When a modern Peugeot appears in your rear-view mirror, you can usually recognize it by these LED-fangs.
Except for when it was a Peugeot 3008 or a 5008, because they were deemed too old to fit them with. Until now that is,
because they've received a facelift. And this 5008 now always comes with LED-lights as standard. Back in the day, that was dependant...
on the version. Also, it has a new grille, which tends to fade away into the rest of the car.
Quite an extensive facelift, so it's the perfect opportunity to compare the 5008 with a direct competitor. The Seat Tarraco. What a color.
The biggest news in the interior of the 5008 is this screen. It's now 10-inch, which is two inches bigger than before. The 8-inch screen...
is still available on the less-expensive versions. The expensive versions now have this 10-inch screen.
It's mostly wider and more square. The old 8-inch screen was encased in a frame of some sorts, whilst this is just a big screen.
It's always nice when it's bigger. We've been treated to big screens a lot these days. That's always good for the accessibility.
What's nice as well is that the screen is well within reach. It's even aimed at the driver slightly.
Also, because it's this high up on the dashboard, you can easily use it. The only drawback is that they didn't change the software.
I can't find out if they did, because it looks like the same old system we've known for years from Peugeot.
That means there are a few positive points to say, but it's mostly negative if I have to be honest.
First of all, it looks good. The menu design fits really well with the overall design of the car.
There are a lot of possibilities as well, mostly for the digital instrument cluster. You can set it up to your personal preference.
However, when it's about speed and menu structure logic, I do have a lot of things to complain about.
The touchscreen just isn't very quick, especially compared with current standards. Also, they've made a couple of questionable choices...
when it comes to places where to find certain functions. Take the climate control for example, because you have to...
use the screen. That's not necessarily a drawback, as proven by Volvo and Tesla. However, with the PSA-system,
you have to get out of the menu you're currently in. If you're using satnav, you have to get out of that screen and search for the...
temperature menu, change the temperature and go back to the satnav. A lot of extra moves, which are annoying and unnecessary.
Other than that, they barely changed anything in this interior. And that's a good thing, because there wasn't anything wrong with it.
The dashboard looked modern when it was introduced five years ago, and it still does today. And that's quite the achievement, because...
a trait of thriving design is that it usually becomes outdated very quickly. That doesn't apply to Peugeot-dashboards, clearly.
It also looks pretty premium. I'd even go as far as calling it cozy, especially if you've got this strip of fabric on the dashboard.
I do have to say, you're allowed to complain about the finishing of the dashboard. In my mind it's been improved,
especially in the middle here. It seems that the panels fit better now. However, if we look at where the door meets the dashboard,
you can still see relatively big gaps. Having said that, there's still room for improvement.
What has remained as well is the cockpit. I already mentioned that the screen is aimed at the driver of course,
but it's the same for all of the other features. And it's quite successful if you ask me. In these cars that is. It makes sure that a 5008...
feels smaller than it actually is, because it's all centered around you. Also, everything is close to you.
That feeling remains when you start driving, because it feels like a smaller car than it actually is. That's because of a couple of things.
First of all, it's not that heavy. Only 1.400 kg, which isn't crazy for a seven-seater SUV. Also, it feels pretty nimble with very light steering.
It accelerates pretty easily as well, which is quite the achievement, because the only usable engine for the Dutch markets is the...
base engine. The 1.2-litre PureTech with 130 horsepower. We've known that engine since we've known this car, and we tested it many times.
It's a very good combination, despite the fact that it isn't particularly fast. It does 0-100 km/h in around eleven seconds, which isn't...
impressive according to current standards. However, it's rapid enough and it never feels like it's out of breath.
You can combine the 1.2-litre engine with either a manual gearbox or an automatic gearbox, with the latter being in this particular car.
Peugeot's famous automatic 8-speed, and I'd choose that as well. Why would you want to change gear yourself in a seven-seater?
However, the automatic gearbox itself isn't perfect. You can often feel the gears changing, and it sometimes changes back on...
strange moments when you're braking. That means it can sometimes feel a little cranky, but as a whole it's not a bad drivetrain at all.
On the outside, a 5008 looks like an SUV, but on the inside, it looks like a traditional MPV.
On the second row, you've got three separate seats. That comes with both advantages as disadvantages. If you're travelling with children...
for example, they won't get into fights about who's got to sit in the middle. Also, you can put three booster seats next to...
each other. However, as an adult, you're almost forced to the outside to make place for the middle seat.
That's not very comfortable. And that isn't the only feature which makes the 5008 particularly comfortable for children.
The headrest can't go high enough and this little table is pretty annoying. It's a lot of fun for children, but it's in the way for me.
Both opened as closed. In turn, that means I can't really shove my seat forwards to generate room for the third seating row.
And if you're back there, you can barely sit if you're as tall as me.
