Peugeot’s 5008 is a petrol-powered, automatic, front-wheel drive seven-seater SUV that takes on VW’s Tiguan All-Space in a market niche.

The French recipe’s actually more vibrant than you might expect and the interior is a good place to start because this is where most of the impressive stuff is. It has a 2,840mm wheelbase, some 50mm more than its closest rival, and the cabin is filled by independent, comfy seats which in this car were covered in a mix of leather and a grainy cloth in the middle...