Peugeot 5008: My way or the Crossway?

What is it?

The 5008 is Peugeot’s 7-seat offering in the medium-sized SUV segment, a segment it shares with the smaller 3008.

This one is a limited edition called the Crossway and only 40 of the vehicles will be offered for sale, so you’d better be quick.

The big juicy carrot is a killer 515 watt, Focal 10-speaker audio system along with some other tasty titbits.

What’s it cost?

Prices for the 5008 start at $44,490 for the Allure.

The mid-grade GT Line is $48,490 while top of the line GT Blue HDi is $54,990.

Crossway with $3700 worth of extra equipment is priced from $46,990, plus on-road costs.

Allure and GT Line are powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, as is the Crossway — but the GT Blue gets a 2.0-litre turbo diesel.

The 5008 is one of the more interesting and accessible models that Peugeot has produced to date, with lashings of style, technology and good old practicality.

As mentioned it’s a 7-seater, but the third row of seats that packs flat when not in use is rather small with limited legroom, so they’re suitable for small children only.

One of the standout features of this and other models in the range is the eye candy, especially the configurable electronic instrument panel, with burnished cooper colour scheme.

The instrument panel is fully digital and can be customised in a number of ways, with a touchscreen that offers 3D navigation, digital radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Link.

There’s also voice recognition, wireless phone charging, auto high beam, Auto Emergency Braking, Driver Attention Alert, Blind Spot Alert, and Lane Departure Warning, along with proactive speed sign recognition.

The jewel in the crown however is the Focal audio system, well known in audio circles we’re told — but not familiar to us.

Both cabin and materials have been tailored to maximise audio performance, along with 126 hours of studio tuning and 1600km of road testing to make sure the sound is not compromised.

The 12-way audio system consists of four, inverted, 35mm tweeters, four 165mm mid-range woofers, an 80mm bespoke Polyglass membrane centre speaker and a 200mm subwoofer — with Focal’s proprietary PowerFlower technology.

The wagon rides on 18-inch alloys with 225/55 series Continentals, with suede leather, dual zone climate air (with rear vents), plus auto lights, wipers and auto dimming rear view mirror, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree overhead camera, front and rear park sensors — and it will park itself automatically.

Inside there’s blue stitching and blue ambient lighting, while the badging features a four-point compass along with latitude and longitude co-ordinates — a homage to the geographic location of the factory where the Crossway is built.

What’s it go like?

The petrol engine produces 121kW of power and 240Nm of torque and is paired with a 6-speed auto, with drive to the front wheels.

Although the figures don’t sound that impressive, it goes better than you might think, with maximum torque available from a low 1400 revs.

Torque or twisting power is the stuff that gets a car moving off the line and because it is available early in the rev range, performance remains lively across the range.

Sport mode adds some extra zip, with gear change paddles that are fixed to the steering column and offer the driver greater control of proceedings.

Being fixed it means you don’t have to go chasing them around the wheel when the car is not pointing anything but straight ahead.

The ride is reasonably quiet and smooth on well formed roads, with a tiny, flat-bottomed steering wheel and an instrument panel that is mounted high above the wheel and setback to emulate heads up display — without actually having heads up.

It works . . . mostly . . . but the overall effect is rather cluttered, with too many switches and too much information bombarding the driver.

Cruise control requires some familiarity with the Euro style stalk control which is all but invisible once underway and has to be operated by feel.

One switch we couldn’t find but expected was the one to heat our frozen derrieres as we braved the winter night — that’s French for bum or posterior and it was a bit of a bummer.

The back seat is elevated with three individual seats that slide backwards and forwards as required, but are narrow and not terribly comfortable.

Deploying the tiny third row of seats proved unnecessarily complicated and requires a set order to achieve the desired outcome.

You get satellite navigation with speed sign recognition (but no speed camera warnings) and this can be displayed in magnificent panorama in the instrument panel, as it pushes the dials apart and aside — but guidance turned out to be a a bit hit and miss.

On an outbound journey it took us sensibly down the motorway and around the city, but on the return trip routed us right through the centre of the city — on a Saturday night?

Rated at 7.0L/100km, we clocked just under 500km at a rate of 7.3L/100km — a figure that’s not going to break the bank.

What we like?

• Looks
• Cool instrument panel
• Good fuel economy
• Third row of seats if needed
• Adaptive cruise control
• Auto emergency braking

What we don’t like?

• Fiddly transmission change
• Euro style cruise controls
• Too many gadgets
• Park does not engage handbrake
• Front seats not heated
• Small uncomfortable second and third row seats

The bottom line?

Regardless of idiosyncrasies, Peugeot’s 5008 continues to impress. It’s a stunning looking car, that packs a lot into its pactical medium-sized SUV packaging, with a price that beats the Germans hands down — this one with a powerhouse sound system.

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