VW Touran vs Peugeot 3008

The MPV style of car seems to be still growing in popularity. It's a market Citroen/Peugeot, Ford, Renault, Volkswagen and Vauxhall seem most enthusiastic about. They've launched both updated models and new entrants into this sector recently which is a sign of their confidence in this market.

The Touran has recently been revised and if you were to do a VW Touran review like-for-like comparisons would be the Zafira, and Grand 7-seat versions of the Picasso, C-Max, Scenic.

If you did a Peugeot 3008 review comparing apples with apples you'd look at the shorter 5-seat Picasso, C-Max and Scenic.

However an MPV car need not be a 7-seater people carrier. The MPV concept promise is versatility, space and a well thought out interior.

The Peugeot 3008 enters the market at £16995, the VW Touran at £18175. You could say the Touran's 7 seats account for most of the price difference. You actually pay more for the 5-seat VW option.

The two MPVs are very similar in length. The 3008 is 4.37m, the Touran 4.4m. With five seats up the Touran has 695 litres of load space, the 3008 512(l). With rear seats folded the Touran again has more space 1913 vs 1604 for the 3008. So in terms of space and versatility the Touran is better.

At the top end of the engine range the 2.0 diesel automatics, the VW is more economical, cleaner, and quicker. The differences in the 1.6 diesel engines is insignificant. Overall the petrol options make the 3008 quicker with no real significant difference in economy, but the VW petrols are cleaner. So it's bit of a mixed bag.

Both MPVs are 5-star Euro NCAP rated with ESC as standard. Car insurance groups are also very similar.

You may find comfort differs according to your tastes. Certainly the two look different. The Touran clearly is more of what an MPV promises. The 3008 is a crossover so might be considered as a very interesting alternative to a family hatchback - very much like the Nissan Qashqai.

Style seems to be very important in suggesting a lifestyle. The Qashqai looks like a MPV or SUV depending on how you want to see it but doesn't really compete in those sectors. We also have estate car styles - normally called tourers - and some don't offer any space advantage over their saloon options with 5-seats up.

Something to watch out for - cars looking like something they're not.

Regards
Ralph