Peugeot 5008 vs BYD Atto 3

What's the difference?

The answer is, I think, two-fold - price and badge. Peugeot Australia has a job on its hands to turn things around as 2020 was a tough year and 2021 is shaping up to be almost as hard. There aren't any significant changes to the 5008 to make it suddenly stand out from the crowd because it already did. So the badge's cachet isn't matching the premium pricing.

Peugeot's SUVs are very popular in Europe but barely make a dent here. Because there isn't a bait-and-switch cheaper model to lure buyers off the street, it's a harder sell. Peugeot's glory days of the late 1990s and the late 1970s before mean the people who have fond memories of the badge are older and probably don't have any attachment at all to the French lion. Perhaps the re-energised 2008 will start that conversation, except it's not cheap either.

Having said all that, it's hard to see why folks with over fifty grand to spend on a seven-seater - and there are plenty of those - aren't paying more attention to the 5008. It's a striking presence, is practical but isn't overbearingly large or even slightly clumsy. It may not have AWD but hardly anyone ever uses that. It'll handle the city and the motorway and, as I discovered, biblical rain all in its stride. Like its 3008 sibling, it's a mystery there aren't more out there.

Like its interior design, you may find the BYD Atto 3 Extended Range to be a divisive experience. On the one hand, I like how well it handles in the city and the playful design.

The car feels roomy and the boot is a good size but this is not an open-roader. If you plan on doing weekend escapes in this, think again. This is a car that likes the city and will complain if you venture outside of its limits.

I do like the affordable price tag, considering it's an EV, and the features you get but that open-road ride needs improvement.

The 5008 was always the slightly awkward big brother to the 3008. That's not to say it was (or is) ugly, but the bigger box fitted to the back is far less racy than the 3008's fast back. 

There's not much change at that end, so the cool claw lights carry the can for style. 

In profile, again, it's a little awkward (compared to the 3008) but some nice work with various materials and shapes help to reduce its bulk.

The front is where the facelift action has happened. I was never completely convinced by the front end of the 5008 but the reworking of the lights to look less like they were squeezed out of a tube of toothpaste is a marked improvement. 

The updated lights work beautifully with the new frameless grille. The fang-style daytime running lights, that debuted on the gorgeous 508, look fantastic here on the 5008. It's a superb job.

Inside is largely unchanged, which is to say it's still brilliant. It's really one of the more inventive interiors in any car, anywhere and is a joy to sit in. 

The seats look brilliant, even more so in the diesel with their fine stitching and racy shapes. The wacky 'i-Cockpit' driving position works much better in more upright cars like SUVs and is present and correct while the new 10.0-inch screen also looks good. 

Even if you're not interested in buying one of these, if you're passing a Peugeot showroom, get in and have a look, feel the materials and wonder why more interiors aren't this cool.

The exterior is quite understated and you might not necessarily pick this out as being an EV at first glance. It has a nice-looking profile that immediately identifies it as a medium SUV and it should appeal to owners who want something that looks smart but won't stand out on the road.

There are some cool design elements like the textured chrome panelling on the C-pillar and bonnet, which enhances the BYD badging. The LED strip lighting for the daytime running lights and tail-lights do lean more towards the futuristic vibe that EVs usually showcase.

The interior is where the fun has been had but it's likely to be divisive. The three-tone synthetic leather trims have some pizzazz but not everyone will like the black, white and navy combo.

That said, I like the contrasting red detailing on the piping, stitching and elastic door pocket cords.

The curvy dashboard features a white panel that looks like a flexed muscle (and not in a Magic Mike way!). The air vents remind me of the Echo Base on planet Hoth in Star Wars, which will always be cool to me, but my husband thinks they look like stacked drink coasters.

The rotary door handles are a total vibe and the adjustable ambient lighting manages to tie it all together but while it's great that BYD has had fun in here, not all of it lands for me.

Legroom is good in the middle row, with plenty of knee space as well as a that long flat roof stopping you from giving yourself a haircut. 

Each of the front seats has a fold down airline-style tray table, which kids go absolutely wild for.

The third row is really an occasional use only proposition, but it does the job and is reasonably easy to access. The middle row also slides forward (60/40 split) to allow a bit more space for the third row, which is nice.

The 5008 has a trick up its sleeve - removable third-row seats. If you fold the middle row down and remove the back row, you have a massive 2150 litres (VDA) of cargo volume. 

If you just fold the third row away you still have a formidable 2042 litres. Whip the back row out again but leave the centre row in place and you have a 1060-litre boot, reattach them and it's a still impressive 952 litres. So, it's a massive boot.

The 5008 is rated to tow 1350kg (petrol) or 1800kg (diesel) with a braked trailer, or 600kg (petrol) and 750kg (diesel) without brakes.

As soon as you slide in, you're pleasantly surprised by how roomy it feels. I have plenty of leg- and headroom in both rows for my 168cm (5'6") height. Which is impressive given the massive panoramic sunroof.

