LOOKING to cut a dash in the office car park? Then Peugeot might have just the answer.
The French car maker is unashamedly moving the brand upmarket in a bid to win increased global sales and no car illustrates that aim better than the classy 508.
Large, luxurious and spacious, the car’s revised self-assured styling has been matched with a host of new equipment, even to the extent of delivering mobile Internet access.
A new grille, distinctive front lamps and a more horizontal bonnet give the car greater presence.
The rear lamps on the saloon have also been redesigned to make them more horizontal than previously.
The interior has been improved, with a dashboard that now includes a seven-inch touch screen grouping together most of the vehicle’s functions. As a result, the central panel now has fewer buttons while the centre console includes a new closed storage box.
Positioned in front of the driver, the busy instrument panel which combines five dials and three digital displays has the air of a precision watch. It is backed up by the head-up display with driving and navigation information in colour, viewed in a retractable smoked viewing screen.
Driving through a six-speed automatic gearbox, the 200 horsepower GT test model’s suspension system delivers a great driving experience, blending long-distance comfort with cornering precision.
Classy touches range from keyless entry, a start/stop button and automatic electric parking brake, to blind spot sensors and a reversing camera, providing a colour image on the touch screen.
Priced from about £22,000, all models have air conditioning as standard. Top-of-the-range models have a four-zone system that allows each of the vehicle’s occupants to control the temperature setting, air flow and distribution via their own air conditioning control.
And all 508s, regardless of their power train, are equipped with a hill assist system that holds the car stationary on a hill for about two seconds after the brake pedal has been released.
The car’s touch screen also gives access, through mobile Internet technology to a group of applications that deliver information, in real time, on anything from free parking spaces nearby, fuel prices at filling stations in the vicinity, traffic and weather information, and tourist information from the Michelin Guide or TripAdvisor.
The 508 is designed to be not only a mainstay of office car parks across Europe but much further afield and Peugeot is keen to ensure that its move upmarket has global appeal, particularly in China, the world’s largest developing car market.
The new model in fact made its motor show debut in Moscow and Chengdu before Paris.
Built in France and in China, some 360,000 508s have been sold and China, which last year became the biggest market for the model, represents almost one in three sales.
At a glance
Price: £30,645
Insurance group: 33E (1-50)
Fuel consumption (combined): 49.6mpg
Top speed: 145mph
Length: 479.2cm/188.7in
Width: 185.3cm/73in
Luggage capacity: 16.7 cu ft
Fuel tank capacity: 15.8 gallons/72 litres
CO2 emissions: 150 g/km
Warranty: Three years/ 60,000 miles
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