Peugeot 5008 review kinda thing

[Welly]

I hired this thing a few weeks ago so here's what I reckon:

'E' HDi I think means 'Eco' this means it shuts off every time you stop, more on that later:


It has many interior rooms and features:


These were literally a one-handed operation, 2 more seats or a big boot:


B-Pillar fans either side:



The knee/console interface was a bit annoying:



Many overhead lights told of passengers unrestrained, or missing:


Infotainment display font a bit old fashioned:


Hand*brake was a PITA being electric:


15K miles from new, plenty* of oil in there:


Ford Focus engine-looking unit, 1.6??:


The gear* box:


Explosion in a Caramel Factory:


Being a manual/electric gearbox it changed gears with an awkward pause, the down side was the down-changes; entering a roundabout at 30mph it would stay in 4th....then decide 3rd would be better on the exit....que long pause and passenger-lurches as if you'd dabbed the brakes. To get over this I began to select 3rd myself on the approach and this made for smoother driving. Overall the box was a bit dim-witted, felt like a compromise of two things, which is what it is. On the plus side and I've no idea how this is achieved but 1st and 2nd gears have that nice 'slippage' of an automatic box for smooth progress.

Handling-wise is was very nice, flat in the corners and a soft compliant ride, the thing demanded very little driver input and carved itself a dead-on line like it was on rails.

The switch-off-engine when you stopped was MEGA annoying and had to be manually over-ridden each and every time you re-started the car and as usual you realise you forgot to do that when you get to the first halt. Most annoying was the engine stopping just before the wheels stopped turning and making smooth parking almost impossible. The engine stops and then instantly re-starts when you touch the throttle. It was 6 miles from the Hire place back to my house and I counted 23 engine re-starts....TWENTY THREE!

The handbrake, if chosen, would release itself as you drove off but then weirdly wouldn't let you re-apply if you'd turned the engine off yourself with the key, a few times I had to start the engine to use the handbrake.

Overall, pretty good but the engine stopping and the handbrake were two things I could definitely live without.

[steve_earwig]

Nice little review there Welters

Looks quit nice apart from...

The display may be old hat but I reckon I could read that, unlike the new yoyo's which is tiny little led's which I can't even see without my specs on.

I still can't see the point of electronic handbrakes, it's the most basic safety feature on a car and I really can't see why anyone would think that giving it over to the electrical system to control would be a good idea. With a cable and lever the car would have to be pretty badly mangled before it didn't work but all the electronic one needs is for a fuse to blow.

Stop start - I can see the point but that does sound rather useless. My bro's here right now, he says my sis-in-law's Pus hat has it but you can just press a button to disable it if necessary. Anyway, I don't think I'd be happy as if the sort of car I've spent most of my life driving stops running at the lights it's probably not going to start again. 26 restarts in 6 miles, wow. Imagine what that's doing to the starter motor. And the battery. And the electronics.

Knee/steering wheel/centre console interface I get on the new yoyo too, because I'm principally a manual gearbox driver and use my right foot for everything, pulling my left foot further back out of the way. I, erm, moved the steering wheel further out from the dash and it doesn't happen now.

I do like the B-pillar vents, although I'm not sure if the air will have any heat or coolness left by the time it arrives.

1.6HDi should be the Ford/PSA DV6turbo muncher. Although I'm begginging to suspect if you drive them about like a little old lady you'll get endless problems but if you thrash them mercilessly all the time they'll be fine.

No idea about the 'box (something akin to DSG?) as the yoyo's is pretty old fashioned really (apart from the ecu, lock-up overdrive, underdrive whatever that is and god knows what else)

[Bailes1992]

That is indeed a DW6. Same engine that is in my Focus although I have a different Euro 6 compliant crank which also means I have a bigger willy because my log book says I only have 1,499c even though I have MORE POWERZZZZ!

I don't see the point in automating a manual, why not just stick a proper automatic box in there. The 8 speed ZF torque convertors that they fit in new BMW's are awesome. Change as fast as a DSG and you can't help but think that if BMW can make a torque converter box change that quickly the VAG should be doing much much better with two clutches. But who am I to judge?

Glad it's not just me who hates stop/start.
My gripe is that when an engine is started it should be left running for as long as reasonable possible. Nearly all of engine wear happens when it's first switched on, running without oil. So where a car might have only been started twice a day, it is now being started 10-15 times a day and then loaded up straight away as the owner pulls off before oil has reached all the places it needs to.
Then I worry about turbos. If I cane my car and come to a stop straight away it will switch off. The turbo could be spinning at 150,000rpm but it will just switch off... along with the oil feed to the turbo that is spinning at 150,000rpm. Yep. I'm sure that will do it the world of good.

That oil looks horrendous too! I changed mine last week at 6,500miles. I aint leaving it in there for Fords recommended 12k! Let alone the 24k that PSA seem to think you're allowed to leave it in there for.