#ROADTRIP. Road Testing The Peugeot 5008

I am going to come clean straight away.  I am what could be ‘loosely’ termed as a bad driver.  It is VERY hard for me to admit this.  I am also ultra-competitive.  I am not good at being bad at stuff.  When I say stuff I really mean anything.  But, truth be told, driving is really not my thing.

I know this will come out in the comments, yes I am looking at you two, SO, a few facts about me and driving.

• I wrote off the instructor’s car in my first test.  I hit a bridge.  I will not comment further.
• I had to get out and vomit halfway through my second test.  I had consumed way too much rescue remedy.
• I NEVER once failed my theory test yet took it three times.  It expires every two years.  Might have sulked a little bit between test failures.
• I eventually passed on my seventh practical test despite clipping the kerb on a pretty slow corner and the examiner taking the wheel from me because during my reverse park I “should have been giving it some beans love!”
• Having passed I drove Mr B back from Stratford upon Avon to our flat in Cardiff once, got stuck on the Newport roundabout and took eight rotations before I got the right exit, then, relaxing a little, nearly drifted into the side of the valley.

Mr B does our driving now.

So when I received an e-mail from Peugeot saying did I fancy a few days trialling the 5008 I initially scoffed.  Me and a new car? Not exactly a match made in heaven.

Over dinner I laughed about this with Mr B.  

“Are you kidding me?  Let’s do it!  I’ll drive.”

Truth be told this was actually very fortuitous timing because a) we need a new car and have no real idea of what to buy and b) we were planning a mass family road trip and this thing can seat up to eight people.

So, it turned out that my wonderful Aunt and Uncle were celebrating their Ruby Wedding Anniversary…

 

She’s gonna kill me for that but hey ho.  Anyway, given that me. Mr B, our two children and my Mum and Dad were all travelling from Devon it made sense to all go together.  Only we couldn’t fit us all in….until the Peugout 5008 offer happened.

This car is amazing.

It can be a normal five seater car and when it is, LOOK at the boot space…

 

Given that I cannot ever pack light this brought me huge joy…until…we realised we had to fit my folks in too.  Bye bye boot space we thought and Granny was ordered to ‘pack light’.  It was actually fine.  Although admittedly some space was lost to the last row of seats there was still storage both behind and concealed away underneath the last row!  Genius.

ANY car will be a squeeze for six of us though right, especially with a car-seat and booster seat in the mix?

 

Not so.  Again, truthfully, my Dad was sat middle row behind me and it turned out his legs were initially a bit cramped.  We then figured out though that I could bring my seat forwards, his seat also had two sitting places and when he moved forwards too my Mum, in the back row, could stretch out in comfort and we were all happy.  There were options.  We liked that a lot.

It was also a particularly hot weekend.  The air conditioning was awesome though and Mr B and I were fine.  Middle and back row not so much until…Little Miss ACCIDENTALLY kicked on the interior fans with her foot!  My Dad breathed a huge, cool-aired, sigh of relief.  Little Miss may have been a bit shocked.

 

Yep, shouldn’t laugh.  Then, playing with the buttons I then discovered the MASSIVE PANORAMIC GLASS ROOF!  The cover slid back and all of a sudden we are all staring at the sky.  Imagine what camping out and staring at the stars in this would be like?  I am a little bit in love with it.  The Boy…AMAZED!

I loved this car.  As a family we loved this car.  Little Miss keeps asking where Daddy’s black car has gone *weeps*.

Now I completely understand that NONE of this post has been written from the drivers point of view.  It has been from my perspective as a parent and a family member…and a Mum with OCD sometimes.  For those of you needing the drivers perspective please be upstanding, for the FIRST TIME EVER…

ON MY BLOG…

THE AMAZING MR B…

So, the technical car stuff:

I had a new car to drive! Have  been stuck with a POS ’54 SAAB for a few years (Dr B hates it!).  It’s fine, does the job, a good servant, a2b etc But something new? I’ve already had a midlife crisis at 25, have not hit my full meno-porsche yet: I shouldn’t really be getting excited about a family car, should I?

But everything was new. Tech has really moved on in the past few years. And it all works! Driving away from the house the built in Sat-nav kicked in telling me I was going away from the destination. Stopped: Re-programmed her up straight away. Next a heads up display lights up. A transparent flip up screen just above the steering wheel showing the speed and direction change. Sounds simple, but very useful, especially on long journeys. No need to keep moving focus,  checking eyes back n forth across the dash: Tis all right there. Easy. 

We had a 3 hour journey. A 5yr old, a 3yr old, grand folks, and Mr n Mrs B. It flew by. This sucka cruises. Fully laden, 6 people up, no probs. Having driven all manner of vehicles over the years, an obvious limitation is the power, the thrust, the Beans! You hit a hill, have to start changing down, watch out for camper vans overtaking you on the outside etc. No worries here: Even in 6th gear, plenty left! Refreshing. Yep she cruises.

Back to the tech. Put this fella in reverse and the Sat-nav instantly changes from a video display to a rear view camera. Awesome. Well kinda. Having spent the last 25yrs parking au naturel, it certainly felt weird looking at a little screen on the dash. Admittedly a very detailed screen with lines, arrows, suggestions and beep-beep-beep sound fx. Still ended up having to look over my shoulder, what can I say, force of habit. A beauty for tight spots though. She’s a Big ol Beast!

Mo tech: As long as it helps, tis not for show, I’m all for it. Again, being used to a car which is basically a go-cart, mod-cons are a plus. We drove back from the previous hot sunny anniversary day in Didcot through all manner of chop-changeable conditions. Blazing heat n sun, tropical rain n evil dark skies: would have been quite cinematic if it wasn’t just normal old Somerset. Automatic lights n wipers kicked in as required. All good.

Back home safe. Few hundred miles clocked up. Most revealing result of this trial is that this ageing, previous sports car owning, chap had to immediately look up prices and see if a new 5008 was viable…

 

Back to ME: So there it is.  My view as a non-driving but family focused mum and Mr B’s view who, when we met, was driving a very sexy Lotus.  We loved it.  Food for thought.  And if you want the specifics why not head on over here?