2021 Peugeot 5008 GT 1.6L Turbo Petrol Review

We’ve talked about range proliferation a lot here at DiscoverAuto. In 2021, range expansion is the only way for car makers to keep alive, especially with such varied market tastes globally. French car maker Peugeot is one such brand undertaking the expansion journey having completely changed its lineup from and endless sea of hatchbacks and luxe sedans to just two hatchbacks, three SUVs and more and more electric options. MPVs are no more as they’ve gone out of style and the 5008 is now an SUV. Enter the 2021 Peugeot 5008 GT Petrol.

Price & Equipment: 6/10

Priced from $51,990 plus on-road costs ($56,642 drive away), the 5008 range is offered with two engines in Australia – the 121kW 1.6-litre turbo petrol that we tested and the $65,208 drive away 133kW 2.0-litre turbo diesel. Both are badged GT, which is the top model in Peugeot’s naming structure, though the diesel has more kit to help justify its $8,000 price hike such as a 515W Focal sound system, larger 19-inch wheels, lane position assist and laminated front windows. 

Other standard kit on the 2021 Peugeot 5008 GT (petrol) includes 18-inch wheels, all-LED lighting, auto lights and wipers, roof rails, keyless entry and start, heated and auto-folding mirrors, a 10-inch touchscreen with satellite navigation, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, dual-zone climate control with rear fan speed control, rear privacy glass, suede and leather upholstery, LED ambient lighting, a wireless phone charger and an electric tailgate with kick-to-open functionality. 

Safety kit includes six airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot monitoring, driver attention monitoring, auto high beam, speed sign recognition, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, a 360-degree parking camera, front and rear parking sensors and automatic parking.

Options for the 5008 GT are limited to the $3,590 Nappa leather, heated front seats and electric driver’s seat with massaging and memory functionality, a $1,990 panoramic sunroof and $metallic paint, which ranges from $690 (‘Nera Black’, ‘Celebes Blue’, ‘Artense Grey’ and ‘Platinum Grey’) to $1,050 (‘Ultimate Red’ and the ‘Pearl White’ of our test car). ‘Sunset Copper’ is the only no-cost paint option. All 5008s have a black-painted roof as standard. 

Competitors to the 2021 Peugeot 5008 GT include the Skoda Kodiaq 132TSI ($51,990 drive away), Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 132TSI ($50,519 drive away), Mazda CX-8 Touring AWD ($56,490 drive away) and Honda CR-V VTi L7 ($48,300 drive away). Adding the $6,500 Luxury Package to the Skoda Kodiaq gives it the Peugeot’s extra safety kit – though the Skoda then adds full leather upholstery, tri-zone climate control, electrically adjustable front seats with memory functionality, three extra airbags, Matrix headlights, larger 19-inch wheels, wireless smartphone mirroring, a larger 2.0-litre petrol engine and all-wheel drive. 

The Tiguan Allspace can be equipped much like the Peugeot (though with all-wheel drive and a larger engine) for around $52,000. The CR-V is $8,000 less – and also front-wheel drive – but includes a panoramic glass sunroof, an 8-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat with memory functionality, leather upholstery with heating and air vents for the third row. The CX-8 is around the same price drive away but doesn’t come with with leather upholstery, tri-zone climate control, electric front seat adjustment and a full suite of active safety kit, including a heads-up display and auto rear braking. 

Performance & Economy: 7/10

Under the bonnet of the 2021 Peugeot 5008 GT is the same 121kW/240Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine as the smaller 3008 on which it’s based. Like the 3008, the 5008 is solely available in front-wheel drive, and comes with a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters as standard. Like in the 3008, the 1.6-litre turbo petrol is unremarkable in both its outputs and its performance – the 0-100km/h sprint takes 10.5 seconds, for example.

For most people, it’s a fine engine. But in comparison with the gruntier 2.0-litre turbo petrol engines in the Tiguan Allspace and Kodiaq, the whiney Peugeot engine doesn’t perform as well. The six-speed auto can be dozy in its operation as well, relying on the highest possible gear but then awkwardly switching between fifth and sixth at motorway speeds. There is a sport mode and paddle shifters to make things more rapid, but regular drive will be fine for you – though the eight-speed auto in the diesel is even better.

Like the 3008, the 5008 offers an optional 133kW/400Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel option that’s not only faster, but it’s also much more efficient and the $8,000 price difference would be the only thing pausing us from buying it – the diesel does come with more standard equipment (think of it as a level higher despite the same GT badge). Peugeot claims that the 5008 diesel will use just 5.0L/100km on the combined cycle – 2L/100km less than the petrol. In our testing, we recorded 9.8L/100km in the petrol 5008 in mostly urban driving, which is exactly what is claimed. 

Ride & Handling: 9/10

Based on Peugeot Citroen’s ‘EMP2’ platform, the 5008 uses a traditional multi-link front/torsion beam rear suspension set up. This looks positively old-fashioned against the multi-link set up of all of the aforementioned competitors, and torsion beams traditionally ride worse than more advanced set ups, but the French love the torsion beam and it shows in how well-tuned the 5008’s ride is – it rides even better than the smaller 3008 thanks to its longer wheelbase too. 

Even on the 18-inch wheels of the GT, the urban ride quality is excellent and typically French. larger bumps simply do not phase the 5008 and it feels solid, no matter how rubbish the road is. Particularly impressive is its ability to settle quickly after even a large bump and on country roads, the 5008 is even better with a solid and planted feel. 

