AM I imagining it or have what were once known as people carriers got smaller over the years? One of those great Twilight Zone automotive mysteries that’s stranger still when you think about how superminis have got progressively larger. Whatever the case those cavernous transporters of old - where one could rearrange the internal seating set-up to make it resemble a living room on wheels - certainly seem to have fallen by the wayside. But thankfully people carriers – or MPVs as they tend to be known these days - are still going strong. I say thankfully, because if you’re a family blessed with four or five children they still represent one of the best options of getting from A to B. There are other alternatives these days, mainly in the shape of SUVs that offer seven-seats and you can even go for an eight-seater like Hyundai’s i800, just the ticket for families with six children. To complicate matters even further there are variations on the MPV theme too, ranging from compact, to mid-sized to full-scale. While compact and mid-sized are okay when it comes to transporting up to seven people over short distances, if you need to move six or seven people around on a permanent basis you really need one of the full-scale variants. And though they have shrunk somewhat (with the exception of Chrysler’s Grand Voyager) there are still some excellent offerings out there to choose from. Of course the downside with those old-style MPVs was the fact that they were pretty much scaled down minibuses rather than cars and as such offered a driving experience not dissimilar to a Transit van. It was perhaps seen as something that went with the territory but the current crop of large MPVs for the most part aim to offer a driving experience that is far more refined and car-like. Peugeot’s big old beast the 807 has given way to the lithe and streamlined 5008. First impressions are good in that it looks less cumbersome and sleeker than its predecessor. Looks apart does it still deliver in terms of practicality? I guess the answer is a qualified ‘yes’. It might not feel quite as open and airy but it still has more than enough interior space to ensure it’s up to the job. With vehicles like this it’s all about the seating, both in terms of their comfort and versatility. The 5008’s middle row of seats folds flat and allows easy access to the two rearmost seats and it’s those ‘extra’ seats that are one of the car’s strengths. A lot of vehicles that offer seven seats come with a slight drawback in that the extra two are more in the emergency seat category – fine for small children or perhaps adults for short journeys. One of the traditional people carrier fortes was an ability to transport seven adults in comfort and the 5008 does still have that and access to and from them is pretty easy too. The 5008’s more compact dimensions mean it’s far more fun to drive too. It doesn’t feel too unwieldy or bulky and goes round corners nicely. Excellent all-round visibility is another big plus point and overall the 5008 is a decent family-friendly motor that proves bigger MPVs still have a part to play in the automotive marketplace. FAST FACTS Peugeot 5008 Allure HDi 112 Price: £23,095 Mechanical: 112bhp, 1,560cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 6-speed automatic gearbox Max speed: 115mph 0-62mph: 12.9 seconds Combined mpg: 51.4 Insurance group: 17 CO2 emissions: 140g/km BIK rating: 19% Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles | 
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