With the facelift, the tailgate received new LED-lights as well. If we open it up, you've got a boot which can hold 700 litres...
if you fold down the third row of seating. That's about the same as in the Seat. If you fold all of the seats down, the Peugeot is more spacious.
Then, the difference becomes 90 litres. If you order the Seat with a third row of seating that is.
That's because the third row is optional. If you don't get that, the Seat is more spacious. However, you'd be down two seats.
I do have to say that the seats feel sturdier in the Seat, and folding them away is easier than in the Peugeot.
What's handy as well, is that you can tuck away the screen underneath the floor. Even when all of the seats are occupied.
The amount of MPV-ness of the Tarraco is much lower than in the 5008, which is made especially clear on the rear seat.
The Tarraco has a regular rear seat. It does come with an adjustable back rest, but it's just a seat. And it's relatively narrow as well.
That means the advantages of the 5008 are disadvantages in here, and vice versa. There's less space in the width for three children,
but as an adult, the seating is a lot better if you're in one of the separate seats. Also, there aren't folding tables in the way,
so I'm able to shove forwards to create some extra space for people on the third row. However, it'll always be cramped back there.
What's unfortunate in the Tarraco as well, is the angle of these little windows. That means that children aren't able to look out of them.
The reason we wanted to test the 5008 again was its facelift, but they've applied some new things to the Tarraco as well.
That's why it's a good thing we've put this next to the 5008. Two years after its introduction, Seat has decided to make...
the LED-strip on the tailgate light up. That wasn't the case before. And whilst they were at it, they've updated the type badge.
It now has that nice font, like on many other Seat's nowadays.
There's an FR-version as well now, about which my colleague Roy has made a video. In short, that has sporty bumpers, painted panels,
a roof spoiler and bigger wheels. And in here, there's a new panel for the climate control, which is applied to all versions.
They've removed the turning knobs, so we now have a digitalized panel with sliders, like in the Leon.
However, they've improved them in here, because they aren't directly beneath the screen. That means you can't accidentally operate them.
Also, they're lit, as opposed to in the Leon.
The turning knob still works better if you ask me, but this looks a lot more modern and it's much better than Peugeot's approach...
by cramming everything into that screen.
At the same time, the digital climate control panel is about the most exciting part of the interior. Everything else is incredibly boring.
I can't put it anyway else. It's very decent, the build quality is good, the materials are good, but it just looks like they've taken a random...
selection from the huge amount of Volkswagen-parts that were available. The instrument cluster, the vents, the handles, the screen,
it could've might as well been from any other car from the Volkswagen Group. As opposed to the interior from the 5008,
where everything looks to be a whole.
Operating the car feels more logical in the Seat than in the Peugeot. That goes for the physical elements, like the clustering of buttons...
on the steering wheel, but also for the touchscreen. That's mostly because of the resolution and speed.
It responds a tad more quickly, when it's awake that is. In the morning, it has to boot up first.
When it comes to menu structure, both cars are level. There's stuff to complain about with the Seat as well.
It's a system that takes some getting used to before you can find everything you need.
When it comes to drivetrains, the choice at Seat is even clearer than at Peugeot. At the time of filming this video,
the car is only available with the already known 1.5-litre TSI 4-cylinder, producing 150 horsepower. You do get the choice...
between a manual gearbox or an automatic gearbox, so of course we've chosen the automatic gearbox.
And it's the same story as with the base engine from the Peugeot. It's not an incredibly fast car, but it's rapid enough.
It has slightly more power than the Peugeot, it weighs a tad more than the Peugeot and it has one cylinder more than the Peugeot.
And that's a big advantage, because it makes the engine run more smoothly. That means the car feels more refined and civilized.
The same goes for the gearbox, the well-known DSG-automatic. The gear changes are incredibly fast and incredibly smooth.
Also, the moments it changes gear are better than in the Peugeot.
Seat is the sporty brand of the Volkswagen Group, and if you look at this Tarraco with its FR-wheels and bucket seats,
you'd almost think it's a sporty car. However, it isn't. It's still a big SUV, or crossover, whatever you like.
And it has very safe settings. However, Seat has gone through the trouble of fitting this car with adaptive dampers.
So when you put it in Sport-mode, the chassis becomes tighter. You'll notice that, and the car will offer more certainty when things speed up.
It's easier to feel the things that happen underneath the Tarraco than in the Peugeot. If you put everything back to normal,
and it becomes a comfortable and safe car again. A car that feels bigger than the Peugeot, and a car that has a nicer drivetrain than the Peugeot.
Except for exterior-features, the 5008 hasn't changed a lot. That just goes to show how good the car actually was.
This car combines the appearance of the SUV with a lot of traits of an MPV, which a lot of people seem to like.
On the other hand, the Tarraco isn't less practical, and I can imagine you really like the way it looks.
You do have to pay for it though, so if you want to know how much and how the scores add up, you should read the test on AutoWeek.nl.