Peugeot 5008 2015 News

The top end of town has snubbed next week's Paris motor show but the biggest auto event on the European calendar will have plenty of new sheet metal.

A constellation of five stars has been bestowed on the new Toyota Corolla sedan, Subaru's new pocket-rocket WRX and Peugeot's 5008 people mover. The Australasian New Car Assessment Program ranking adds to a growing list of more than 250 five-star new-car choices.But the 5008 wears its cluster despite scoring a "marginal" pedestrian impact result. The seven-seat family wagon, released here late last year, was scored using Euro NCAP results. Last year, ANCAP's minimum pedestrian impact requirement for a five-star rank was "marginal"; it has since been increased to "good."The wagon scored an overall mark of 36.41/37 using 2013 European results, with a safety features list that includes dual front, front-side and curtain airbags (through all three rows), with anti-lock brakes, stability control among the features.The crash test report said the passenger compartment held its shape and all doors remained closed during the crash test but that "after the crash the driver's door could be opened with high manual effort".Following belatedly in the tracks of its hatchback sibling, the Corolla sedan scored 34.88 out of 37. ANCAP praises it for "good structural protection and offers a reversing camera as standard," as well as dual front, driver's knee, front-side and curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes and stability control.Whiplash protection was ranked good but pedestrian protection scored only an acceptable ranking during the tests, which showed "the passenger compartment held its shape well in the frontal offset test" and that "all doors remained closed during the crash and after the crash all doors could be opened with normal effort."Subaru kept its range's five-star status intact with its new WRX performance sedan, which trumped the Toyota with better pedestrian protection. The WRX is among only a handful of cars that rank as "good" for pedestrian protection (the 2014 minimum for a five-star result is "acceptable").Subaru has fitted the new WRX with dual front, front-side, curtain and driver's knee airbag, as well as anti-lock brakes and stability control - the sedan scored well during impact testing, retaining door function and passenger cell integrity for an overall score of 35.85 out of 37.ANCAP chairman Lauchlan McIntosh calls for yet higher levels of standard safety kit. "Unfortunately none of the models in today's release is equipped with autonomous emergency braking - an important safety feature that is now common on popular vehicles in Europe and the US," he says. 

ANCAP has announced that the new Toyota Corolla sedan, Peugeot 5008 people mover and the soon-to-be launched Subaru WRX performance sedan have all earned its top five star safety rating.The recently-launched 2014 Corolla sedan matches the five star rating of its hatch counterpart, earned after its arrival in October 2012.Whilst qualifying for five stars, the Corolla sedan’s 34.88/37 overall score didn’t quite match the hatch’s 35.25, but ANCAP praised its good structural protection and range-wide standard reversing camera.The seven-seat Peugeot 5008’s rating comes 10 months after its arrival on the Australian market, and its performance across all tests earned it a 36.41 overall score.ANCAP noted the 5008’s standard reversing camera, advanced seatbelt reminders for all occupants, and head-protecting curtain airbags that cover all three rows of seating.    The upcoming Subaru WRX matched the five star rating of its Impreza basis, but the performance model’s 35.85 overall score trumped the Impreza’s 35.33 earned shortly before its arrival in February 2012.ANCAP described the WRX’s driver protection in the side impact crash test and head protection in the side pole test as good, while driver and passenger chest and leg protection in the frontal offset crash test were deemed acceptable.The independent vehicle safety advocate also praised the WRX’s attention to pedestrian protection, being one of the few current models to achieve the top ‘Good’ ranking, where only ‘Acceptable’ is required to achieve five stars overall."In recent years we've seen manufacturers achieve vastly improved results with the majority of major brands now building to 5 star standards. What we want to see now is manufacturers which strive beyond the requirements - offering even higher levels of structural and active safety to consumers," ANCAP Chairman, Lauchlan McIntosh says.“Unfortunately none of the models in today's release are equipped with autonomous emergency braking - an important safety feature that is now common on popular vehicles in Europe and the USA.”This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

Peugeot has launched the seven-seat 5008 wagon in Australia with an eye on the larger family market.The 5008 – sharing a platform and passing resemblance to stablemate Citroen C4 Picasso – is a new addition to the local line-up, but has been on sale in Europe for four years.The 5008 promises cabin flexibility with the second row packaged as three seats that can slide back and forward, recline and fold into the floor – as do the two seats in the third row, while the front passenger pew can fold down to take long objects.Collapsing both the second and third rows boosts the cargo space from 758 litres to 823, and 1247 if you remove the parcel shelf.The 5008 range starts at $36,990 for the base model powered by a 115kW/240Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, that claims fuel economy of 7.6L/100km.Moving up to $40,490, there’s a 120kW/340Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel that gets the fuel figure down to 6.3L/100km.Both models arrive in a single spec with standard equipment includes a 7-in retracting colour satnav, reversing camera and parking sensors, double 7-in entertainment screens for the second row, dual-zone climate control and retractable blinds.