PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Peugeot Australia says 'oui' to 508 wagon

Peugeot Australia has confirmed the sleek new Peugeot 508 Touring will join the 508 Fastback when sales begin Down Under in the second half of 2019.

Originally it was thought the Aussie migration from large wagons to SUVs might rule out the 508 Touring for our market, but shortly after it was revealed at the Paris motor show overnight Peugeot Australia confirmed the wagon version will be available here.

Peugeot says Holden Commodore Tourer isn't really a rival as size-wise it's a class bigger, but the 508 Touring comes close to matching the Commodore for luggage carrying capacity.

Seats up, the stylish wagon offers 530 litres of boot space (v 560 litres) and with seats folded completely flat there’s an impressive 1780 litres — 115 litres more than the Holden wagon.

Speaking of which, folding the rear seats is easy thanks to the Peugeot's 'magic flat' function that sees both seats fold completely flat at the touch of a button.

Based on PSA's latest EMP2 architecture, the Peugeot 508 Tourer is claimed to weigh around 70kg lighter than the car it replaces.

Set to rival both the imported Holden Commodore and the Ford Mondeo, the large French sedan and wagon both come with Peugeot's third-generation i-Cockpit cabin design that features a shrunken steering wheel and large 12.3-inch customisable digital display.

In the centre of the dash, a large 10-inch infotainment display is flanked by a single row of toggle shortcuts that are designed to slash the button count.

That new-look interior is also claimed to have injected more of a premium feel compared to the old model, with high-end materials used for both the dash and the seat upholstery. The driver's seat also features massage capability.

Under the bonnet, Peugeot Australia has confirmed that the 508 range will come with just one engine – the car-maker's turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder that's available with either 135kW or 168kW. Both will come with the Aisin-sourced eight-speed automatic.

That means no plug-in hybrid system as seen in Europe in both the 508 and 3008.

Pricing and the final model line-up is still to be confirmed, but all models will come with high levels of specification with autonomous emergency braking standard across the range.