2024 Peugeot 5008 interior, tech and practicality

Peugeot certainly knows how to give its interiors the wow factor. Taking pride of place in the otherwise open dashboard is a panoramic 21-inch display with a slight curve to it. It ‘floats’ above the dash rather than sitting on it, and looks really modern.

We love the Y-shaped spar between the seats, which elegantly contains some of the major driving controls. It also cocoons you in, and makes it feel like you’re not sitting on top of the car.

All new 5008s get a covering of smart grey cloth across the dashboard and centre console – continuing on the seats and in the rear. This is a clever bit of design, adding flair and tactility to what would otherwise be a plasticky cabin. There are some tough, cheap plastics lower down, and it’s evident that the cloth trim hides more of the same. Our test cars came with the optional Nappa leather seats, which were very soft and plush – although we probably wouldn’t tick that box if we were speccing the car ourselves.

Similarly, there’s a seating pack with adjustable bolsters, a cat paw massage function and much more besides. This improved our motorway journey in the 5008, but it costs £1,800 and you’d never get that money back at resale time.

Ergonomically, the 5008 isn’t perfect. The high central spar makes it difficult for the driver to reach the centre console cubby where the USB sockets are, while the gear selector being on the dashboard takes some getting used to – it’s easy to mistake the drive mode selector for the gear shifter and engage sport mode when you mean to go into reverse.

Only two trim levels are available, and we don’t see much need to venture past the Allure trim. This would be a mid-spec trim on other Peugeots, and includes plenty of tech as standard. LED headlights, 19-inch alloy wheels in a fantastically bold design, rear parking sensors, keyless entry and the 21-inch display are all standard.

GT adds upgraded pixel LED lamps, adaptive cruise control, front parking sensors, heated front seats with Alcantara suede upholstery and a heated steering wheel. Oh, and Ferrari-like Peugeot shield badges on the front wings. Among the options are a panoramic sunroof and driver assistance tech packs, which bundle in extras like blind-spot monitoring and four cameras that create a near-360-degree bird’s eye view when you’re reversing.

The infotainment binnacle looks super smart and the two screens seem to blend together seamlessly. It’s more intuitive than Peugeot’s previous infotainment systems, in part due to the app drawer function that lays all the features out like your phone does. But the lower screen with the shortcut switches, known as ‘i-Toggles’, is a bit of a necessity, because navigating through the screen can still be a little frustrating.

The 10 i-Toggles (too many, because you have to swipe to see the second page and end up clicking on the icons instead) let you set up your most-used functions and favourite radio stations as shortcuts. There’s always a home button visible, which is good as the home button on the screen is small.

The home menu itself is a bit busy – it needs clearer distinctions between the different icons – and some of the menus require a few too many clicks. To adjust the fan speed of the climate control, for example, you need to click into the climate menu first. Then there are four menus within the climate menu, and it brings up the one you last visited, which might not be the fan speed and temperature screen.

Meanwhile, the animation that pops up when you click a menu suggests that the infotainment system needs a faster processor to rival the best-in-class systems.

Still, it has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, as well as a wireless phone charging pad and a host of connected features.

Middle-row passengers have plenty of space to enjoy, with more headroom than in the related Peugeot 3008 and a decent amount of legroom. There are USB sockets and map pockets, plus a fold-down armrest – which only gets cupholders if you go for the top-spec GT model. Top-spec cars also get sunblinds for the rear windows.

Where the old 5008 had three same-sized seats across the rear bench, each with its own set of Isofix points, the new 5008 gets two larger outer seats with a smaller one in the middle. We’re told that was a conscious decision based on customer feedback, with adults feeling squashed in the smaller seats, but it seems like an oversight that a car that’s meant to appeal to large families only has two Isofix points.

The middle row of seats can be reclined, slid forwards or backwards and tilted individually, maximising versatility. Longer doors and this new tilting mechanism mean that it’s easier for an adult to get into the third row of seats. Once in, a five-foot-ten adult will have enough headroom and just enough legroom – if the middle-seat passengers don’t mind sliding the seats forward a little – although the high floor raises your knees up to a higher-than-ideal level.

Even with all seven seats in place, the 5008 offers more boot space than a 208 supermini. Not that it looks like it when you open the boot. But, remove the false floor and there’s a lot more space to use, and the space continues under the third row of seats. This is super handy for storing valuables or slim items, but we can see it being difficult to extract something that’s fallen right to the back of the under-seat storage area.

Cleverly, the parcel shelf can be slotted in under the boot floor when you’re not using it, and the false floor section lifts up to become a divider so your shopping doesn’t make a break for it around a fast corner.

As a five-seater, the 5008 offers 916 litres of boot space including the underboot storage. Considering the 5008 isn’t hugely more expensive than an equivalent 3008 – which has a 520-litre boot – it could be going for the bigger one even if you don’t plan to use the sixth and seventh seats. Impressively, the boot remains the same size regardless of whether you buy the hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full EV.