Peugots Falcon Commodore Rival. And its DIESEL!!!

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First drive: Peugeot's new Commodore rival
Richard Blackburn
July 15, 2011 - 9:01AM

Large cars may be a dying breed, but Peugeot's happy for its 508 to invade Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon turf.

At first glance, the new Peugeot 508 appears to be a car in no-man's land.

It's a replacement for both the 407 mid-sized car and Peugeot's 607 flagship and it's classified as a large car, yet its main competitors are the Volkswagen Passat and the Ford Mondeo.

Peugeot general manager, Ken Thomas, says the company is comfortable with the car being classified as a large car, and says he expects it to attract traditional large car buyers, especially those who get to choose their company car.

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"We're finding a lot of customers, particularly in the fleet market, who don't want to compromise the size of their vehicle. They still want a large car. You've got a lot of guys who still have needs, who are travelling big distances and maybe have a multipurpose use for them on weekends. They want a traditional family-sized car, either a sedan or wagon,” he says.

The new 508 sedan certainly has a traditional family-size look about it. The love-it-or-hate-it gaping mouth grill of previous Peugeots has given way to a far more conservative look that borders on plain from some angles. The wagon, on the other hand, is an eye-catcher, with a streamlined, sporty profile.

Inside, the 508 continues what has been a renaissance of sorts in Peugeot cabins in recent years. There's still the odd ill-fitting panel, but the stylish chrome-rimmed dials with white backlighting combine with a classy digital trip computer display on the instrument panel to convey a prestige feel.

That's backed up by the ambient lighting through the cabin, soft-touch materials on the dash, leather seats, frosted chrome door handles and a piano-black finish on the centre console.

The prestige look is complemented by an impressive amount of equipment on the Allure and GT models we sampled.

The Allure, which for the moment is only available as a diesel with a starting price of $42,990 plus on-roads, has four-zone air conditioning with controls for the back seat passengers, Bluetooth with audio streaming and a USB plug, a smart key, an electric park brake, parking sensors and a parking assistant that uses sensors to measure whether a parallel parking spot is big enough for the car.

The wagon is $3000 more and gets a panoramic sunroof that covers most of the roof, while the top-of-the range $52,990 GT gets a more powerful diesel engine, revised front suspension and a colour head-up display.

Bi-xenon headlights with adaptive beams cost an extra $2000. The headlights use a camera to detect oncoming cars and dim the high beams.

Satellite navigation is also an option, costing $1500 on both models.

Safety is taken care of with six airbags and stability control on all models.

The 508 doesn't have the rear seat acreage to compete with a Commodore or even a Skoda Superb, but it does have a decent amount of rear leg and head room for a mid-sized sedan (its 100mm longer than the outgoing 407). A big boot with a ski port and split-fold access qualifies the sedan as a genuine family hauler, while the wagon's load area is equally generous with the rear seats folded flat. Not so generous is the cubby-hole storage space. The glovebox is small, the centre console even smaller.

We drove the Allure model first and it felt solid and composed for the most part, although it prefers sweeping bends to hairpin turns. It demonstrated impressive grip on the patchy wet surfaces encountered on the drive program through Victoria's Black Spur, but the lazy steering and soft suspension detracted from the enjoyment factor on tighter turns. The ride at high speeds was comfortable and the car settled reassuringly after bumps.

The 2.0-litre diesel, which puts out 120kW and 340Nm of torque, was quiet, refined and delivered respectable performance, although the six-speed transmission, if left in normal mode, was a little too eager to change up a gear at times. On tighter, twistier roads it was better to switch to sport mode, which held gears longer and kept the engine in its sweet spot better. There are also paddles, for those who would rather pick their own gears. Fuel consumption is a claimed 5.7 litres per 100km.

The 2.2-litre diesel in the GT is a more potent unit, putting out 150kW and 450Nm of torque, but using exactly the same amount of fuel according to Peugeot figures. The company says the smaller four-cylinder offers better performance than the old 2.7-litre V6 in the 607 (and now in the Ford Territory) while reducing CO2 emissions by 33 per cent. It's certainly a punchy unit. There's a bit of lag off the mark as the turbo spools up, but in-gear acceleration is impressive. The more powerful engine and sports-tuned double-wishbone front suspension make the GT a far more involving prospect on a country road. It sits flatter through corners and turns in more eagerly at speed. The suspension does, however, feel a bit busy at slower speeds on patchy surfaces.

Peugeot will add a fuel-sipping smaller capacity diesel and a turbocharged petrol engine to the range later this year, and the latter model will be priced aggressively at $36,990 plus on-roads. The company is predicting a modest 1000 sales a year for the 508, so it's hardly going to have Ford and Holden quaking in their boots. Its combination of a classy cabin and a reasonably sharp price may, however, prove a tempting alternative to the established mid-sized Euro and Japanese sedans.