Family ‘pug’ does a 900-km road trip in style

Resting at the boundary

MANILA, Philippines–The French automaker with the lion insignia has been known in recent years to be stylish, big and stately, hot yet thrifty. These descriptions of versatility are remarkable, in light of the fact that this automaker’s origins had to do with with something as rigid as steel.

Peugeot, one of the largest automakers in the world, is considered an “old soul” in the automotive circles, as its history dates back to the 19th century when it produced steam-powered engines before producing its first fossil-fueled automobiles in 1904. And even before that, according to auto historian Giles Chapman of “Car Badges,” in 1810, the Peugeot family of the Sous-Cratet region of eastern France decided to convert their Montbeliard flour mill into a factory making rolled steel. Brothers Jean-Pierre and Jean-Frederic Peugeot set the pace with products made from their own steel, and production and exports boomed. Simon Heptinstall, who wrote the book “1001 Cars,” added that the family also produced bicycles by 1830.

Over the course of its 110-year history of car manufacture, Peugeot has built up a solid heritage in design. According to auto journalist Tony Lewin (author of “AZ of 21st Century Cars”), Peugeot was one of the first European manufacturers to follow the American example and set up its own design studio (under Henri Thomas, in 1930).

Up to today, Peugeot has maintained a consistently high standard in design, albeit with something of a lapse between 1995 and 2008. Much, but not all, of Peugeot’s design equity has been accumulated as a result of its longstanding relationship with Italian automotive designer Pininfarina. Also, early on, Peugeot’s smart 1912 Bebe small car was shaped by no less than Ettore Bugatti, and became a major hit in its day. After a design “hiatus” that lasted 13 years, Peugeot came out in 2009 with designer Gilles Vidal, an appointee of Jean-Pierre Ploue and former head of concept design at Citroen, rolling out the futuristic BB1 urban-electric 4-seater and the graceful SR1 premium sports car concept which heralded the carmaker coming back to form.

The versatile compact MPV up front

It is in the throes of Peugeot’s “rebirth” that the Philippines has been introduced to the brand. It is also in this design context that the 5008 has been molded.

Doubts put to rest

Admittedly, though, what Inquirer Motoring was really looking for in a 900-km trip from Manila to Naga City and back was the space, comfort and versatility of a multipurpose vehicle. When the Peugeot 5008 (2-liter turbo diesel engine) was suggested to us by Kristoff Arcega, marketing manager of Eurobrands Distributor Inc. (EDI), we immediately asked him if the 5008 could take in six adults, 300 books (each 200 pages thick), and luggage. His answer was a confident yes, even though we initially expressed doubts over the space, what with the driving experience with the smaller 3008 still fresh in our minds.

But as soon as keys were handed over to us and we first opened the 5008’s doors, we knew why Kristoff didn’t bat an eyelash. The 5008 was a 7-seater with the rear two seats that could be easily folded completely flat to the floor to open up a cavernous cargo room. But I was left with only one other warm body to help me lug in the luggage and the hundreds of books, because the other four were scrambling for prime real estate inside the well-appointed interiors of the 5008. Add to that their fascination with the humongous panoramic roof that stretched from the front all the way to the back, giving even the rearmost passengers an overhead view of the overcast September skies.

The thrifty “pug,” the term of endearment for Peugeot, at the Naga Roundabout

As the designated driver, this writer didn’t need to worry about not having the best seat in the house, because, in truth, all the fancy bells and whistles of a European car was at arm’s reach at the driver’s seat, including a heads-up speed indicator projected to a glass panel that would pop up right in front of the driver when the engines were turned on. The display projects vital driving information onto a retractable screen located in the driver’s field of vision: speed, cruise control or speed limiter, distance alert, the works.

When all six of us were in, books and all, there really wasn’t much more room for anything else. However, during the entire 9-hour trip from Marikina City to Naga City, no one complained about the tight fit, not even while we were jarred on the potholed (as usual) sections of the Andaya Highway at the border of Quezon and Camarines Sur Provinces. Probably the only function in the 5008 that was difficult to handle was the rear swing-up door. That required using the power buttons at the key fob, or the ceiling control.

Speeding up like a saloon

Being a petite 5’2” driver, this writer would always prefer seats positioned higher and a bit more forward to the dashboard. The 5008’s seating configurations for the driver gave this writer just that position, with the angle of the steering wheel and the wide windscreen helping in the ease-of-driving department.

Rear door is heavy to operate manually. PHOTOS BY TESSA R. SALAZAR

The 2-liter turbodiesel engine of this 5008 also provided the confident acceleration and stress-free overtaking, especially in the tight zigzag roads of Quezon and Camarines Sur. Often, we felt as if we were zooming along in a saloon.

We got an admirable fuel-efficiency reading in the highway run, with a top fuel efficiency reading of 6 liters/100 km (almost 17 km/liter) on the trip to Naga City. When this writer was driving the 5008 all alone, without other passengers or luggage, on the highway, the fuel consumption reading was trimmed down even more to 5.8 liters/100 km.

There was no jerky shift shock experience with the 5008. There was smooth transmission all throughout.

The windshield wiper controls are a bit confusing, though, especially for drivers who have been used to Japanese-configured wiper controls and configurations.

Like modern diesel engine technologies, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) for the 5008 has been reduced to a minimum. Great road-hugging characteristics, too, for the 5008, especially when negotiating sharp curves.

The interior with the panoramic roof

The Peugeot 5008 is equipped with an electric handbrake as standard. It engages automatically when the engine stops and disengages upon acceleration. This is coupled with the Hill Assist function which ensures that the vehicle remains stationary while on a hill, to allow the driver to accelerate.

Engineers explained that Peugeot’s HDi (high pressure direct injection) engines are designed around the revolutionary common rail high pressure injection system. The common rail has two functions: it generates pressure and stores the fuel under high pressure in a central accumulator rail. Injecting the fuel into individual electronically controlled fuel injectors (one per cylinder). It also pioneered the diesel particulate filter system fitted standards on all Peugeot passenger cars, and employed turbo chargers to boost performance.

The power and handling of the 5008 enabled our group to arrive safely, and on time, in Naga City, despite the heavy monsoon rains. We were able to deliver 300 books to Ateneo de Naga’s library, in style. And we were able to bring three of the book’s coeditors to the book launching at the same school. The books, a tribute to a certain Jesuit named Fr. James O’Brien, would be sold at the library, the entire proceeds of which would be used to enable poor but deserving students to become Ateneo de Manila High School scholars.

Mission accomplished for us and the Peugeot 5008.

We later learned that the Peugeot 5008 comes with a price tag of P1.895 million, which is par for the course for European luxury brands. For the style and drive experience, the 2-liter 5008 HDi is a keeper.