Peugeot 5008 vs Toyota RAV4

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.

The Toyota RAV4, particularly in Cruiser Hybrid spec, is a sensible, comfortable family 2WD wagon with plenty of standard features onboard.

It's nice enough to drive on-road without ever being over-the-top dynamic and offers a sensible amount of practicality and functionality for the price.

It feels a tad underdone, especially as rivals in this section of the market are improving all the time, but if you're patient enough to wait for Toyota's supply to catch up with customer demand, the RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid might just be spot-on for you.

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.

Beyond its distinctive RAV4 grille, 18-inch black gloss alloys and that rather striking Saturn Blue paint, this medium-sized SUV remains inoffensive enough.

For those of you who love measurements, the Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid is 4615mm long (with a 2690mm wheelbase), 1865mm wide, and 1690mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 1700kg.

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.

It's a clean and comfortable cabin with a solid attempt at a premium look and feel, but it all feels a bit dated and under-done, even with leather accented interior trim and plenty of soft-touch surfaces.

There's the usual amount of RAV4 storage, which is more than adequate and, for charging your devices, there are three USB ports up front and two for the rear seat passengers.

The 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system and driver display are bright, clear and generally easy to use, although the media unit's operating system can at times be a bit of a labyrinth to work through.

Buttons, dials and grippy textured controls are easy to locate and operate.

All seats are okay without being great, but up front they are power-adjustable every which way, so there's that.

The rear seat is roomy enough in all directions for even those whose nickname is 'Stretch', 'Big Unit' or simply 'Tall Bastard'. The fold-down armrest has cupholders.

For kids, that seat row has three top-tether points and ISOFIX anchors in the outboard positions.

In terms of packability, the rear cargo area has a listed 580 litres of space, but with that rear seat stowed away there's a listed 1690 litres.

That area has a cargo blind, four tie-down points, a 12V socket and a removeable floor liner.

The front-wheel drive, five-seat Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid has a MSRP of $51,410 (excluding on-road costs).

Standard features include a 10.5-inch multimedia touchscreen system (with sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a nine-speaker JBL stereo set-up (with digital radio), a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a surround-view camera, plus 10-way power driver's seat incl. memory, eight-way power passenger seat, heated and ventilated front seats, leather accented interior, dual-zone auto climate control, a power tailgate, tilt/slide sunroof, and 18-inch gloss black alloy wheels.

Exterior colour choices include 'Glacier White', 'Silver Sky', 'Frosted White', 'Graphite', 'Eclipse Black', 'Atomic Rush', 'Mineral Blue' and 'Saturn Blue' (the latter on our test vehicle).

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 Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD hybrid has a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine and electric motor set-up with a 1.6kWh (6.5Ah) nickel-metal hydride battery system.

Combined system output for power is 160kW and the torque output (combustion engine figure only) is 221Nm at 3600rpm.

This RAV4 has a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and it's pretty cluey when it comes to always being in the revs and ratios sweet spot.

It also has an EV mode for driving only on battery power to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and several driving modes including 'Eco', 'Normal' and 'Sport'.

The drive settings are designed to produce optimal ride and handling via maximised engine performance and tuning, steering and throttle response, best suited to the terrain and conditions.

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.

The Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid has listed fuel consumption of 4.7L/100km (on a combined cycle).

I recorded 5.9L/100km on our test, but, as a mate so kindly pointed out, I drive like an old gentleman.

The RAV4 has a 55-litre fuel tank, so going by that on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect to get a driving range of about 930km out of a full tank.

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 RAV4 is very quiet* and generally rather nice to drive. So, as a daily driver, it's on the right side of impressive.

* Except when it's not, keep reading.

It has smooth acceleration and quickly settles into an easy groove at higher speeds.

Steering retains a welcome precision, visibility is good all around, and the RAV4 always feels settled on any surface.

It does ride and handle well on the blacktop and it's not too shabby on gravel and dirt surfaces, though it skips around on rougher, more irregular sections, due to its firm suspension and road-biased tyres.

The CVT is smooth and efficient in terms of being the optimal auto. It's not dynamic but it's certainly reliably consistent.

This hybrid switches between the engine and electric motor seamlessly and battery charge is easily regenerated through the vehicle's forward motion when little to no throttle is being used to maintain momentum (as in downhills or while otherwise coasting), or the vehicle is slowing to a stop.

NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels are mostly subdued except when you give the RAV4 some heavy right boot to spur it into immediate action. There's also some mild wind-rush noise around the big wing mirrors when you hit the open road.

As I've said before, the owners of city-focussed SUVs would be surprised by just how capable their vehicles are when driven sensibly, even the 2WDs.

You can undertake your own scaleable adventure in a 2WD vehicle but, of course, any trip off of a sealed surface in a 2WD will have to be very light-duty off-roading. So, nothing more difficult than a well-maintained dirt or gravel track surface in dry weather.

Towing capacity is 480kg – unbraked and braked – so you won't see a RAV4 skull-dragging a horse float any time soon.

The Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2019.

Safety gear onboard includes AEB with pedestrian/daytime cyclist detection, intersection turn assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning, lane tracing assist, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, traffic sign recognition, trailer sway control, hill-start assist, a 360-degree surround-view camera and more.

It has seven airbags including front, front side, full length curtain and driver's knee airbag.

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.

The Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid has a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. Get all your work done at a certified Toyota mechanic and you're in line of powertrain coverage under warranty for seven years.

Servicing is set at 12 month/15,000km intervals and capped price servicing keeps costs to $260 a pop for the first five years or 75,000km.