New Peugeot 5008 vs Nissan X-Trail: practicality

Space and practicality

Front space, rear space, seating flexibility, boot

No one will moan about a shortage of space in the front of either of these cars. Indeed, a pair of broad six-footers will have loads of head, leg and shoulder room to spare.

Both offer plenty of storage space, too, although the Peugeot 5008 has a slight advantage with larger door bins and bigger cubbies within its centre console and armrest.

Space is generous in the Nissan X-Trail’s second row, with loads of head room for six-footers, as well as plenty of leg room even if they’re sitting behind someone equally tall. However, there’s even more lounging room in the middle row of the 5008. Centre seat passengers are well looked after in both, with plenty of head room and small floor humps that don’t encroach
all that much on foot space.

Sliding second-row seats are standard in both cars, and that’s really handy, because they allow you to prioritise boot space or second-row leg room in five-seat mode. In theory, sliding the seats forward a bit should give passengers sitting in the third row more leg room, but that doesn’t really help much in the X-Trail.

You see, its rearmost seats are designed more for occasional use on short journeys, so even with the second row all the way forwards, third-row occupants have barely any space for their legs. The 5008, on the other hand, has enough space to allow a compromise between second and third-row leg room, allowing comfort all round.

Third-row head room is relatively tight in both cars, though. Tall adults will find their heads touching the roof lining, although that’s also the case in many other rival seven-seat SUVs. You’d have to step up to a Hyundai Santa Fe or Kia Sorento to get more comfort in the rearmost row.

You’ll struggle to look elegant while climbing into the X-Trail’s third row. Access is much easier in the 5008, thanks to middle-row seats that slide and fold farther forwards and out of the way.

In five-seat mode, the 5008’s vast boot can swallow an impressive 10 carry-on suitcases beneath its load cover (compared with eight in the X-Trail), and there’s a large underfloor storage area. Even with all of the 5008’s seats occupied, there’s still a useful amount of space behind them; it’s much tighter in the X-Trail.

For those times when you need even more space, both cars offer versatile 40/20/40 split-folding second-row seatbacks, giving you a flat extended floor when folded down, plus the ability to feed long items through from the boot without losing an outer seat.

Boot space

Peugeot 5008

Boot capacity 348-916-2232 litres Suitcases 10

Nissan X-Trail

Boot capacity 177-485-1298 litres Suitcases 8

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