Isaac Bober’s 2018 Peugeot 5008 GT-Line Review with pricing, specs, performance, ride and handling, safety, verdict and score.
In a nutshell: The 5008 GT-Line is a well-equipped and premium-feeling seven-seater with real practicality and versatility.
2018 Peugeot 5008 GT-Line
Price From $46,990+ORC Warranty five years, unlimited km Safety Not tested Engine 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol Power 121kW at 6000rpm Torque 240Nm at 1400rpm Transmission six-speed automatic Drive front-wheel drive Dimensions 4641mm (L) 1844mm (W) 1646mm (H) 2840mm (WB) Weight 1473-1575kg Towing 1550kg Boot Space 780L-2060L Spare 18-inch steel Fuel Tank 56 litres Thirst 7.0L/100km
THE OLD Peugeot 5008 was nothing more than a people mover. And while this new one will still seat seven, it’s so much more than a people mover, so much more than Peugeot now wants it looked at as an SUV. And why wouldn’t it…people movers are boring and SUVs are all the rage.
What is the Peugeot 5008?
Peugeot in Australia, and I can only assume, elsewhere in the world, is keen to trade on its ‘Frenchness’ which is why it’s pushing the boat out when it comes to exterior and interior design. Like it or loathe it, you can’t argue that both the 3008 and 5008 make a statement and are unlike anything else in their segments.
And to that end, Peugeot is unapologetic about the pricing of its 5008 range. At the local launch earlier this year, Peugeot said it was loading up all variants with plenty of kit to ensure they stood out against competitors. The 5008 range starts at $42,990+ORC for the Allure, $46,990+ORC for the GT Line (which we’re testing here) and $52,990+ORC for the flagship GT. The 5008 is front-wheel drive only and that means it’s up against the likes of the Nissan X-Trail which is much cheaper $32,490-$38,590+ORC, Hyundai Santa Fe which is more or less an AWD line-up and tops out at $57,090+ORC for the Highlander variant, and the Kia Sorento 2WD SLi which lists at $46,990+ORC, and then there are vehicles like the Honda CR-V VTi-L seven-seater at $38,990+ORC and even the Mazda CX-9 which, in top-spec Azami trim lists for $60,790+ORC. The 5008 range is available with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.
The 5008 shares the 3008’s EMP2 modular platform (this also sits under the 308) and is essentially identical to the 3008. The major difference is towards the back of the 5008, where the modular platform has allowed for a stretch, adding 16.5cm to the vehicle, making it much roomier and allowing for the fitment of the third-row seats. And they’re a clever addition as they can be removed entirely for extra boot space, although they fold flat into the floor when not being used.
The length of the 5008 sees it classed as a medium SUV, yet its stretched wheelbase of 2840mm sees it rival many in the large SUV segment.
Here’s what you get for your money:
Allure
- Automatic Emergency Braking
- 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, six-speed automatic
- Folding tables on front seatbacks
- 18” alloy wheels (space saver spare)
- Keyless entry and ignition
- Driver Attention Alert and Lane Departure Warning
- Speed sign recognition
- Auto headlamps and windscreen wipers with Magic Wash
- Auto-dimming rear view mirror
- Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop function
- ‘Visiopark 2’ 360-degree camera + F/R park sensors and City Park
- Halogen headlamps with fog lights
- Privacy Glass
- Alloy roof rails
- Door mirrors: electric/heated/folding/LED
- Automatic bi-zone air-conditioning, rear air vents
- Full digital instrument panel
- Central touchscreen with 3D navigation, DAB, Mirror Screen, voice recognition, smartphone wireless induction charging
- Three individual middle-row sliding seats, two fold-flat third-row seats and folding passenger seat
- Eight airbags including third-row curtain airbags
- Blue ambient interior lighting
- Sun blinds on second row windows
- Black front fender trim with chrome edging
- LED Daytime Running Lamps
GT-Line adds:
- Handsfree, foot-operated electric tailgate
- Driver Attention Control and Active Lane Departure Warning
- High beam Assist
- Active Blind Spot Monitoring
- Full LED headlamps
- Front LED foglamps with cornering function
- Reverse gear-activated door mirrors with integrated ‘Peugeot Lion’ image projectors
- ‘GT Line’ floor mats
- Black Diamond roof
- i-Cockpit Amplify
- Exclusive front bumper and radiator grille
- Chrome exhaust tips
- Satin Copper ‘GT-Line” monograms on front fenders and tailgate
- Perforated leather steering wheel
What’s the interior like?
With its exterior styling taken straight from the 3008, it’s much the same on the inside and I don’t have an issue with that at all. Spend some time with the 3008 or 5008 and you come to appreciate the difference in its dashboard design compared with what you get from other brands.
The cloth inserts are a nice touch and while there are a lot of angles on the dashboard it still feels clean. There’s soft touch materials everywhere and more hardy stuff used on things like the door bins to protect against scuffing from shoes.
The large 8.0-inch infotainment screen dominates the dashboard and while there are now piano-style shortcut keys which replaced the side-of-the-screen capacitive buttons you’ll find in the 308, it’s still not the most user-friendly of infotainment systems. You keep having to look down for the correct key to get to a function and there’s no dedicated home button that has all the functionality arranged for easy on-screen access. There’s a key with some squares on it, which you’d imagine was the home key but it isn’t, it simply takes you to the smartphone connectivity page. And the climate controls are all handled via the screen and quite often you must have your finger positioned just-so or double-tap the icon to get it to respond. Frustrating. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity is standard and while this can simplify some things, you still need to jump out to get to, say, the climate control.
