Peugeot 508 GT Sedan Review

Peugeot 508 GT Sedan Review - Peugeot continues to enjoy a formidable reputation in Australia ­and the 508 should win lots of friends, perhaps especially in the bush.

It was the 1953 Redex Trial that put Peugeot in the limelight. Maitland pharmacist Ken Tubman drove his diminutive 1.3-litre 4-cylinder 203 to victory, beating a huge field of cars, including numerous 6-cylinder Holdens and other more powerful vehicles.

Toughness and dynamics have been Peugeot marketing themes throughout most of the subsequent history. Sadly, many of the cars have been slightly disappointing and among these was the company’s flagship sedan, the 407.

The good news is that the 407’s successor is more impressive. Bigger but lighter, much better looking and more dynamically poised, the 508 is the best new Peugeot I have sampled in years.

It’s almost as if someone advised the product planners to be more conscious of the glorious past. There is reference to the marque’s tradition and a prominent image of the 504 (reproduced here).

In many respects the 508 recalls the 504. It is an excellent long distance cruiser with a lovely ride, good steering and comfortable seats.There are lots of variants. Two of the three specification levels come as sedans and wagons. 

The entry level Active 1.6-litre petrol 6-speed auto is priced from $36,990. You pay an extra $500 for the optional 1.6-litre diesel engine. The Allure has a list price of $39,490 as a petrol-engined sedan with a 2.0-litre diesel adding $3500.

Design

I’ll start by talking about the 407. From some angles it was reasonably attractive but a huge front overhang made it look somewhat unbalanced.The 508 is much smoother. And where some Pugs are plain ugly in the way a huge chrome lion emblem dominates the frontal aspect, this one is less assertive and gets more looks as a consequence. 

The lion is smoothly incorporated into the mould on the aluminium bonnet just above the grille, which the designers insist has a ‘floating appearance’.

The excellent proportions are evident in profile where the 508 asserts a lithe and distinctive streamline.Interior design is less assertive but generally neat enough with plenty of piano black and chrome highlights. Accommodation

A Peugeot interior was always comfortable, even back in the 1950s when Australia’s Own Car was Spartan.Versatility is another Peugeot theme. The 508 not only has 60/40 split/fold rear seats but a ski-port feature. The particularly stylish front seat headrests are multi-adjustable.

Performance & Economy

I haven’t sampled an entry level 508 Active but it’s worth noting that the 1.6-litre petrol engine offers just 115 kW of power and the same size diesel must surely struggle with 82 kW, despite having 270 Nm of torque @ 1750 rpm.The 508 GT performs strongly, 

though I think the ‘GT’ badge is slightly misleading, particularly in the Australian context where we dream of Falcon GTs at Mount Panorama!Its 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine (and remember Peugeot was a pioneer in turbodiesels locally in the early 1980s) makes 150 kW of power @ 3500 rpm 

backed by 450 Nm of torque @ 2000 rpm.But the 508 GT is no lightweight @ 1540 kilograms and zero to 100 km/h takes 8.2 seconds which is not quite GT material.

The official fuel economy rating is 5.7 litres per 100 kilometres, 1.4 worse than its 1.6-litre diesel counterpart!

Ride & Handling

The 508 rewards keen drivers with excellent weight in the steering at highway speeds.Ride comfort is excellent but on contemporary low-profile tyres, it’s not as plush as a 504’s.

Peugeot’s engineers went to impressive lengths in giving the GT variants a unique front suspension of double wishbone type compared with the MacPherson strut arrangement used on lesser variants. 

And, yes, handling poised and without the quite prominent understeer of the nose-heavy 407.

ConclusionAlthough much better than the 407, the 508 does not stand out in the current market in the way the old 504 did.