THERE was a time when my only experiences of camping came via weekends at some of the country's major music festivals.

The benefit of this was that you took the smallest tent possible (which sometimes didn't even come back with you) and the discomforts of bad weather, a lack of washing facilities and unhygienic, communal toilets are blotted out by copious amounts of booze and great bands.

The advent of marriage and kids, however, brings a whole new approach to the camping experience, according to my missus.

A few nights under canvas (or whatever tents are made of these days) is apparently deemed good for the soul... and the nippers' development, a lifestyle choice to be enthusiastically embraced.

The fact that such trips involve lugging our eight-man tent (there's only four of us!), a portable barbecue and a two-ring portable stove, four camp beds, four chairs, pillows, bedding, pots and pans... in fact everything but the kitchen sink, is a minor inconvenience.

It does mean, though, that you need a motor akin to a removal van. But this, of course, wouldn't go down well on the school run and would be impossible to park at the supermarket even if you did have a drive big enough for it.

Next best thing for us, however, was the Peugeot 5008 - which I had wisely secured knowing that a camping expedition was on the cards.

The French car maker's seven-seater MPV, I figured, would at least give us a chance of getting everything in..

Fortunately for the kids the 1,247 litres of luggage space, with the rearmost seats folded flat, was just about enough to squeeze the lot in and still have room to actually take them!

In fact, in the absence of a pantechnicon, the 5008 proved a pretty capable camping companion.

The spacious interior, with its abundance of storage compartments and flip down trays on the back of the front seats, meant that Millie and Rory could stash plenty of sweets and drinks for the trip.

Power sockets in the boot and middle footwell as well as one up front meant that they could also keep their games consoles powered up while hidey holes beneath the floor kept them safe from prying eyes when not in use.

The interior practicality and versatility of the 5008 is one of its strong points.

While, as with most such vehicles, the rearmost seats are best left for the kids, the middle three all tilt, slide, recline and fold flat individually and will comfortably accommodate adults.

There was even a torch which clipped into its own charging dock in the boot and came in very handy for finding those dodgy loos when we decamped at our destination in the Gloucestershire countryside.

Head and legroom was good all-round and with a panoramic glass sunroof enhancing the bright and airy feel on our range-topping Allure model, it proved a more than pleasant environment for long-distance travel with quality materials and solid build ensuring good comfort and refinement.

Little noise intruded into the cabin while most lumps and bumps were absorbed by the suspension - even when crossing the campsite to our chosen pitch.

Handling was precise, the steering responsive and grip assured for a car of the 5008's dimensions with body roll controlled pretty well, so much so that the driving experience was pretty relaxed and enjoyable, almost saloon-like.

The 115bhp, 1.6 litre diesel power train proved more than capable, offering plenty of pull even with our full load on board.

While a 2.0 litre oil burner and petrol options are also available this unit is the sensible choice as it has all the pace you really need in an MPV and offers impressive economy, with nearly 55mpg possible on average.

Safety is well taken care of with stability control and front, side and curtain airbags standard across the range. The latter extend the length of the vehicle to protect those in the third row of seats, which was good to know because, when the back wasn't full of camping gear, the kids found the novelty of sitting there too much to resist.

While kit on entry-level models is a bit sparse, our range-topper also had plenty of creature comforts such as air conditioning, stereo with USB and Bluetooth connectivity, electric windows all-round, rear privacy glass, blinds in the second and third rows, cruise control automatic lights and wipers and a driver's head-up display with distance warning function.