Chris Riley tests the 2022 Peugeot 508 GT Plug-in Hybrid with pricing, specs, ride and handling, safety, verdict and everything the over-50 driver needs to know.
Summary: Some odd quirks, and a price that will put many buyers off.
2022 Peugeot 508 1.6 GT PHEV
Pricing: $81,610 (plus on road costs). Metallic paint $690. Premium paint $1050. Sunroof $2500.
Warranty: Five-years, unlimited km. Battery warranty: eight-years, 160,000km. Five years roadside assist.
Safety: 5-star ANCAP (tested 2018)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, plus electric motor
Power: 133kW at 6000rpm, electric motor 81kW. 165kW combined
Torque: 300Nm at 3000rpm, 320Nm (electric motor). 360Nm combined
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
Body: 4750mm (long); 1860mm (wide); 1410mm (high)
Weight: 1720kg
Towing capacity: 1330kg
Wheels: 18-inch alloy
Tyres: 235/45 R18
Ground clearance: 142mm
Turning circle: 10.8m
Fuel tank: 43 litres
Battery capacity: 11.8kWh
Thirst: 1.8L/100km (95 RON unleaded)
Consumption on test: 6.7L/100km (without recharging)
seniordriveraus consumption on test: not tested
[review]
The 508 GT Plug-in Hybrid is one of two hybrids now offered by the French brand in Australia.
As the move to electrification gathers momentum, the desire to be part of this movement is understandable.
You’ll pay a premium for the privilege, but new technology always come at a higher cost initially – remember how much flat screen TVs were when they were introduced.
The two plug-in hybrids are the 3008 GT Sport SUV and 508 GT Fastback.
The 3008 is understandable, given that it’s the biggest selling model in the range.
The latter is somewhat mystifying given demand for hatches and sedans is on the way down.
Peugeot has sold just 103 508s so far this year compared to 517 3008s.
What’s it cost?
It’s chic and sleek, sitting long and low with frameless door windows and coupe-like liftback.
To say it’s eye-catching doesn’t do the car justice. It’s almost a work of art. The inside is a study in design too.
But looking closer the design sacrifices quite a bit of practicality in the name of looks, with a narrow glasshouse that provides limited vision.
The windscreen is cluttered and the chunky A pillar blocks driver vision at critical moments, for example on roundabouts.
Over the shoulder vision is not terrific either, with even larger rear pillars and limited vision from the rear window.
Prices for 508 start from $63,431. The hybrid version kicks off at $81,610 – $18,179 more and that’s not driveaway.
There’s also a wagon priced from $65,657, but it’s not offered as a hybrid.
Metallic paint is another $690, premium paint adds $1050, and if you fancy a sunroof – that’s a $2500 option.
As a second-string Euro brand one might be enticed to pay $60K for a 508, but by the time you add on-roads $85K is a helluva ask for a hybrid that will travel a maximum of 55km under electric power alone. As such, we don’t see Peugeot selling many.
At the same time, 508 is a good-looking thing, comes chock full of technology and is still way cheaper than a Benz or BMW if you’re shopping for a traditional sedan.
Standard kit includes double-stitched Nappa leather, two-zone climate air with rear outlets as well as a dust and pollen filter, power adjust front seats with massage and Focal 10-speaker premium audio.
There are also 18-inch alloys (turbo gets 19s), configurable 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, LED headlights and daytime-running lights, LED interior lighting and park assist (parallel and perpendicular), along with a power release boot lid.
Infotainment is taken care of by a 10.0-inch high-definition touchscreen, with Bluetooth, navigation, digital radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Screen.
The Focal system pumps out 515 watts, with 10 speakers including a dedicated amplifier and subwoofer, plus two 12V sockets (dashboard and load area) and four USB Sockets (two in the front centre console, and two in the rear centre console).
508 boasts a full suite of the latest safety features including six airbags, 180-degree rear-view camera and autonomous emergency braking (city, interurban and vulnerable road user).
There’s also adaptive cruise control with stop function, active blind spot detection, active lane keeping assistance, automatic high beam and speed sign recognition and recommendation.
It misses out however on rear cross-traffic alert.
508 is covered by a 5–year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assistance, plus an 8-year/160,000km battery warranty.
What’s it go like?
The standard GT with a 1.6-litre turbo delivers 165kW of power at 5500 revs and 300Nm of torque at 2750 revs.
With the help of an electric motor, the hybrid still puts out 165kW (but later at 6000 revs) while torque is boosted to 360Nm (also at 2750 revs).
The dash to 100km/h in standard form takes 8.1 seconds. The hybrid dispatches it in 8.3 seconds, mainly because it weighs another 271kg thanks to the battery array.
Fuel consumption for the turbo is 5.5L/100km. The hybrid with a smaller 43-litre tank is rated at 1.8L/100km and it takes premium unleaded.
BUT, as we have explained in previous articles, the only way to get, and keep getting, 1.8L/100km is to recharge the battery every 100km.
Otherwise, you’ll probably end up getting heavier fuel consumption than the turbo because the car weighs more.
With an 11.8kWh battery capacity, the hybrid offers an electric only driving range of up to 55km (WLTP), enough for the daily commute, it’s suggested.