Both front seats are heated and electric with the driver's side sporting a six-way adjustment, while the passenger is only four-way.

However, due to the sports-like seat style, the headrests are fixed which may annoy taller drivers. There is no lumbar support either and, trust me, you'll notice it on a longer trip. Ouch.

Up front, the individual storage is good with an extra deep middle console and a shelf that sits underneath the 'e-shifter'. Plus, there is a glove box and a handy utility tray that houses the wireless charging pad.

The back seat is very comfortable and individual storage is adequate for the odd passenger with two map pockets and four device pockets available.

The drink bottle holders and cupholders (two in each row) are a tad skinny, though, and two regular-sized takeaway coffee cups will overlap at the lid.

Charging options are good throughout with each row getting an USB-A and USB-C port, the front also gets a 12-volt socket.

However, the ports are hidden in the shelf of the middle console and I'd prefer to have the media port up top as it's wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The 12.8-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks massive on the pared back dashboard and it rotates, allowing you to choose portrait or landscape mode. However, this function is disabled while using Apple CarPlay.

The system is pretty simple to use and the graphics are clear but a lot of functions are buried in sub-menus. Like the heated seat function. I honestly kept forgetting it had them.

I like to drive with the headlights on, as a defensive driving technique, but that dims the screen during the day so much you can't really see it.

The Dirac sound system with eight speakers is sufficient but I noticed the sound quality on my calls was a bit tinny.

The 5.0-inch digital instrument panel's positioning on the steering wheel means you don't miss having a head-up display but the alignment is off by a millimetre or so. Just enough to annoy someone with mild OCD.

The boot space is the highlight for me, though, with its 440L of capacity. You can bump that up to 1340L with the rear seats folded and the rear seats have a 40/60 split-fold.

You'll be making do with a puncture repair kit as there isn't a spare tyre but the powered tailgate was super handy this week on my grocery run.

Curiously, there is no 'frunk' storage, despite there being plenty of room for one.

There's something appealing about BYD's simple and straightforward marketing and purchasing strategy - what you see, is what you get.

There are only two models to choose from, the Standard Range and, our model, the Extended Range. As the name suggests, our model has the longer driving range but there's not that much difference in the specifications between the two outside of that.

One colour - 'Ski White' - is no cost, while 'Parkour Red', 'Surf Blue', 'Boulder Grey' and 'Forest Green' cost $700 extra.

Our model will now cost $51,011 to purchase (before on-road costs), that's a $3630 price hike since the start of the year! Even with the new price, it's more affordable than its nearest rivals with the MG priced at $55,990 and the Leaf e+ at $61,490.

However, you do get a decent number of features for your cash, like heated front seats, electric front seats, a panoramic sunroof, synthetic three-tone leather trims, adjustable ambient lighting, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and some decent tech (more on that later).

All external lights are LEDs, with headlights having an automatic function and there are two levels of regenerative braking to choose from.

There are some great practical features, too, like a darkened headliner, powered tailgate and 'lock charging port' function (in case you need to leave you car while it's on charge).

As the names of the cars suggest, there is a petrol and diesel engine. Both drive the front wheels only through automatic transmissions.

The petrol is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo, with 121kW at 6000rpm and 240Nm from 1400rpm. The petrol scores a six-speed automatic and will cover the 0-100km/h run in 10.5 seconds.

For torque monsters, the diesel is the go, with 131kW at 3750rpm and 400Nm from 2000rpm. This engine scores two more gears for a total of eight and will run from 0-100km/h in 10.2 seconds. 

So neither of them are drag racers, which is to be expected when you've got a fair chunk of weight to pull (1473kg for the petrol, 1575kg for the diesel).

The Atto 3 Extended Range is a full EV with a single motor powered by a 60.48kWh lithium-ion blade battery. It is a front-wheel drive and has a maximum power output of 150kW and 310Nm of torque.

So, it’s not the most powerful on the market but will certainly get you from A to B with ease and you can go from 0-100km/h in just 7.3 seconds.

Peugeot says the combined cycle figure for the petrol is 7.0L/100km and 5.0L/100km for the diesel. The petrol figure seems sort of likely, the diesel, not so sure.

I ran the lighter 3008 for six months with the same engine (but with two fewer gears, granted) and it averaged closer to 8.0L/100km. The last time I had the 5008 I got 9.3L/100km.

As I drove these cars on the launch event (mostly highway running), the dash-indicated 7.5L/100km figure I saw is not a reliable indicator of real-world consumption. 

Both tanks hold 56 litres, so based on the official figures, you'll cover around 800km in the petrol and over 1000km in the diesel. Bank on a day-to-day range about 150km lower than that.

Let’s talk charging. The Atto 3 has a Type 2 Combo CCS charging port and the on-board DC charger has up to 80kW of capacity.

What does that mean? Well, if you were to plug it in at home on a 7.0kW AC charger, you'd be able to go from flat to a full charge in roughly 10 hours.

