Peugeot E-5008 Dual Motor Review: Bargain seven-seater of the decade?

Good to drive, well made, and less expensive than its rivals, the Peugeot E-5008 quietly gets on with being a fantastic-looking seven-seat SUV.

The seven-seat car is a rarely-spotted bird these days. In fact, we’ve found that there are only a handful of them in all-electric SUV form on sale in Britain today. These are the Kia EV9, the Volvo EX90, the Mercedes-Benz EQS, and the subject of today’s review: the Peugeot E-5008.

Getting down the nitty gritty, the E-5008 we’re looking at is the new Dual Motor model. Given Peugeot axed its rather excellent 508, this £58,990 SUV is now the brand’s flagship. That’s no bad thing at all. After all, the E-5008 in any guise is well-bolted together and looks striking in that angular, Gallic way Peugeot’s latest SUVs are.

Can the Big French Lad hold its own compared to its rivals from Seoul, Gothenburg, and Stuttgart? Well…

Design, interior, technology

It’s big, isn’t it? The E-5008 Dual Motor measures up at 4.79 metres, roughly the same size as its rakish sibling, the E-3008, with which it shares its all-electric STLA medium platform produced by parent company, Stellantis.

The biggest visible difference between the two cars is the former’s rear overhang to accomodate the two rear seats in the boot. Despite the extra real estate, Peugeot has managed to stop it from looking slab sided.

Up front the E-5008 gets the same floating grille as the E-3008, which is genuinely lovely to touch. Either side of the aforementioned are three vertical running lights at an angle, which Peugeot says are a reflection of a being slashed by a Lion’s claw. Apparently…

Inside, the E-5008 Dual Motor is everything you’d expect from a big, 2.3-tonne Peugeot SUV. The sculpted dashboard is seriously good looking, and all of the materials used are fresh, different and have a welcome premium feel. The wool upholstery on the dash makes a change to swathes of ‘Piano Black’ or faux carbon fibre. Or plastic aluminium. Or the bakelite effect trim in the EV9.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but Peugeot’s 21-inch infotainment system is one of the best in the business. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are dead easy to connect, and the i-Toggles (see, a smaller screen below the main screen) can be configured with shortcuts to your most used functions… one of which was switching off the ADAS by the push of a single graphic. Bliss.

Another couple of points of note are the tiny steering wheel and the seats. I’ve driven a couple of Peugeots recently, and I now very much get the “i-Cockpit” concept. The wheel is perfectly sized, and those in other cars I have since driven feel rather ungainly. The Alcantara seats are also very supportive, especially when you activate the massage function. It’s not dissimilar to a cat making biscuits on your back.

Given it’s a seven-seater, the E-5008 load-lugging capacities are a story of two halves. With the rear seats up, there’s just 167 litres of space on offer. Fold them down, and the capacity is increased to 952 litres. If you pull the second row of seats down, that expands to 2,042 litres. If, for some reason, you’re in need of more space, there’s also storage under the second row.

Battery, motor, performance

The Peugeot E-5008 Dual Motor very much benefits from the second motor. In regular guise, it packs 207bhp and performance is somewhat leisurely. While this 321bhp car isn’t exactly a Rimac Nevera, the addition of the extra motor is very much welcome. It slashes the 0-62mph run from 9.7 seconds to 6.5 seconds, and delivers its power in a linear fashion meaning you waft along rather than the electric horses coming in short, sharp bursts.

For the most part, Peugeot has been good at chassis work and the E-5008 Dual Motor is no different: the anti-roll bar has been tightened, while stiffer springs and suspesnion keep things level and cope more than well with the extra power. Again, don’t expect any Marcus Grönholm-esque in a 206 levels of heroics, but the drive is far from anodyne but, being French, it’s also very comfortable. In fact, I’m going to throw it out there, and say it’s much better than the Dual Motor E-3008, which I found a bit jiggly.

Like the E-3008, the E-5008 gets a 73kWh battery and charging speeds of up to 160kW.

Range, however, is where the E-5008 is a tad compromised. In this Dual Motor guise, the E-5008 offers a maximum WLTP range of 289 miles. In comparison, the two-motor Kia EV9 GT-Line offers 316 miles, the twin-motor Volvo EX90 manages 385 miles, and the – deep breaths! – Mercedes-Benz 4Matic AMG Line Premium Plus brings 400 miles.

There’s a but though… While those other all-wheel-drive seven-seat SUVs all offer better range, they are significantly more expensive.

Price and specification

So far, we only know the price of the Dual Motor Launch Edition, which starts at £58,990. That’s not small change but, for reference those longer-range two-motor alternatives start at £73,920 for the Kia, £89,560 for the Volvo and a staggering £129,480 for the Merc. In comparison, the E-5008 looks like the steal of the decade. Yes, it won’t get as far on a charge and isn’t quite as spacious, but that £15k saving makes it more accessible to a lot more buyers who want an electric seven-seater.

Like the rest of the E-5008 line-up, the Dual Motor will come in entry-level Allure and top-spec GT trim, but Peugeot has yet to announce prices for these.

At present, the only trim level available is the E-5008 Launch Edition, which brings 20-inch allow wheels, heated front and rear seats, Alcantara upholstery and 10-way adjustable massage seats approved by Germany’s campaign for healthier backs. It also packs an opening panoramic roof, 360-degree parking cameras and a more advanced drive assistance package.

Verdict

The Peugeot E-5008 Dual Motor makes sense. For me, personally, I like that it doesn’t come with a badge tax and it quietly gets on with its job. It’s also surprisingly enjoyable to drive, and is more engaging than the E-3008 Dual Motor.

For aesthetes, Peugeot’s flagship is far better to look at not just its rivals, but other anamorphous looking SUVs that dominate the automotive landscape these days. Have at it, I say.

Peugeot E-5008 Dual Motor

Price: TBC
Transmission: Dual motor, all-wheel drive
Battery: 73kWh
Power: 321bhp
Torque: 331 lb ft
Top speed: 112mph
0-62mph: 6.5 seconds
Range: 289 miles
Consumption: N/A
Charging: Up to 160kW