Peugeot recently got in touch with me and asked whether I’d like to try out their new 5008 to see how it fits in with a cyclist’s lifestyle. It’s a bit of a random one, though it slots neatly into the ‘And Stuff’ part of the site I suppose. I immediately thought, “why the hell not?” Just because I ride bikes, it doesn’t mean I hate cars – that whole ‘us vs them’ mentality is not for me. I’m a car and a bicycle owner. And I live in the middle of nowhere.
How does a cyclist test a car? Load it up with bikes and drive them somewhere that you want to ride!
Our initial reactions were good. Although it’s a seven-seater, the 5008 thankfully doesn’t look like a people carrier; it’s lower and looks much more like a big car. Driving it down the very narrow lanes of Devon, I was thankful that they’ve somehow managed to fit a lot of interior space inside a more compact exterior.
Inside, the driver and passenger seat areas are massively roomy and the rear seats all fold down flat to give you lots of space for bikes, or you can put an inflatable mattress in there and camp out, like we did. You can get about four bikes in there next to each other – my only gripe would be that folding all the seats flat eats up a lot of vertical space, so you might have an issue if your bikes are tall, or if your dropper post is broken like Dave’s.
So how does it drive? Well its a 2 litre HDI low emission engine so it’s not bad in terms of oomph, and because it’s not an antique like my own car, driving it felt effortless – so easy and light and far more relaxing. It’s very quiet too.
It’s an automatic with the option of driving it in manual sequential mode, but I chose to drive it in automatic as I’m not used to that kind of gear box. In automatic, it’s super easy to drive but it can be frustrating if you’re impatient – it doesn’t change gear until the revs are really high. But then it’s not a race car, and other than that it felt very pleasant to drive on the motorway and small lanes.
It has some neat little features that I liked; cubby holes everywhere for all your bits and bobs, and a pop up display in front of the windscreen that shows your speed and directions to where you’re going. It’s a simple addition but added to the relaxing feel of the machine – you could keep your eyes firmly on the road, gauge your speed and not get lost.
In the centre console, there’s a sat nav that also shows the reversing camera. Personally, I prefer to just turn my head and/or use my mirrors, and the alarming beeps are over the top when you’re nowhere near an obstacle. But each to their own!
So the verdict? For a cyclist, I’d say it’s a good fit – low emissions, easy to drive, room for bikes, and you can sleep in it.
But… it’s £26,750, so there’s no way in hell I’m buying one! I can’t see that i’ll ever be able to afford a new car, and even if I could, I’d spend the money on something else. But if I didn’t have to worry about funds, well I’d be more than happy to take the 5008 all over the country for lots of adventures with Dave and my bikes. For a cyclist, I’d say it’s a good fit – low emissions, easy to drive, room for bikes, and you can sleep in it.