don’t need to use the third row of seats, they fold individually into the rear floor.

Luggage space varies from 758 litres to 823 litres under the parcel shelf with the third row seats folded away. This capacity increases to 1,247 litres when the rear parcel shelf is removed and the vehicle is loaded to the roof and to 2,506 litres with the second row seats folded away as well.

That’s the practical side dealt with, so is it any good to drive? Well you might be alarmed to hear that it comes with the option of just one engine and that is a 1.6-litre, 110bhp HDi diesel engine and this might sound a little weedy for a car of this size that will potentially carry seven people and their luggage. But we know from experience with the 3008 that this engine copes more than well. It has 110bhp and 260Nm of torque and while it isn’t a rocket, with 0-100km/h taking 12.3 seconds, the whole point of putting this engine into the 5008 wasn’t about punch, it was about frugality and keeping emissions low.

The 110bhp diesel has emissions of just 140g/km and that puts it in tax band B with road tax of just €156 per year and it also qualifies for the Government scrappage scheme too. This is one of only two seven-seaters that has emissions of less than 140g/km, the Renault Grand Scenic being the other.

From the driver’s seat, the driving impressions are really very good. The seats are very supportive and comfortable and the placement of the gear shifter allows for a relaxed driving style. All the sliding, flipping and folding of the rear seats is very easy to do and won’t take muscle power to operate either.

The steering feel is good too, as is the handling for a vehicle of this type. There isn’t as much pitch and roll as you would expect and there is good grip and a solid stance on the road. All 5008 models get six airbags as standard and ESP is a standard fit too, as well as rear impact protection. You get three Isofix child seat mountings to ensure child safety seats are attached directly to the vehicle structure.

All mountings are of the latest three-point design and are available on all the passenger seats in the second row. The 5008 is also equipped with an electrically operated child safety system that locks the rear doors and disables the electric rear windows, all from a switch operated by the driver.

So far so good. But it gets better. The last piece of the jigsaw is the all-important price and this is where the Irish distributor’s hard work appears to have paid dividends. The 5008 starts at €26,870 for the SE version and, when you compare this to some of its key rivals, then it’s excellent value.

For €28,995 you get the SX, which gets cruise control, front fogs, 16-inch alloys, blinds in row two, electric windows all round and a leather gear knob.

The cheapest Ford S-Max is €32,365 and for a Zetec diesel you are looking at €38,845. Possibly its more direct rival is the Renault Grand Scenic which starts at €26,290 for the cheapest diesel. Granted, Peugeot has to improve its resale value dramatically to match the Ford’s but, as its brand reputation improves, this will too. But we aren’t just talking about price and value here.

5008 is at the moment, the best MPV in its class regardless of price and we aren’t the only ones to think so. Car-buying bible What Car also recently named the 5008 “MPV of the Year”, so they agree with us too. Bottom line for us is, that if you are after a people carrier in 2010, the 5008 should be your first stop.

Factfile

CC:1,560 4-cylinder diesel engine

0-100km/h:12.3 seconds

Max Speed:183 km/h

BHP:110 Consumption: 5.3 l/100km (53.2 mpg)

Price:28,860

L/100km (mpg):urban 6.5 (43.4); extra-urban 4.5 (62.7); combined 5.3 (53.2)

CO2 emissions:140g/km

Tax:VRT 24 per cent; motor tax €156

Price:€26,870

Standard equipment includes:cruise control, air conditioning, six-speed manual transmission, leather steering wheel and gearknob, seven seats, 16" alloy wheels, front and rear electric windows with two one-touch, ABS brakes, electronic traction control, stability control, brake assist, Isofix preparation, electronic handbrake

The competition: alternatives

Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

CC:1560

BHP:110

Speed:180km/h

0-100km/h:12.7 secs

L/100km:5.5

CO2:145g/km

Motor tax:€302

Price:€28,340

Ford S-Max 1.8 TDCi 125bhp Zetec

CC:1753

BHP:125

Speed:187km/h

0-100km/h:10.9 secs

L/100km:6.2

CO2:164g/km

Motor tax:€447

Price:€38,115

Renault Grand Scenic 1.5 dCi Dynam

CC:1461

BHP:106

Speed:180km/h

0-100km/h:13.4 secs

L/100km:5.1

CO2:135g/km

Motor tax:€156

Price:€28,490

Kia Carens 2.0 CRDI EX 5-door

CC:1991

BHP:140

Speed:187km/h

0-100km/h:11.0 secs

L/100km:6.1

CO2:163g/km

Motor tax:€447

Price:€27,880