Pour les enfants
Peugeot 5008 1.2 PureTech 130 GT Line Auto £28,000 approx
WE SAY: ANOTHER FAMILY TRANSPORT SOLUTION FROM THE FRENCH
Rival Renault is being thoroughly French about it! introducing a new Scenic with the full one "box people "carrier silhouette# Not Peugeot# For the new "gen $%%& it’s bending to the will of the wider world# It’s abandoning the one "box outline for something that looks like a crossover# Blocky bonnet! assertive bumpers! black wheelarches! raised ground clearance# You know the drill# Think Kodiaq or X"Trail#
Peugeot isn’t a charity# People pay more for SUVs than MPVs# And the new $%%& was a no "brainer to develop and build# From the driver’s door forward! it’s a '%%&# But there’s a ()$mm wheelbase stretch *using floor pressings from the Citroen C+ Picasso,! and so the rear doors are longer# The tail is more upright too#
Into this bigger envelope goes a new set of rear furniture to take the total accommodation to seven! provided a couple of them aren’t too tall and don’t mind a gymnastic workout getting in# Behind the third row! the remnant of bootspace won’t carry bags for seven# It’s for school carpool or kids "plus" grandparents’ days out# But! in five" seat mode it’s brilliant! as then you can slide all the middle row backward# They’re separate reclinable chairs#
The $%%& borrows the '%%&’s digital dash# That means good graphics! quick" witted operation and some nice "to" touch hard keys# The interior looks great too! and is trimmed with taste and quality#
No surprise that the driving is '%%&" like# There are times when the steering! though direct! is strangely imprecise# But it’s a family car! and cruises nicely# In town the ride copes with speedbump" sized events! and the quick steering is handy on roundabouts#
Top dog on the price lists is a -#%"litre (&%bhp diesel auto# But it’s heavy and the transmission gets wrong" footed too often# At the other end of the range is a three" cylinder petrol# Sounds like a tragically uneven match against a seven" seater! but the plucky little motor overcomes your preconceptions#
“Crossover” or not! there’s no +WD version! although ground clearance is pretty good and there is the option of smarter traction control plus more "terrain tyres# That should see you along a more belligerent track than you might have expected#