The 5008 rides well but it’s also a respectable handler too. It doesn’t quite hit the highs of the Tiguan Allspace, but it’s also more comfortable around town. It doesn’t feature adaptive dampers, which we think adds to the simple feel of the 5008 “ its low 1,473kg tare weight is 300kg less than the all-wheel drive Tiguan Allspace. 

The steering is particularly nice too with a well-weighted feel, and a quick rack making it feel quite nimble. The smaller steering wheel can take time to get used to, but it just adds to the go-kart feel of the 5008’s chassis. Road noise levels are also relatively low, and visibility is good thanks to large windows and a relatively boxy rear end. In all, the 5008 drives very well, and while it’s great in the city, it’s also excellent as a long distance country touring machine. 

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

Like the 3008, which the 5008 shares its interior with, the 5008’s interior is thoroughly contemporary, excellent quality and packed full of tech to keep families happy. It’s also spacious for its size and unlike a lot of other French cars, offers a lot of storage solutions on the inside.

Peugeot’s ‘i-Cockpit’ digital driver’s display caused some controversy thanks to its unusual layout with the dials mounted above the small steering wheel. I quite like it “ the high positioning negates the need to have a heads-up display as the screen is mounted within your line of sight “ but people shorter than my six-foot frame may not. The screen itself is crisp and it also features a map if you want it “ it’s configurable with many different screen views. 

Centre of the 5008’s cabin is a newly-enlarged 10-inch touchscreen that features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as satellite navigation and digital radio. Unlike the pre-updated 5008’s smaller 8.0-inch screen, the new version shows the set temperature on each side of the main audio display “ you still annoyingly have to go into another menu to change it, though. The screen’s resolution could be sharper as well, and every control requires a hard press. But worst of all is the grainy 360-degree parking camera, which could be greatly improved. Screen quality and ergonomics are definitely better in the Kodiaq and Tiguan. 

The rest of the 5008’s cabin is positive. Unlike a lot of past French cars, it’s actually quite a practical space. There are reasonable cupholders, a large tray area under the screen with a wireless phone charging spot, a massive centre console bin, large flock-lined door bins and the typically-small right-hand drive conversion glovebox. We who drive on the right-hand side of the car use our gloveboxes as well, Peugeot! 

The middle seat of the 5008 is not massive “ a Tiguan Allspace is definitely roomier “ but it’s more than big enough for two adults with ample headroom. Legroom is fine and six-footers will be fine behind each other and the flat floor makes it better for the person in the middle, which is possible as the seat is split into three individual seats. The rear seat also features a centre arm rest, air vents with a fan speed controller, two USB-C ports, a 12V socket, the same flock-lined door bins as the front and two map pockets. Despite an easy-access middle row dipping function, the third row of the 5008 is definitely a kids-only zone – it’s tight for room and features, and the Kodiaq and particularly the much larger CX-8 are more spacious there. 

Bootspace in the 5008 is healthy at 167-litres with the rear row erect, 591L with it folded and 1,690L with all the seats folded flat – by comparison, the Skoda Kodiaq offers 270L, 630L and 2,005L respectively, though it is slightly longer overall. There are no clever touches like nets and hooks in the Skoda, however, though the third row of seats can be removed altogether. The 5008 petrol has a space saver spare wheel – the diesel has no spare at all. 

Service & Warranty: 7/10

As with other Peugeot products in Australia, the 2021 Peugeot 3008 GT Sport comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance, which is better than most other five year warranties as they don’t offer roadside assistance for the duration of the warranty “ Skoda and Volkswagen are in this boat, for example.

The warranty is positive, as are the service intervals: once yearly or every 20,000km, which is longer than the 15,000km km intervals of the Volkswagen Group cousins and even longer than the CR-V and CX-8. But the service costs over that time aren’t small “ over five years or 100,000km (whichever comes first), the 5008 costs $2,803 to service ($560 each service). The CX-8 costs $1,996 to service over five years – but half the distance of the 5008 at 50,000km. A CR-V offers servicing for just $125 per year for the first five years for $625 in total, though that’s only to 50,000km in total as well. 

While the 3008 isn’t cheap to own, things are worse at your local VW dealer. A Tiguan Allspace 132TSI costs an insane $3,703 over the same time period “ but with shorter intervals. You can lessen that cost slightly by choosing a five-year service pack at time of purchase, which costs $2,580. The Kodiaq costs $2,851 over five years/75,000km ($570 per service) “ not cheap, but a lot less than the Tiguan with the same drivetrain. Like the Tiguan, the Karoq can be had with a five-year service pack that lessens costs significantly; a five-year pack is just $1,700 and you get five years of roadside assistance with that as well.

The 2021 Peugeot 5008 GT Petrol DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.4/10

Like we’ve been finding with the smaller 3008 on which it’s based, the 2021 Peugeot 5008 GT is a great product that deserves to sell much stronger in Australia. It offers a long list of attributes: it’s practical, high quality, drives well, is well equipped and feels expensive on the inside. It’s also subtly stylish – it’s not flashy or over the top, rather, it’s quietly handsome and very European.

It’s not perfect, however. The value equation – like the 3008 – is far from perfect as it gets quite expensive at the top end, it doesn’t offer all-wheel drive, the petrol engine is lacklustre and despite the 3008 featuring a large boot for its segment, we think the 5008 could’ve been made larger than it is as rivals offer more practical boots and a more capacious third row of seating. But as a diesel – itself a fairly unique offering in the market – the 5008 is a great car, and is definitely worthy of your consideration in the ‘5+2’ seven-seat SUV market.