Overall rating:

Good points: smooth enough to drive, ingenious interior seating and use of space, capable of housing seven without being massive externally.
Not so good: despite facelift it still looks a bit cumbersome, interior old hat compared to other Peugeots, diesel feels dated.

Key Facts

Model tested: Peugeot 5008 Allure HDi 115
Pricing: £24,250 standard; £26,995 as tested
Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body style: five-door MPV
Rivals: Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, Ford Grand C-Max, Vauxhall Zafira Tourer
CO₂ emissions: 135g/km
Combined economy: 54.3mpg
Top speed: 115mph
0-62mph: 12.9 seconds
Power: 115hp at 3,600rpm
Torque: 240Nm at 1,750rpm

Our view:

In the ever-changing world of MPVs, SUVs and crossovers, there's a lot of choice when it comes to moving a lot of people and their clobber around. So much so that the 'traditional' big seven-seat MPV, such as the departed Renault Espace or current Ford Galaxy, is in danger of becoming a dinosaur; they're simply not required in an age where you can have dinkier cars that are more of a 5+2 layout. One of these is Peugeot's 5008, which has been around since 2010 in the UK and has sold roughly 3,300 units per year since, leading to a healthy total of 14,026 on our roads. With Peugeot having recently revised the model, the time seemed right to revisit the firm's largest offering fitted with a combination of its best-selling options: namely, the 115hp 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine paired to top-spec Allure trim.

Peugeot has revitalised the 5008's exterior, which has done the design some favours, but it's nothing like as striking as its Citroen C4 Grand Picasso cousin. Even allowing for the fact big, boxy MPVs are hardly likely to be the most glamorous modes of transport, the Pug is a little bit midlife. The front end is tidier and reminiscent of more recent Peugeots, like the 208 and 2008, but it's not as pretty, while the rear end is largely the same as before - and the overall effect is of a medium-sized van with windows.

The interior doesn't help. Compared to the cabins of the aforementioned 208 and the exceptional 308, with their head-up clusters, new switchgear and tiny steering wheels, the 5008's old-school cockpit comes as a bit of a shock. There's a large, dowdy steering wheel, dials in the main cluster that look dated and orange digital numbers for the climate settings that are so very 1980s. It's not helped by some hare-brained ergonomics, either, like the satnav screen and its adjustment buttons being in a different time zone from the front-seat occupants and even the furthest left of the buttons on the centre console a monster stretch for the average driver.

However, it starts to score plenty of points due to the space and simplicity of the interior. The way the good-sized rear two seats can be stowed and unfurled in an instant is a work of genius, while accessing them via the conventional five-door body is no drama thanks to the excellent manner in which the outer chairs of the middle row also fold in half and move forward. Put it this way, in a numerically-challenged West Country parody of Three Men And A Little Lady, myself and four male friends - one of whom has a 19-month-old daughter - managed to put an Isofix seat into row two with total ease, cram a pushchair into the space afforded by one of the rear pews in its stowed position and then all clamber in to take the child off to Dawlish for an unconventional day at the seaside. And three of us blokes in this crazy, 21st-century nuclear family were six-foot plus.

So, with some huge storage areas inside, the standard Cielo panoramic roof to flood the cabin with light and comfy chairs (not sure you need to opt for the £1,570 leather option on our car, though), even if it's not the easiest on the eye you'd have to give the interior an effusive thumbs-up. As for the drive, it's smooth enough, even with the smaller capacity of two diesel engines offered, the 1.6 HDi. While 115hp might not sound a lot for a 1,699kg car that can be loaded with seven weighty humans, 240Nm (it's 30Nm down on applications of this unit elsewhere within PSA but it doesn't really matter that much) at just 1,750rpm makes it a doddle to drive. It's no entertainer, granted, but then what in this class is? As it is super-refined in terms of road and wind noise, with a superb, supple ride, it fits the brief of moving families in serenity perfectly. The engine does sound a bit dated as diesels go but it's not appalling, while the six-speed gearbox is perfectly geared and a fluid delight to use.

Peugeot quotes 54.3mpg and that's probably attainable; over 712 miles with it, we saw 46.2mpg and most of the time the car was at least two- or three-up, doing town driving. And when it was on the motorway, it could get into the 50s on a constant cruise.

It's a nice enough car, the 5008, and well worth considering if you're in the market for this sort of vehicle. But it's not as up-to-date as rivals from Citroen and Vauxhall, it doesn't drive as sharply as the Ford Grand C-Max and, while supremely practical, its interior design isn't Peugeot's finest hour. At a fiver short of £27,000, this particular car also seemed pricey. It's good, but you're probably better off waiting for its replacement in a few years' time.

Alternatives:

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso: probably the class leader. All of the Peugeot's interior ingenuity with nicer cabin design and a beautiful (as MPVs go) exterior.

Ford Grand C-Max: sharper drive, with a less well thought-out interior. You can get a more powerful 163hp TDCi Titanium X model for less cash than the 5008, however.

Vauxhall Zafira Tourer: very clever interior and sharp looks. But a 136hp diesel Elite would be more money than the Peugeot.