Peugeot South Africa is adding to its local offering with the practical 5008.

The latest generation of Peugeot's 5008 was launched globally in the back end of 2016 but has finally made its way to our shores. Peugeot has seen moderate but improving sales of late locally and the hope is that with this practical and spacious SUV, it can make further inroads. We can also look forward to a 108 and possibly even the brand-new2008 in 2020.

Getting back to the 5008, the SUV is available as a 7-seater where the third row can be removed entirely if/when required. Locally the 5008 will make use of 2 engine: a 1.6-litre turbopetrol with outputs of 121 kW and 240 Nm. Fuel economy on this unit is claimed to be 7.0L/100 km. A 2.0-litre turbodiesel will also be offered with 110 kW and 370 Nm of torque. Fuel economy is claimed to be as low as 4.8L/100 km on the combined cycle for this unit. Both engines and the whole range make use of a 6-speed automatic gearbox.

Spacious

7 seats as standard. The 2 rear seats can be easily removed to increase load space.

The 5008's major selling point is its space and practicality. It's sold as a 7-seater where the middle row features 3 individual seats that slide and recline to offer further comfort. The 2 rear-most seats can apparently be easily removed increasing the load space by 210 litres per seat. Even with the rear seats in and folded down there is still over 700 litres of load space. Take them out and you get 1 000 litres of load space. Still, with all the seats folded you get a massive 1 940 litres of load space – close on that of a premium SUV like a BMW X5.

An electric tailgate is standard across the range.

Up to date interior

Since the introduction of the 308 more than 5 years ago, Peugeot has significantly improved the quality and materials of its cabins. The 5008 remains quirkily French with its small steering wheel, however. It's central infotainment screen measures 8-inches and is Apple Carplay and Android Auto compatible. The digital instrument cluster is 12.3 inches and can be customised to the driver's requirements as well as different themes and colours selected.

There's a wireless charging bay available on the GT Line while all models get USB ports as standard.

In terms of safety the family SUV comes well specced as standard. 6 airbags are standard but there are a raft of active and passive safety features that include: lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, speed sign recognition, automatic headlights and park assist. Further to this the GT Line model gets 180-degree camera and automatic emergency braking with distance alert.

Servicing and warranty

In somewhat of a turnaround of Peugeot's unreliable tag, it walked away with the top manufacturer award at the UK's JD Power survey that lists reported problems per 100 cars sold.

The 5008 is sold with a 5-year/100 000 km warranty and 5-year/100 000 km service plan as standard.

Pricing

Peugeot 5008 Allure 1.6 THP – R534 900

Peugeot 5008Allure 2.0 HDi – R554 900

Peugeot 5008 GT Line 1.6 THP – R579 900

Peugeot 5008 GT Line HDi – R599 900

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