Plug it into a 50kW fast charger, and you'd see that time drop to around one hour to get from 10 to 80 per cent charge. However, that capacity means it can't accept the faster 350kW charging speeds on ultra-fast chargers.

The official energy consumption is 16kWh/100km and my on-board figure was 14.7kWh.

It has an official driving range of 480km NEDC (420km WLTP), which is better than some on the market but I got major range anxiety this week!

It feels like it chews through its power. Since it's school holidays, I’ve been doing mostly longer open-road drives and have had to charge it three times already! Over three road trips, I've averaged a little over 200km of driving and saw my percentage go from 100 down to an average of 34 per cent at the end of each trip. 

Once you're comfortable with the i-Cockpit, which features a high dashboard and a tiny, squared-off steering wheel, you'll feel like you're driving a much smaller car. 

I have theorised over the years that the light steering coupled with the small steering wheel makes it feel more dynamic than it is, but I think that's wrong - it's genuinely well set-up and is a car in which you can have some fun.

I was only able to drive the 1.6-litre petrol with six-speed auto on launch and that was on a horrifically wet day during Sydney's recent deluge. 

The M5 motorway was covered in standing water and the spray from the big rigs made driving conditions rather more difficult than usual. 

The 5008 sailed through it all (pun intended). That engine is hardly the last word in power and torque, but it does the job and the auto is well-calibrated to the numbers. 

The big Michelin tyres bite the tarmac pretty well and while you always feel the weight of a seven-seater SUV, it drives much more like a raised wagon than a doughy SUV. 

Fewer of its rivals are doughy these days, but there's a little bit of spark in the 5008, matching the promise of its looks. 

It's not quick, and it's not a hot SUV, but every time I get in this or its smaller 3008 sibling I ask myself why more people don't buy them.

It's irritating that the diesel costs so much more if you want that extra in-gear performance and another two gears.

The driving lets this down for me. It's not as zippy as other EVs I've sampled and can even feel a bit sluggish when you accelerate from a full stop. However, it has enough kick for open-road driving, if you're desperate.

Desperate is the key word, though, because this is a total city-slicker. Around town, it handles itself well in tight streets and corners (that 11m turning circle is a charm) but isn't as confidently placed on the road at higher speeds.

And if you happen to be driving on the open-road on a blustery day, it's no fun at all. It shifts and squirms in the lane, with the cabin noise rising to din levels.

Ride comfort is generally good with suspension that feels cushioned but not floaty around the city. Different story on the open-road!

The controls and e-shifter are all well-placed in the middle console but I'd prefer the start-button to be located somewhere else. I mistook it for the ‘Park’ button a few times, which annoyed me.

The regenerative braking can be adjusted to two levels, low and high. Even on the highest setting, it doesn’t have a big physical presence but there's enough to know it's working.

The Atto 3 earns back a couple of points for being stupidly easy to park. The 360-degree view camera system is super clear and I didn’t have to be too choosy with car spaces either because of its size.

This has a good list of safety features coming as standard, like blind-spot monitoring, lane departure alert, lane keeping aids, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, 360-degree view camera system, as well as front and rear parking sensors.

It has autonomous emergency braking with forward collision warning and features car, pedestrian, cyclist and junction turning assistance. It's operational from 4.0-85km/h (up to 150km/h for car detection).

The Atto 3 was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022 and has seven airbags, including a front centre airbag.

If you have a couple of kids, you’ll like the ISOFIX child seat mounts on the rear outboard seats and three top tethers, but two seats will fit best. 

Curiously, there is evidence of ISOFIX mounts on the front passenger seat which need to be removed for our market, instead of just being 'disabled'.

Peugeot's five year/unlimited kilometre warranty is now pretty standard but always welcome. You also five years of roadside assist and five years/100,000km of fixed price servicing.

Interestingly, the service prices aren't much different between the petrol and diesel, with the former costing $2803 over five years ($560 per year on average) and $2841 for the latter ($568.20 per year on average). 

You have to visit your Peugeot dealer once every 12 months/20,000km, which isn't too bad. Some turbo-engined cars in this segment demand more visits or won't cover as many kilometres between services.

BYD backtracked from its original warranty launch offer of seven years/unlimited km and the Atto 3 now comes with a six-year/150,000km main warranty.

But the battery has an eight-year/160,000km warranty, which is more in line with the market.

You can choose between two servicing plans – 'Light’ for those who do under 12,000km per year and a ‘Standard’ plan for those who do more. 

Given my open-road and charging experience, I'd say it's a good bet you'll be on the light plan.

On the light plan, services are capped at $189 per year for five-years or up to 60,000km – whichever occurs first.

On the standard plan, which spans eight-years or up to 160,000km, you can expect to pay an average of $299 per service. 

Both plans are fairly affordable but the recommended servicing intervals are every 12 months/20,000 which is a term you often see on a fuel-based car, not an EV.