Revival of the fittest

Peugeot isn't afraid of doing things its own way. While they might have been a little late to the SUV party, the 5008 Hybrid is a solid contender to go for

- Sean O'Grady

So, it came as a bit of a surprise to me that the Peugeot 5008, in “crossover SUV” guise has been around since 2017. That’s three Tory prime ministers ago and, if you dare to remember when Theresa May was grappling with a chaotic party and the dreadful aftermath of Brexit. Not like now, eh?

Anyway, they gave the old thing a fairly extensive facelift (the car, not May, who is just fine), a couple of years back and made it look quite contemporary. Only the bland boxy rear end makes it look slightly dated. On the whole, with its subtle curve to its haunches, it’s quite a good-looking, classy sort of runner, and, by the current increasingly obese standard of SUVs and crossovers, it feels almost compact.

It may well be replaced before too long, but they’ve not given up on it, and the latest variant of this established player is the hybrid version. Or rather the “mild hybrid” version.

Unlike, say, a Toyota Prius or its crossover sibling the RAV4, which are full hybrids with quite a lot of onboard generation of battery power and all-electric silent running, like all mild Hybrids the 5008 is still basically a petrol model, with a small electric generator, battery and 48 volt system added to re-use energy “wasted” in braking and to take the strain of running electrical components off the engine.