You can get a prize but also pay the penalty for taking a 7-seater mid-size electric SUV.
I know that sounds contradictory but it is, I believe, a concise summary of the pros and cons of buying such a car.
The prize is that you get three rows of seats: two up front, naturally, three across the middle and two in the third row.
The penalty is that third-row seating can, in many cases, be cramped – except for all but the more agile and diminutive frames to climb in.
The other drawback is that you end up with a really small boot when all the seats are occupied.
Despite the apparent drawbacks of the concept, there is always a decent level of demand for those cars, mostly from families, who might not need that third row all the time but like to have it as a standby for when young friends or family are travelling with them.
Peugeot’s 5008 has long been a provider of the 7-seat service and now they have an all-electric e-5008 with three rows.
Lots of brands have new electric cars in their range with five seats but 7-seaters are few and far between, unless you want to go up the buying scales and buy the likes of the excellent but more expensive KIA EV9 or Volvo EX90. Or you could turn to several van-based people carriers such as the Opel Vivario Electric can accommodate up to nine passengers and have good luggage room.
As far as Peugeot are concerned buyers have real choice with their new car and are playing it smart by pricing the electric and hybrids the same. It is a good way of tempting buyers to take a step into full electric or a half set with hybrid electric. I think this ploy it gives them an edge in a tight market.
The e-5008 develops 210hp, has a 73 kWh battery and has two spec levels: Allure costs €50,995 inclusive of grants and the range-topping GT starts from €54,995. And the hybrid versions cost the same, as I’ve mentioned.
Claimed range is 502kms or 488kms depending on model but it must be said those figures are some way off what I was getting in real-world driving. Yes, I was getting 70kms or so fewer. They promise a 700km range buster in the near future. That is a serious amount of ground covered. Even if it was really capable of 600kms it would be a major psychological signal that such distances can be covered on one charge.
And if you have to wait a while to boost your battery you could do worse than relax in this uncommonly comfortable cabin. On a rapid charger you will get from 20pc to 80pc refill in around 30 minutes. I was lucky to get a fast-charger slot fairly quickly at a Dublin airport garage/outlet (in rough condition and only had one connection capable of boosting my battery).
So as I waited, I let back my seat and snoozed for 15 minutes. Ah! the pleasure of resting while charging up.
The GT test car’s interior quality was impressive with a lot of decent fabric and soft-touch plastics. The GT also had ambient lighting to add a touch of class. The seating was excellent with great supports for back and thighs and I had a great driving position..
It’s a big car and you would be thankful for the rear parking sensors and rear-view camera. The curved 21ins LED panel along the top of the dashboard has the infotainment and driver’s display. You can see much of what is going on because the smaller, flattened steering wheel is so low, relatively speaking, and the display is so high that you can catch most of the action at a glance.
However, while graphics are clear, menus and submenus are a bit if an awkward proposition.
My middle-seat passengers were happy with their lot but the third row was tight; it would be grand for smaller people and/or children. Head room back there is tight.
There are just 438 litres of storage space with all the seats in use but if five-seater mode there is a massive 916 litres of room. Mighty impressive.
Storage space in the cabin was plentiful, however, there was a big cubby-hole under the central armrest and good-sized door bins. You’d be surprised the difference these make to put things away securely.
The new car is packed with safety and comfort technology and marks a real upscale for the brand and the model.
I won’t say it is a world beater on driving dynamics; it’s not. But who needs performance 0-100kms times for a family car of this size. It wasn’t as good as I expected it to be on poorer roads. It didn’t cope particularly well with most dimensions of bumps and felt it could do with a slightly softer set of dampers. On better roads it was more settled. And it was extremely quiet; a good sign of build quality and road/tyre noise suppression.
Ultimately, it is easy to forget that this is a car made for families going about their lives, from school runs to sports events to summer camping at home or abroad. It is designed to make the most of its dimensions externally, so those inside travel in serene progress along motorways or longer journeys where room and internal comfort go hand in hand.
In the case of the Peugeot e-5008 I think the prize outguns the penalty by some distance.
