By David Berthon - Chair of the Motoring Committee

Driving a relative newcomer from Peugeot – the seven-seat 5008 GT premium hybrid SUV – a very stylish SUV from the French manufacturer – a stretched version of the latest 3008-model.

The Peugeot 5008 utilises a relatively small 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine, aided by 48V mild hybrid assistance from a 15.6kW electric motor and a 0.9kWhour battery – the combination producing 107kW of power. Self-charging, the electric mode operates for short periods at low speeds and is seamless in operation. Power is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed dual clutch automatic transmission.

This second-generation hybrid Peugeot 5008 comes in two models, the Allure at $55,990 and the GT Premium at $67,990, both plus on-road costs. Only one standard colour, Ingaro Blue with five metallic colours a cost option at $690. I drove the GT Premium, a rather handsome 7-seater with Nappa leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, no less than six drive modes, massaging and ventilated 10-way power front seats, a swag of driver assist features, climate control aircon to all three seat rows and 19-inch alloy wheels. The interior practical and well thought out with good access to the third row and very comfortable seats in the Peugeot tradition.

I have a soft spot for French cars, they’re a little different, sometimes quirky but offer a point of difference. And in the current world of an influx of look alike Chinese SUVs the 5008 hybrid is individual and offers a point of difference. Not inexpensive but the GT Premium, as the name suggests, is loaded with safety, convenience and comfort inclusions. But is does have some frustrations - a great 21-inch curved digital instrument display but its sometimes slow to react while the odd shaped steering wheel is hard to position without blocking a lot of the instrumentation and this is also a problem with the smaller 3008 model.

I like three-cylinder engines but given the 5008’s weight the performance is best described as adequate, a little underwhelming at times when called on to really perform on the open road, most so of course with a full load of passengers. A range of different drive modes help here, - Eco, Normal and Sport, while off-road Snow, Mud and Sand models provide better grip control.

And of course, you also have an excellent range of advanced driver assist technology – autonomous emergency braking, with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist and lane following assist, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot detection, a 360-degree surround view camera, speed limit and traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control and front and rear parking sensors. Thankfully, the settings are sympathetically applied and not overreactive like most of the new breed of Chinese SUVs.

Ride and handling is fine, the former a little firm, the latter, on the sporty side with nicely weighted steering and its sits on the road with no body roll and with a very assured stance.

Economy wise, I managed 6.7L/100km with mainly city driving and I am sure that with more open road motoring this figure would come down – but on the downside it does need more expensive 95 octane premium unleaded. There are other more affordable seven seat SUVs on the market however if you’re a fan of European cars, French cars even, over Japanese, Korean or the new Chinese variety the Peugeot 5008 deserves to on your shopping list. It lacks a spare wheel, only a tyre repair kit but apart from that a highly equipped premium SUV.

Warranty, a little underdone at five-year/200,000km. Servicing every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first while Peugeot offer capped-price servicing for the first five years - $401 for the first year, 804 for the second, $401 for the third, $868 for the fourth and $415 for the fifth year.