On a recent European vacation to Spain, a rental car was a “must have” for part of the trip and therefore I decided to reserve a “compact car” in advance. As I waited at the rental counter, I was fully expecting something VW Golf-ish in size for whatever keys were handed me. After all the typing, printing, signing, and so forth was completed, I was handed the keys to a Peugeot and several thoughts immediately flashed through my mind. Ooo… my first French car! Darn I wanted a Seat. Maybe it’ll be like a 208! Hmm, I hope its comfy enough for 4 adults with 4 carry-on luggage!
The Peugeot 208 it was not, instead it was a Peugeot 5008 – excuse me, a what? – Well, an SUV (no up-charge you say? – why of course I’ll have some, muchas gracias!). For a little perspective, the 5008 competes against other SUVs including the VW Tiguan, Jeep Cherokee, and Subaru Forester.
I was really debating whether it would be interesting to review the Peugeot 5008, a vehicle no one will ever see in the United States… but given the recent announcement of a potential FCA and Peugeot merger, the timing may be just right…
Having an SUV turned out to be quite useful as my trip was with 7 other people, and the 2nd car in our caravan was a Seat Arona FR, #spoileralert – it could not fit 4 carry-on pieces of luggage. The 5008 could have fit all 8 (eh, 6 easily). So after some luggage rebalancing the world was right again, and the extended test drive could begin.
Let’s start with the stats: The particular 5008 I rented was a second generation which comes in several engine/transmission configurations. Two gasoline variants of the PureTech engine, either a 1.2L inline 3-cylinder paired with a 5- or 6-speed manual transmission or a 1.6L inline 4-cylinder paired with a 6-speed manual transmission. The two diesel variants use the BlueHDi engine as either a 1.5L inline-4 or 2.0L inline-4. Mine was the 6-speed manual 1.6L gasoline variant. Based on my research, this version should have had approximately 177 lb-ft of torque and 163 bhp.
The Peugeot 5008 was surprisingly luxurious feeling inside – or maybe not surprisingly? I really had no idea what to expect. The ride was smooth and quiet, but I will say the positioning of the driver’s seat relative to the pedals was slightly uncomfortable for my stature. Perhaps I could have spent more time manipulating the seat positioning to find a more optimal leg angle for myself, but at the end of the day I opted for the #sendit method of problem solving.
You got me Peugeot… what’s up with this Tach? – Being quite accustomed to the tachometer positioned on the left side and speedometer on the right, its natural for one to pause when the reverse of what you know is thrust upon you. No big deal – #adaptable; But what actually made me double take was the reverse numbering of the tachometer! And this isn’t “the under sweep” of early Porsche 924/944s like the one Matt Y reviewed earlier this year… instead of a clockwise 0 to redline sweep, its a counter clockwise sweep (below). Perhaps it’s a French thing? Je ne sais pas…
Cornering – with respect to turns, being the prudent person I sometimes am, I was never about to throw this SUV into any of the mountain twisties, but under “normal” driving the suspension remained composed and no one was left reaching for the sickness bags stowed under their tray tables. My test included a mixture of highway and mountain roads, both paved and unpaved. In my opinion, the 5008 handled all the situations quite well. During the “off-road” segments of the adventure (I would have destroyed my personal car on such a road – #lowrider) the suspension provided a ride that was neither overly soft nor overly rigid, comme Boucle d’or dirait – que c’était juste! (as Goldilock’s would say – it was just right!)
As mentioned earlier, the 5008 was probably boasting a modest 177 lb-ft of torque and 163 bhp. At this point you are probably laughing, thinking – mon Dieu, this behemoth probably couldn’t get out of its own way going downhill. Au contraire mon amis! – Best I could find online is that the various 5008 models can range between 3000 to 3900 lbs curb weight, with this model likely being around the 3300-lbs mark. If that’s correct, wow! – I’m still quite beside myself that an SUV could weigh so little, and still feel so solid (disclaimer: I don’t drive many SUVs). Admittedly, it’s svelte figure is probably aided by it being FWD and not AWD. Nonetheless, given its weight, I now understand why despite the “modest” torque and horsepower, it didn’t feel like an airplane was being dragged behind it. Driver be wary – like most modern cars, if you aren’t keeping your eye on the speedo you better be looking out for the red & blue, because you’ll get into trouble quick enough.
All-in-all the Peugeot 5008 was a great vacation vehicle to lug around friends and luggage, particularly through the country-side – up and down hills, over gravel and dirt, and into and around pot holes. I personally wouldn’t want one while living in any European city given its size – nothing bigger than a Fiat 500 please… But maybe if that merger does go through, it could find a wide open home on this side of the ocean.
