By Khulekani Dumisa

Peugeot has been making some strong gains internationally. The new Peugeot 208 just clinched European Car of the Year. This follows a similar feat by the charming Peugeot 3008. Locally things have not been so rosy although signs of steady growth are showing. Last month Peugeot sold 258 units. This is a major improvement from an average of 50 monthly units just over a year ago. Recently we spent time with the 7-seater 5008 Allure 1.6 THP Auto SUV and we were impressed with how decent it is.

Specification galore

Although the 5008 Allure 1.6 THP Auto SUV is the entry level model in the range, there’s nothing entry level about this car. It has plenty standard features such as Daytime Running Lights, Auto Lights, Folding Mirrors, cruise control, Digital iCockpit and Touchscreen Infotainment with AppleCar Play, just to name a few.

We spent time with the 5008 Allure 1.6 THP Auto SUV in bad weather conditions and we came to appreciate active safety features such as auto wipers, blind spot monitor and front-collision warning. There are plenty more safety features.

Over all impressions

The 5008 Allure 1.6 THP impressed us with its overall refinement over the past few days. It’s much closer to the ‘premium’ offerings in the segment than you would think. It reminds us of Opel in this regard. The build quality of the interior is exceptional and the design and layout is also pleasing on the eye.

The digital iCockPit and touchscreen infotainment make the car feel modern. The choice of materials and curvy lines on the interior further amplify the modern look and feel of the 5008 Allure 1.6 TGP. The small steering wheel is polarizing – some love it and some hate it. We don’t have major issues with it, but it can obscure the digital dials in front of the driver and be slightly awkward to hold if you have big hands. The dash mounted paddle shifters are superfluous as you can’t really use them. Anyways, no dad on a school run has a time for that.

The ride quality is decent with the car offering more than acceptable levels of comfort both on and off-road (read muddy gravel roads). The e5008 Allure is powered by a 1,6 turbopetrol engine with 121 kW and 240 Nm. The engine delivers adequate power although its can be whinny if you accelerate harshly and the otherwise decent 6-speed automatic transmission can get confused.

Drive like a soccer mom or dad though and you’ll have no complaints except for the fuel consumption which tends to stubbornly stay above 8l/100km. In terms of practicality, there’s plenty of room for occupants in the first two rows. The last row is for small children but it’s great to have the option if you need it. The plus side is that the seats can be completely removed thus freeing up more space.

Overall this is a quality offering from Peugeot. It’s not to be ignored if you are looking for an ‘SUV’ with 5+2 seating option.

Pricing

The Peugeot 5008 Allure 1.6 THP Auto is priced from R539,900.