Introduction
What Car? says...
With the revolutionary zeal historically associated with France, the Peugeot 508 has evolved over the years from a staid four-door saloon into a sleek and low-slung five-door coupé.
Peugeot calls the 508 a fastback, a term evoking associations with the dashing Jaguar E-Type and Ford Mustang of the Sixties. There's no doubt at all that it's a striking machine to look at, and the fact that it has a hatchback rather than the narrow boot opening of a saloon gives it practical appeal, too.
Just like its rivals, the 508 is also available as an estate car that maximises load-lugging capacity – you can read all about that in our full Peugeot 508 SW review.
To find out whether the Peugeot 508 is worthy of your consideration, read on over the next few pages of this review. We’ll tell you all about its performance, interior, practicality and running cost, and rate it against other executive cars.
Once you've decided which model to buy, make sure you get it for the lowest price by searching our free What Car? New Car buying service. It's a good place to find the best new executive car deals.
FAQs
The 508 didn’t feature in our 2021 What Car? Reliability Survey but Peugeot finished down in joint 22nd place (alongside Mercedes and Vauxhall) out of 30 brands in the manufacturer table. It comes with a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, which can’t match some rivals’ cover. Read more here
The Peugeot 508 is not offered as a fully electric car but there is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version that combines a petrol engine with an electric motor for an official electric-only range of up to 37 miles. The high-performance Peugeot Sport Engineered model also features PHEV technology, and has a 28-mile electric range. Read more here
The cheaper of the two plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) makes most sense, especially if you’re going to be running the 508 as a company car. We’d also recommend Allure Premium trim, which brings extra safety kit plus lots of desirable luxuries, including ambient interior lighting, front-seat lumbar adjustment and a 10.0in infotainment screen (in place of the standard 8.0in one). Read more here
In entry-level form, the Peugeot 508 has an 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system, but this is upgraded to a 10.2in screen if you go for Allure Premium trim or above. Sadly, both systems are slow to respond to commands, and the physical shortcut buttons that are designed to make it easier to swap between menus have labels that are tricky to read at a glance. Read more here
The independent experts at Euro NCAP gave the Peugeot 508 a five-star safety rating, and it scored very well for adult and child occupant protection. The only caveat is that it was tested back in 2018, when the tests weren’t as challenging as they are now. Read more here
The Peugeot 508 has a boot capacity of 487 litres, which is slightly more than the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series offer, but can’t match the generous load bays in the Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Arteon. The big, hatchback-style opening does make it easy to load, though. There’s also an estate version with a much bigger boot, the Peugeot 508 SW. Read more here
| RRP price range | £29,635 - £54,665 |
|---|---|
| Number of trims (see all) | 5 |
| Number of engines (see all) | 4 |
| Available fuel types (which is best for you?) | diesel, petrol, hybrid |
| MPG range across all versions | 138.9 - 62 |
| Available doors options | 5 |
| Warranty | 3 years / 60000 miles |
| Company car tax at 20% (min/max) | £1,420 / £2,049 |
| Company car tax at 40% (min/max) | £2,840 / £4,098 |
| Available colours |
