Form and function, attention to creature comforts and detail, the Peugeot 508 certainly fares well in this review. It actually fares very very well indeed.
And as is said below, it really is all about getting people into Peugeot dealerships to test drive the 508.
And with all that said, check out this in-depth review from CarSales of the Peugeot 508 GT Fastback and Sportswagon.
Style and substance, efficiency and performance, technology and value. They’re not things that normally go hand in hand when you’re talking about a new European car. But Peugeot reckons the 508 GT can change all that, and now we’re going to find out if that’s true.
The Peugeot 508 enters the Australian market in high-grade GT form only. Two body-styles are available, the highly-specified variant priced to compete with similar mid-size offerings from Europe and Japan.
Peugeot’s thrown everything at this car with generous infotainment and safety technology as standard, the driver assistance technologies alone placing the 508 GT at the top of the safety ladder both here in Australia and in Europe.
Peugeot’s placed a real emphasis on style inside the cabin. But that style hasn’t come at the cost of ergonomics. Everything’s within finger’s reach, and for me, it makes a lot of different having the instrument panel sitting up here above the steering wheel; you can just get everything at a glance.
The cabin is pretty roomy, though the packaging won’t be to everyone’s taste.
The rakish roofline means rear-seat headroom is compromised on the Fastback body style, while the high centre console can reduce the feeling of openness across the front of the cabin.
In terms of ride and handling, the 508’s probably not as firm as you would think a GT car might be. The suspension does a really good job on all but the very biggest of potholes, and the body control is actually excellent – I really like the way this car carries itself through corners.
It’s also a pretty quiet car when viewed against its nearest European rivals.
Peugeot’s done a terrific job of isolating road and mechanical noise from entering the cab, the only real disturbance coming from air travelling over the 508’s wing mirrors. So the 508 might be a GT by name but is it a GT by nature?
Now, you might look at the spec sheet and ‘a 1.6-litre turbo, no thanks’. But, take a closer look at the power figures and you’ll see that it’s actually pretty decent; as is the nought to 100 acceleration time.
Like most small capacity turbocharged engines, this one does take a little while to build up its own momentum. I wouldn’t say it’s laggy, per se – it certainly gets away from the mark pretty cleanly – but put the foot down, overtake, and you do find you need to wait for the boost to come on before anything really happens.
Now with just one person on board, that’s not such a big deal. But we’re going to be really keen to drive this car with five people and their luggage on board to see just how it copes with that sort of pressure.
Excusing that small caveat, the 508 GT is a terrific car to drive.
It steers accurately and is easy to place on even the most challenging roads. Feedback to the driver is concise, the strut and torsion beam suspension behaving cooperatively with input from the steering. It also rides really comfortably, which bodes well for buyers travelling beyond the city limits.
Peugeot says that the 508 GT is all about changing perceptions in the mind of Australian buyers. If our brief drive today is anything to go by, this car is in with giving that half a chance.
The only problem Peugeot might face now is getting bums in seats, and that means getting people into dealerships. Are you willing to give it a go? Based on our drive, I reckon you should be.
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