While we’re talking of gripes…the flat-topped and bottomed steering wheel is one thing that still baffles me although I’m beginning to get used to it, even though I’ll never like it. Maybe I’m thinking too much about it, but there’s potential for it to encourage the one hand on top of the steering wheel driving style. Moving on.
The reason behind cutting the top of the wheel off square was because a regular shaped wheel would obscure your vision of key instruments like the speedo. The steering wheel offers reach and rake adjustment but it doesn’t raise up very high and to me still feels like it’s sitting in your lap but, again, if it could be raised too high you’d have the same problem as before; it would obscure the speedo.
The analogue dials have been ditched, as is happening throughout the car world, replaced by a digital display, showing the speedo, tachometer and other bits like navigation. I like the display, it’s not as practical in its design as what you get from a brand like Volkswagen on the Tiguan, but it continues with that overriding theme of Peugeot blazing its own trail.
The seats in our GT-Line were leather with diamond-pattern stitching which helps make the interior feel even more expensive. The seats are comfortable and thanks to an extension in the seat base those with longer legs will be well supported, something that’s important on longer drives.
There’s just enough storage in the front of the car with door bins, glovebox, cupholders, wireless phone charging, and a centre console. Over in the back there’s a flat floor and the back seat (split into three) offers the ability to slide (forwards and backwards) and recline each of the three seats. There are air vents in the back of the centre console with the ability to adjust the fan speed but not the temperature. There’s a 12V outlet in the back only and small drop down tables from the back of the front seats, there are net storage pockets lower down on the back of the front seats.
The back seats are comfortable and the ability to adjust each of the three seats individually makes this a properly practical back seat with all three seats offering the same shape and seat size. Means an adult can comfortably sit in the middle seat.
Now we come to the third row. As mentioned, these seats stow flat in the floor when not used and can be removed entirely when you need a little extra storage space – they only weigh 11kg and unclip easily. While on-test, I used the 5008 to carry a few of the blokes from my soccer team and while when I tested the third-row (I’m six-foot tall) I found it to be tight for foot room, one of my team-mates who’s shorter than me sat in the back happily for an hour-long drive. He reckoned it wouldn’t have been comfortable for two adults in the third row; we had one seat down and one up.
Remove those back seats and there’s 1060 litres of storage space which is huge, and a low sill height of just 676mm makes loading and unloading easy – the tail-gate is powered and kick-to-open (gesture control). There’s 780 litres of boot space with the second-row seats pushed all the way back and 952 litres with them pushed forwards. This grows to 2060 litres up to the height of the parcel shelf with all rows folded. There’s enough room for a soft bag or two behind the third row when in use. There’s a space-saver spare slung underneath the car.
What’s it like on the road?
You can’t get the 5008 with all-wheel drive but Peugeot does offer what it calls Grip Control which allows you to tweak things like throttle, transmission and traction controls for improved performance on loose surfaces. We’ll be testing a 5008 with Grip Control in the coming months.
Our GT-Line runs a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine making 121kW at 6000rpm and 240Nm of torque at 1400rpm. This is mated to a six-cylinder automatic transmission. On paper, this is an engine that looks a little under-gunned, especially given it’s got seating for seven. But it doesn’t come across like that at all when you’re driving. And that’s down to the early arrival of peak torque at 1400rpm with around 80% of that arriving just off idle.
The transmission seems well tuned to making the most of the power and torque available and is responsive to even the slightest throttle changes. The Practical Motoring road loop involves plenty of hills and with several journeys to Sydney while testing the 5008, I can say that climbing hills, even with five of the seven seats filled and a bunch of soccer gear in the boot, wasn’t a problem and there’s good engine braking too.
Around town the 5008 GT-Line is a comfortable and easy to drive machine. The quick steering, exaggerated by the small-diameter steering wheel although there seems to be some adjustment to compensate compared with the 3008, makes for easy parking and general manoeuvring. But, away from town and onto more cut-and-thrust type roads that steering can be the 5008’s undoing. See, it urges you to drive the thing a little more quickly than you should.
Up to about seven-tenths the 5008 is comfortable and composed but push beyond that, not that owners are likely to, and the thing loses its composure, especially our GT-Line riding on 19-inch alloys. The low and slower speed bump control the 5008 shows around town goes out the window when you’re driving at higher speeds across undulating or broken surfaces. The suspension seems quite long-legged and resistant to body-roll and indeed understeer, but it doesn’t cope well with vertical impacts with the thump being felt and heard in the cabin. Hit a section of patchwork road and the chassis can begin to flounder with the dampers seemingly overwhelmed by the vehicle’s weight and speed of the impact.
That said, across the right road surface (read: smooth) and with a gentle hand on the tiller the 5008 can be driven with relative enthusiasm but that’s not its forte. Dial back the speed to family pace and the thing is much more comfortable and a lot more enjoyable for driver and passenger.
What about safety?
The 5008 hasn’t been tested by ANCAP yet but the its get a full active safety suite as standard, including autonomous emergency braking which works between 5-140km/h, lane departure warning, active lane keeping assist which is a little too intrusive (it’s a cost-option on the Allure), driver attention warning, high-beam assist, park assist, 360-degree surround view cameras, speed sign recognition, and more. There are six airbags with curtain bags reaching all the way into the third row. Beyond that there’s also traction and stability control as well as cost-optional grip control ($200).
So, what do we think?
There are few vehicles in this segment with as much personality or practicality as the 5008. It won’t challenge the segment leaders for ride and handling but driven within its means it’s comfortable and competent.
