PEUGEOT has been a player in the MPV market for many years and its 5008 continues to fly the flag as a capable seven-seater.

Many manufacturers' MPV offerings have got progressively smaller over the years - in a bid to deliver more car-like driving manners - so the cavernous people carriers that once populated the segment are less abundant these days.

The 5008 is a case in point and is certainly more compact than its Peugeot MPV predecessor the 807 but in many ways is none the worse for that - still delivering an impressive amount of space and offering all-round practicality.

It certainly has plenty going for it as a successor to the 807. For a start it looks a lot nicer, less like a small minibus and more like a car.

And its more compact dimensions mean it's far more fun to drive too.

It shares its underpinnings with PSA stablemate the Citroën C4 Grand Picasso but the cars manage to retain quite different identities.

The Citroën hasn't been around quite as long and arguably has a fresher and more stylish look but considering the 5008 has been around since 2009 you have to say it has aged pretty well indeed. A 2014 facelift did smarten it up to some degree but the basic design blueprint has remained pretty much the same.

The big test, with any vehicle like this is practicality and it's fair to say the 5008 performs well in this department.

Some ingenious touches, such as a middle row of seats that fold flat and allow easy access to the two rearmost seats are an example.

Many mid-sized and compact MPVs' rear seats are often little more than an ornament, only really catering for children - and getting in and out of them can be pretty tricky too.

But the 5008's fold-up seats offer a surprising degree of space and comfort.

It might be venturing a little far to suggest two adults would be comfortable travelling in them for a long distance but given the overall size of the car you have to say the Peugeot designers have done a pretty good job in this regard.

One of the big downsides of more compact MPVs is that there's very little boot space with all seven seats in use and the 5008 is no exception.

Crucially there's also nowhere to put the boot cover which can be an encumbrance as I discovered when I needed to use all seven seats away from home.

To drive the 5008 comes up trumps. It doesn't feel too unwieldy or bulky and goes round corners nicely.

The all-round visibility is fabulous and I rather like the head-up display that imparts driver information on your windscreen. The positioning is perfect and it actually acts as a real aid, particularly when it comes to monitoring your speed - though I can appreciate it might not be to all tastes.

There's a range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines available with the biggest seller being the 1.6-litre diesel available in a number of power variants.