Perhaps more importantly it helps the car to meet stringent Euro engine emissions standards.
The 1.6 PureTech engine is paired with the new 8-speed e-EAT8 automatic gearbox.
There are four driving modes: Electric, Hybrid, Sport and Comfort.
Electric speaks for itself, while hybrid mode allows the driver to use the most efficient combination of electric or internal combustion engine depending on driving style and type of road.
Under certain conditions, the car can reach 135km/h on electric power alone before the engine takes over.
Think of a long downhill run.
You can also recover energy from braking by selecting the B setting instead of Drive.
In this setting the car begins to brake as soon as you lift off the accelerator. It won’t bring the car to a halt, but with a little practice you can avoid using the brake pedal 90 percent of the time.
e-SAVE allows the driver to bank reclaimed power or use it straight away for improved performance.
Peugeot recommends regularly charging the battery to 100 percent to experience the benefits of its electric capabilities.
Charging from zero to 100 percent takes about five hours via a 2.3kW Mode 2 cable.
You can charge using a standard power point, home charger or commercial fast charger, but there’s not a lot of point forking out for a commercial charger because the charge rate is limited to 3.7kW – barely more than a power point can provide.
Getting into the 508 for the first time, the cabin and driver’s seat feel a little cramped.
Though good, the ride quality is not as good as the car we drove previously, despite being fitted with adaptive dampers.
Peugeot has championed its head-up dash layout which puts the instrument panel above the steering wheel, directing the driver’s line of sight over the wheel rather than through it.
But sitting there playing with the adjustment of the wheel it doesn’t look that elevated these days and, as someone who likes the wheel set high, pushing it up obscures the dials.
These same designers want me to look down at the central touchscreen rather than up, because the screen remains built into the dash rather than sitting on top of it as is the vogue.
Come on guys, you can’t have it both ways.
Then there’s the design of the touchscreen itself.
While there’s a physical volume button and a row of piano style keys immediately underneath that provide quick access to various functions, the temperature controls are digital and flank either side of the screen.
You’d think they would be designed to disappear when reverse is engaged, devoting maximum real estate to the camera.
Alas, this is not the case. In fact, it gets worse when the overhead simulation kicks in, reducing the size of the camera even further, making it difficult to see, especially at night.
The dash can also be affected by glare because of the steeply raked windscreen which extends beyond it.
Sacre bleu!
The design of the car actually dates back to 2019, pre-dating wireless charging and the move away from the silly Euro-style cruise control stalk.
Once you master its use it is okay, but try working out how to reduce distance to the car in front (on the move).
Looking for USB ports? You’ll find two in the front in a hidey hole below the centre console. There’s another two in the back below the rear air vents.
There’s also a 12-volt outlet in the centre console.
We enjoyed driving the 508.
The transmission can lag, frustratingly so in manual mode, often leading to double changes.
Ride and handling are excellent, but it’s more of a touring car than a sports machine.
We chose not to recharge the battery, setting it to hybrid mode to see how it performed with and without electric help.
The car was showing 6.0L/100km by the time we got it home and 6.7L/100km on its return.
What we like
- Looks fabulous
- Comfortable long-distance traveller
- Hybrid option reduces fuel consumption
What we don’t like
- Too expensive
- Style before practicality
- Poor vision
- Glare from windscreen
- Lacks wireless charging
- No school zone or speed camera warnings
- Fiddly transmission shift
- Try finding the control for cruise distance
- Lag when changing gears
What over-50s need to know
It’s too expensive.
A Camry Hybrid is cheaper and will return better fuel figures in the long run, but of course Camry doesn’t have the style or elegance of this French masterpiece.
If it was us and we just had to have one, we’d save our pennies and pop for the non-hybrid version. The $18K you pocket will pay for a lot of premium unleaded.
Hats off to Peugeot for having a red-hot go, however. Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Vive la révolution.
seniordriver comments
Peugeot is still trying to find its natural place in the marketplace, and it isn’t an easy path.
One of its problems is that it simply doesn’t appear on enough shopping lists. And that’s strange, because a classy, stylish European at a reasonable price should be drawing people into showrooms in their droves. Sales of just 103 508s (at the time of writing) indicates that it isn’t happening. Of course, the large premium for the hybrid version (plus expensive extras) isn’t helping.
Some of the design elements are overly fussy, but that’s part of the Peugeot appeal.
Peugeot’s recommendation to regularly charge the battery to 100 percent flies in the face of other company’s recommendations that usually range between 70 and 80 percent (see our story about maximising EV battery life here ). The limitation for the commercial charger to 3.7kW is difficult to understand.
The dash position above the steering wheel has caused us some concern, too. While we understand the principle, in daily use it isn’t as logical as it seems. The idea is that you don’t need to adjust your focus as much or look away from the road to the same extent (and in our experience, this is true), but with the steering wheel set in our preferred position, some of the dials are obscured. Setting it to make them all visible means it sits too low. And the whole thing is rather debunked with the central touchscreen mounted so low forcing you to take your eyes off the road to look at it.
Once again, learning the appropriate routines can take time (although we assume this would become second nature with familiarity, but why are these things so counter-intuitive?)