What's all this then?
This is the new Peugeot 5008 and you might have noticed that it's not an MPV anymore, but has become a big, tall SUV. In fact, it looks very much as if someone has run a new 3008 through a photocopier at 20 per cent enlarge.
Peugeot clearly reckons that people are moving away from monobox people carriers and towards SUVs, so instead of taking on the Ford C-Max and new Renault Scenic, the 5008 is going up against the Nissan X-Trial, Kia Sorento and the new Skoda Kodiaq.
To do that, it's getting a full seven-seat layout (three individual chairs in the middle row and a folding pair in the boot) and massive luggage space - Peugeot says that the 5008's boot is 1,060 litres in bigness, although we think that's loaded to the roof, not the luggage cover.
Any word on engines?
The full engine range is yet to be revealed, but we know it will kick off with the 130hp 1.2 PureTech petrol three-cylinder turbo for which Peugeot is quoting a CO2 figure of just 117g/km. For the entry-level 1.6-litre BlueHDi 120hp diesel, it quotes 108g/km, both figures that are vastly better than that offered by the seven-seat competition.
Tell us more about the interior.
Inside, as well as the seven seats and massive boot, you're also getting Peugeot's new i-Cockpit layout. It debuts on the new 3008, and it uses the same low-small-wheel, high-instruments layout as the 308 and 2008, but there's a good deal more high tech involved. The instruments are now in the form of an all-digital TFT screen while the central touchscreen gets a series of rather cool looking physical buttons that help you whip through the menus a bit more easily.
Any more cool technology?
On the tech front, it's fair to say that the 5008 is packing heat. It can be specified with Hill Assist Descent Control (HADC), Automatic Emergency Braking System (AEBS), Distance Alert, Active Lane Keeping Assistance (LKA), Driver attention warning, Smart Beam Assistance, Speed sign recognition and speed suggestion, Adaptive cruise control with stop feature (automatic gearbox), Active blind spot monitoring, Park Assist and Visio Park (360-degree vision). Add to that a panoramic glass roof and a 'FOCAL' stereo and you've got quite the tech-fest.
And it doesn't end there. Peugeot's current obsession is with the 'last kilometre' part of your journey - the bit where you've parked up and now need to get, probably quickly, to your final destination. To help with that, the 5008 can be bought with the new eFO1 folding bike that will also make its debut in Paris. It's a compact folding pedal bike that also includes an electric motor and a rechargeable battery to give it a 20-mile range with a maximum speed of 12mph. Clever and really rather cool.
When does it all arrive in the UK?
The new 5008, complete with bike, will go on sale in the Spring in Active, Allure, GT-Line and GT specifications.
Neil Briscoe - 7 Sep 2016
