SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Sexier: 2020 Peugeot 5008 1.6 THP Allure

Old features die hard

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: March 10, 2020

The numbers*
Price: R539 900
Engine: 1598 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, direct injection four-cylinder, turbocharged
Power: 121 kW between 5200 and 6000 rpm
Torque: 240 Nm between 1400 and 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.2 seconds
Maximum speed: 201 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.7 l/100 km
Tank: 56 litres plus 6l reserve
Boot space: Not much behind third row, then 700 – 780 – 1060 litres
Loading height: 676 mm
Maximum ground clearance: 236 mm
Turning circle: 11.2 metres
Maximum braked towing mass: 1350 kg
Standard tyre size: 225/55R18
Warranty and service plan: 5 years / 100 000 km

*Supplementary technical information from:  https://www.automobile-catalog.com/
  
Car buyers are strange. They buy SUVs in ever-increasing numbers because they’re sexy, useful and tall. They do not, however, like MPVs that are equally tall but more versatile. And therefore not sexy.

Peugeot discovered this. It marketed the Generation-1 5008 as an MPV because all but the driver’s chair could be folded, tumbled or removed to turn it, if the mood took you, into a cargo van with windows. But, according to some, that is gross – just a Kombi – Eee-yuck!

The company hopes to entice fans back into the fold by pitching its latest 5008 as an SUV. It’s a little longer than the original, marginally wider and a touch more powerful; just less adaptable.
 
Specifically, the new car is 11 cm longer on a wheelbase extended by 16.5 cm and it’s 5 mm wider. The second row of seats is split into three equal parts, each of which slides and folds. Backrests recline through five increments rather than the original’s two. But the chairs can’t be removed. You prefer them permanent.

The longer body adds 60 mm to backseat legroom so, with an almost flat floor and all sections fully rearward, it’s spacious enough for bridal car duty. Remote air vents with fan speed, but not temperature, control mean that passengers remain as toasty or cool as those in front.

Old features die hard, fortunately. Peugeot retained the third-row chairs that fold into the load floor or can be removed easily, individually and completely. Doing so reveals the well that accommodates them so Peugeot offers two choices; cover the cavity with the folding panels provided or leave it open. That exposes 80 litres more load space. Peugeot also kept the fold-flat seatback on the co-pilot’s chair so you could load nine-foot (2.7 m) lengths of lumber or possibly a ladder.

We have four choices - 1600 cc turbopetrol or two-litre turbodiesel - in two trim levels, Allure or GT Line. All are fitted with six-speed automatic transmissions.

Allure specification provides almost everything but should you want 19” wheels, black roof with matching mirror covers, optional panoramic skylight, LED lights all around, front fog lamps with cornering assist, wireless charging, Nappa leather upholstery, emergency braking with video camera and radar, VisionPark 180-degree camera, smarter sound system with voice recognition and onboard satnav, buy a GT line. They cost R45 000 more.
 
Our test unit was the “entry-level”, petrol-powered Allure. This specification provides electric windows, warmed and folding wing mirrors, 18” alloy wheels, tyre pressure monitoring, hands-free boot opener, automatic headlights with follow-me, fixed fog lamps in front, automatic wipers, dual zone automatic air conditioning, height adjustment for both front seats, automatic locking, keyless entry and starting, audible parking aids, eight-inch touch-screen infotainment centre with most must-haves, a 12.3-inch customisable instrument panel and an onboard computer.

Safety items include six airbags; ABS brakes with EBA, EBD and ESP; cruise control with limiter; road sign detection; driver attention alert; lane departure warning; front collision warning and active blind spot detection. In case you haven’t guessed, each second-row seat section has ISOFix mountings with top tethers so you could, if necessary, transport triplets and more than enough paraphernalia in the huge boot when carrying only five people.

The engine and gearbox in this model are much as they were in Generation 1, with the exception of five more kilowatts. These help it to move the new, 95 kg lighter, car six-tenths of a second quicker to 100 km/h and six km/h faster.

Snow mode has been deleted from the driving options although Sport remains. In either remaining mode this new 5008 is noticeably perkier than the old one and the gearbox is as responsive as always. Suggestion: Leave the family at Mum’s for a while, occasionally, to enjoy therapeutic “alone time” with the car. Along winding country roads to nowhere. You both deserve it.

Speaking of country roads: If they should turn out to be gravelly with lots of ripples, potholes and small stones, don’t fret. This car’s suspension tames almost anything. You feel vibrations through the steering wheel, but no shocks. It’s as good as any non-air setup we ever experienced.

Frankly, we don’t care how Peugeot describes this 5008 because we like its remaining practicality, its size, performance, comfort and handling. We don’t really need some of its more exotic features but they’re easily ignored.

We may be strange but we always thought it sexy.

Test unit from PACSA press fleet

We drove a Generation-1 version in 2011

NB: This is the GT Line interior

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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