Peugeot is making a massive comeback in the Irish market after a relatively quiet period. Back in the day there was the ever-reliable 205 and the rest of the 05s were firm favourites among rural drivers and even the 306 diesel was a real hit with the farming fraternity. Now these hatchbacks are much sought after by the younger farming community for modifying and cruising.
However, after the 06 era something happened to the range and it is only since the arrival of this new range of SUVs that Peugeot has regained a decent following in the Irish market. The start of the revival was the 2008, followed by the 3008. The 3008 won a plethora of awards.
The 5008 was launched to the press late last year and has been successful so far. It is a big car, with the same chunky styling as its little brother the 3008 – it is very easy on the eye.
In the driver’s seat, the 5008 feels well built with that lovely chunky but small-in-stature steering wheel and the toggle switches for the main controls.
The small steering wheel gives the driving position a sporty feeling.
Sporty
The test car came in GT line spec, which gave the interior a sporty feel. The infotainment system is very good on these new Peugeots and is very intuitive and the aforementioned toggle switches give a lovely tactile feel to the whole system.
There are five full seats in the first two rows and a set of two foldaway seats in the third row. A nice feature is that there are isofix fittings on all three of the seats in the middle row. This is usually only available on much larger and more expensive SUVs and saloons.
On the road
The driving position is very good, with lots of adjustments available to suit each driver.
Once on the move, the 5008 has enough power from its 1.6 BlueHDi diesel engine to make it feel swift despite its size. For a seven-seater, it feels very neat on the road. The six-speed manual gearbox has a lovely solid feel to it and engages gear with a nice solid but smooth action.
This car comes with cruise control, automatic emergency braking system, distance alert system, active blind spot detection, active lane keeping assistance and advanced driver attention alert. With all these pieces of technology looking after you, the seven seater is a very relaxing place to be when cruising on the motorway.
The 5008 is passable on the minor roads, handling is as you would expect from a car of this size and no better or worse than its main rivals in the class, such as the Skoda Kodiaq.
The test car came with a sport button which apparently make the 5008 more driver focused.
In my opinion, it simply made the ride a little less comfortable and served little or no purpose. A very small flaw in what was a surprisingly enjoyable test drive.
The 5008 has some serious boots to fill, following in the footsteps of its little brother the 3008. It makes a very good job of it and has already shown good sales figures in the first five months of 2018, with 841 units sold. The big Peugeot is a very good car and carries all of the good traits of the 3008 with the added bonus of the extra room or extra seat depending in whether you use the pop-up seat in the boot. The 5008 should sell very well and should help with the continued resurgence of the Peugeot brand in Ireland.
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The last of the VW five-seat commercials
In pictures: top machines from Cereals 2018
Peugeot is making a massive comeback in the Irish market after a relatively quiet period. Back in the day there was the ever-reliable 205 and the rest of the 05s were firm favourites among rural drivers and even the 306 diesel was a real hit with the farming fraternity. Now these hatchbacks are much sought after by the younger farming community for modifying and cruising.
However, after the 06 era something happened to the range and it is only since the arrival of this new range of SUVs that Peugeot has regained a decent following in the Irish market. The start of the revival was the 2008, followed by the 3008. The 3008 won a plethora of awards.
The 5008 was launched to the press late last year and has been successful so far. It is a big car, with the same chunky styling as its little brother the 3008 – it is very easy on the eye.
In the driver’s seat, the 5008 feels well built with that lovely chunky but small-in-stature steering wheel and the toggle switches for the main controls.
The small steering wheel gives the driving position a sporty feeling.
Sporty
The test car came in GT line spec, which gave the interior a sporty feel. The infotainment system is very good on these new Peugeots and is very intuitive and the aforementioned toggle switches give a lovely tactile feel to the whole system.
There are five full seats in the first two rows and a set of two foldaway seats in the third row. A nice feature is that there are isofix fittings on all three of the seats in the middle row. This is usually only available on much larger and more expensive SUVs and saloons.
On the road
The driving position is very good, with lots of adjustments available to suit each driver.
Once on the move, the 5008 has enough power from its 1.6 BlueHDi diesel engine to make it feel swift despite its size. For a seven-seater, it feels very neat on the road. The six-speed manual gearbox has a lovely solid feel to it and engages gear with a nice solid but smooth action.
This car comes with cruise control, automatic emergency braking system, distance alert system, active blind spot detection, active lane keeping assistance and advanced driver attention alert. With all these pieces of technology looking after you, the seven seater is a very relaxing place to be when cruising on the motorway.
The 5008 is passable on the minor roads, handling is as you would expect from a car of this size and no better or worse than its main rivals in the class, such as the Skoda Kodiaq.
The test car came with a sport button which apparently make the 5008 more driver focused.
In my opinion, it simply made the ride a little less comfortable and served little or no purpose. A very small flaw in what was a surprisingly enjoyable test drive.
The 5008 has some serious boots to fill, following in the footsteps of its little brother the 3008. It makes a very good job of it and has already shown good sales figures in the first five months of 2018, with 841 units sold. The big Peugeot is a very good car and carries all of the good traits of the 3008 with the added bonus of the extra room or extra seat depending in whether you use the pop-up seat in the boot. The 5008 should sell very well and should help with the continued resurgence of the Peugeot brand in Ireland.
Read more
The last of the VW five-seat commercials
In pictures: top machines from Cereals 2018
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