Peugeot 508 Allure HDi 2015 Review

As the flagship model in Peugeot's range the 508 faces a daunting task in the VFACTS large passenger car segment. Its sales for 2015 have reached 144 units over the five months elapsed. That places it ahead of the Skoda Superb, but over a hundred units behind the struggling Hyundai Genesis. And best not ask about Toyota Aurion (1282), Ford Falcon (2549) and Holden Commodore (10,997).

And the VFACTS segmentation for the Peugeot is a little misleading anyway. The 508 is undeniably a large car, but it's actually smaller than Ford's new Mondeo, the Mazda6 sedan and Volkswagen's Passat – all three of which could be cross-shopped against the 508 despite being 'medium' passenger cars according to VFACTS.

Peugeot distributor Sime Darby has taken a knife to the pricing of the 508 following the introduction of the face-lifted model back in March. According to the distributor, including on-road costs for the upgraded 508 Allure HDi delivers a total value gain to the consumer of roughly $5000.

The additional features appended to the equipment list for the upgraded 508 Allure comprise blind-spot monitoring, a 7.0-inch infotainment touch-screen, a reversing camera, an 8GB hard disk for the audio system, shift paddles, LED daytime running lights/foglights, rear map-reading lights, a rear centre armrest with integrated cupholders and an electric boot release.

In this level of trim the 508 was already well appointed, but there's no denying that it's a more compelling package now.

It's also compelling for the way it drives – something that hasn't changed with the updated range. The 508 is a terrific touring car delivering a fine ride and handling balance.

Body control was quite exceptional for a large front-wheel drive sedan, as soon became evident over the course of the week the 508 Allure was tested. The front-end grip did eventually lose its struggle with the laws of physics, but with a clear margin of error to let you know just how far the 508 could be pushed before it became risky. Turning in, the 508 changed direction responsively, but there was no sense of weight transfer or changing suspension geometry from the rear.

Nor was there was any sign of torque steer from the 508, although there was some kickback through the wheel when the car was pushed harder. It's at that point where the double-wishbone front end of the 508 GT would have been welcome in the test vehicle. The 508 Allure makes do with a MacPherson-strut system that is nevertheless quite well calibrated by the standards of the type.

The Peugeot rode comfortably over patchy or lumpy country roads at touring speeds, but there was some initial impact harshness over smaller bumps and at lower speeds – nothing you would call punishing though.

Still at lower speeds, the steering felt very light through the wheel and seemed a little numb at the straight-ahead. Once the speed rose (from 70km/h or thereabouts), the steering feel improved significantly and the 508 could be placed quite accurately on the road for such a relatively large car.

The 2.0-litre diesel lacked the torque of the larger engine in the 508 GT, and would struggle to stay with some of the competitors mentioned in this review, but it proved itself a hard-working unit nonetheless. From a standing start it wound itself up quickly, with little turbo lag and, unlike other diesels of similar displacement, performance was linear right across the rev range between 2000 and 4500rpm. Fuel consumption for the week was 7.9L/100km, across a mix of urban and freeway running.

In character the 508 Allure drove like a well behaved diesel-engined sedan, but it wasn't easily picked as a diesel from the noise alone, such was the level of NVH suppression. There was never any real diesel clatter from this engine, and the only tell-tale was some vibration at 1300rpm and less – at which point the transmission typically changed down a cog anyway, before the vibration became too annoying. The six-speed transmission featured a sequential-shift facility, which was adequate in Sport mode. It wasn't as adaptive or responsive as a ZF automatic, but it was on par for smoothness and efficiency with other similar transmissions available in rival models.

Ergonomically, the driving position was a mixed bag, but generally good. I liked the fact that the starter button in the dash was clearly visible – over on the far right, adjacent the door jamb. And the electronic parking brake release was nearby too. The transmission shifter was a gated unit, which was very easy to use for that reason – albeit a little old-fashioned.

Pushing the lever across for sequential shifting took a bit more muscle than the norm. The downshifts were carried out by pushing the lever forward, and the 508's shift paddles offered an alternative to using the lever.

The instruments ahead of the driver were large and clear to read, plus the steering wheel opened up an uninterrupted vista without being too large in diameter. There was a plethora of buttons on the wheel, replicating some of the functions in the centre fascia in addition to the trip computer functions and cruise control. Brief familiarisation and a bit of trial and error was all that was needed to make sense of them.

Patching the iPhone into the audio system by USB lead resulted in the music streaming with a frequent clicking noise, which quickly became tiresome. Oddly, streaming the music wirelessly didn't produce the same noise.

I found the 508's electrically-adjustable and leather-trimmed seats to be cushy and comfortable for longer trips, but lacked a little support under the thighs.

The rear-seat accommodation, unusually, was more generous in its legroom than its headroom. Average-sized adults should be comfortable enough back there, but anyone over 180cm tall may find their head brushing the headlining, for instance. Conversely, however, legroom was commendable – although still outgunned, I believe, by the Superb. Rear-seat passengers had their own switchgear and eyeball vents for climate control.

Boot space was right up there with the kind of volume that locally-built large cars boast, but the boot floor was a bit shallow and the loading lip was higher than a Falcon's or a Commodore's. The conventional spare tyre was mounted on a 16-inch steel wheel, which meant that while it was not a space-saver, nor did it match the 18-inch alloys fitted, so replacing a flat tyre would require gentle driving to the nearest repairer to have the flat fixed.

Mostly, the 508's flaws were tolerable. On the plus side, the Peugeot felt solid, refined, comfortable and safe. It's a little quieter than the Mazda6 (but lacks the fuel-saving idle stop-start system of that car). Despite its longer wheelbase, the Peugeot doesn't seem to match the current Skoda Superb for rear-seat roominess – and the new-generation Skoda will exacerbate that difference. The Mondeo Titanium is Euro 6-compliant, betters the 508 for fuel efficiency and produces more output. And don't forget the new Passat either...

In other words, it's a dog-eat-dog world for the 508, but in many ways it can give as good as it gets. It has a certain understated polish about it that will be appreciated by prospective buyers across a wide spectrum.

Also consider:
>> Ford Mondeo Titanium (from $47,490 plus ORCs)
>> Mazda6 Grand Touring (from $45,920 plus ORCs)
>> Skoda Superb Elegance 125TDI (from $44,990 plus ORCs)