At the beginning of May, we headed off on a family holiday to Butlins. The children had been mentioning how much they would like to go back every time they saw an advert on the TV. With some holiday vouchers we had received from family we decided to make the road trip to Bognor Regis.
With the prospect of a three and a half hour drive with three children and all our luggage for a week, I did wonder how comfortable we would be in our family car. Thankfully Peugeot contacted us a couple of weeks before we were due to go and to see whether we’d like to see how the Peugeot 5008 works for a family. A road trip to Butlins was the perfect way to test out how family friendly it was.
A week with the Peugeot 5008
As a family, we have had the same type of MPV car over the past 10 years just upgrading to different versions whenever we have needed to change it. For us an MPV car works for us, I like the feeling of space inside for both in the front seat and for the children in back, I’d hate for them to be cramped in the back (plus it might lead to them being cranky with each other).
When the Peugeot 5008 arrived I didn’t think it looked like a typical MPV, which isn’t a bad a thing. If anything it made me curious about the interior of the car as to whether it would still feel spacious and have all the family friendly features that are needed.
Additional seats
Since we had Piglet our current family car doesn’t allow us to take anyone with us on trips. I loved being able to collect one of Roo’s friends etc. to take to Cub Scouts, days out etc. but now we don’t have the space available. The Peugeot 5008 has two additional seats available within the boot space which provides the flexibility of having guests in the car or for any future extensions to the family.
Whether you need to add one or both seats, they simply pull up and click into place and each seat has access to a three-point seatbelt and built-in sun blind. To access these seats you pull a lever on either of the outer seats within Row 2, which pulls up the seat pad and slides forward enabling those using the seat access without having to climb in the boot (mind you the children thought that this would be a much more fun way of getting into those seats).
ISOFIX
As we found out that we were expecting Piglet last year we were forced to change Roo’s high back booster to a non-ISOFIX model as our car only has two ISOFIX points and we would require them for Tigger and Piglet’s car seats. The Peugeot 5008 features three ISOFIX mounting points located on all the seats within Row 2 (tethering points are located on the back of the seats if your car seat requires this). There is ample space available within Row 2 to fit three full car seats, which is not always possible in other makes of car.
Additional rear view mirror
Driving along with little people in the back can be challenging at the best of times. Usually, I’m peering in the rearview mirror at them by sitting up a little straighter in my seat (which is not ideal when you’re concentrating on the road ahead). The Peugeot 5008, however, has an additional rear view mirror located above the standard rear view mirror which allows you to view the children at a quick glance whenever I need to.
Built-in sun blinds
I’m sure I’m not the only parent who has a love/hate relationship with sun blinds. Obviously, they fulfil a purpose but trying to find ones that a) fit your car and b) stay in place is somewhat of a lottery. The Peugeot 5008, however, has built-in sun blinds within the rear windows and also in the boot by the additional seats. Simply pull up the blind, click it into place and you have the sun blind you need and fitted within an instant.
Boot space
One of the things that I look for in a car is the size of its boot space. With a pushchair to carry with us as well as luggage on family journeys, I don’t want to have to play Jenga in the boot to fit it all in. The Peugeot 5008 has a large boot when the rear seats are folded away, however, if they are in use there is still enough space to fit a pushchair behind them. Plus one of the great features of the Peugeot 5008 is that they have added additional storage space underneath Row 3 when they are in use so you are still able to carry your shopping, beach essentials etc.
The large boot space within the Peugeot 5008 easily coped with all our supplies for our week at Butlins, with a pushchair, travel cot, large suitcase, two Trunki’s, coats, swimming bags, baby activity centre as well as food and drinks.
To show you just how much space is available we made an impromptu stop at IKEA on the way home and managed to fit in a dining room table which we’d managed to get on sale (it was a bargain at just £15!) as well as Drona boxes, kitchen supplies, a new rug and a bag of Daim bars (I can’t visit IKEA and not buy anything).
Boo Roo and Tigger Too’s thoughts…
We have been looking to upgrade our car to a seven seater and whilst we had looked at many MPV cars we hadn’t thought of the Peugeot 5008. Having had test drove it for a week and seeing how well it works for a family it is one that we are seriously considering buying for us as a family. It has all the space required from an MPV and for a family without screaming mini-van!
Thank you, Peugeot, for letting us test drive the Peugeot 5008, it really does make for a great family car.
Disclosure: We received use of Peugeot 5008 for one week FOC for the purpose of review
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