Peugeot 508 Review 2024

Not so many years ago, the Peugeot 508 would be a big seller and desired by many company drivers. Yet the market for large saloons from mainstream makers has dwindled as SUVs have become the default choice of many. Rivals to the Peugeot 508 are just as rare, although the Volkswagen Arteon, the spacious Skoda Octavia and stylish Volvo S60 still fly the flag. Read on for our full Peugeot 508 review.

The Peugeot 508 represented the pinnacle of the PSA Group’s attempt to move the Peugeot brand upmarket and, in this, it succeeded admirably.

A virtually all-new car with only engines carried over – and even those much improved – it impresses not just with its look, but with its outstanding i-Cockpit.

The Peugeot 508 certainly looks like an imposing family car, with an aggressive front design that features sweptback LED headlights and a huge upright grille. The slung-back look is complemented by frameless doors and wheels that have been designed to fill the arches.

Available with a range of petrol and diesel engines, as well as a plug-in hybrid version, the Peugeot 508 is billed as a much more driver-oriented car than the previous model, and it’s an undeniable upgrade on any large saloon that French firm has sold before. 

It’s not quite in the same league as the BMW 3 Series or the Jaguar XE in terms of driving dynamics – thanks mainly to the overly light steering – but it’s pleasant enough for most drivers.

Inside, the Peugeot 508 gets the digital i-Cockpit system, with the traditional instrument binnacle replaced with a 12.3-inch screen that can be customised with maps, route directions and in-car data.

A 10-inch colour screen dominates the minimalist dashboard and the layout mirrors the Peugeot 3008 with neat aircraft-styled switches providing useful shortcuts to all of the touchscreen controls.

There’s plenty of space for four adults to fit comfortably – although those in the rear might find the seating position a tad awkward – while the 487-litre boot should provide lots of everyday practicality for company car drivers and family buyers alike, with a wide opening and 60/40 split rear seats.

Peugeot’s flagship model can also be equipped with an array of semi-autonomous driver assistance tech that includes a new night-vision system. This uses an infra-red camera to detect pedestrians in the dark and apply the brakes automatically should they step out in front of the car.

Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar’s Peugeot 508 review.

The Peugeot 508 has been pushed as a car for enthusiastic drivers in the same way the Ford Mondeo once was.

And in some ways, the brand has succeeded. It goes around corners without resorting to tyre-squealing too early on, and the car remains composed with very little body roll.

There’s a small steering wheel (a trademark of the firm in recent years) which helps make the Peugeot 508 feel surprisingly nimble in corners.

Feedback is lacking, though. It artificially weights up through bends and you’re never quite sure how much grip is left.

When you’re not hustling the Peugeot 508 through corners, its steering is almost unnervingly light. That’s good around town, although the small steering wheel is very keen to react to inputs. As a result, on the motorway it can be too eager to move around in the lane.

Steering aside, the Peugeot 508 is a very competent motorway cruiser. It’s very quiet and refined at 70mph, with assistance features like the adaptive cruise control and lane positioning assist (standard on the GT) doing a fine job of making your life easier.

The optional active suspension (standard on higher-spec models) does a good job of smoothing out uneven road surfaces, although firming it up using the drive modes seems to make negligible difference.

With the standard suspension, the Peugeot 508 does tend to bounce over the odd bump, but its ride could never be described as firm.

The Peugeot 508’s engine line-up has been rationalised, so you now only have the choice of the 130PS 1.2-litre PureTech as a petrol, which comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard.

This is a perfectly good option for many drivers and the small capacity engine works much better than you might think.

However, if you want a more urgent sense of performance, the HYBRID 225e serves up 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds, while the HYBRID4 360e bats that aside in just 5.2 seconds.

There is no longer a diesel engine offered in the Peugeot 508.

One clever gadget that’s available on the Peugeot 508 is the night vision assist. This uses an infra-red camera to monitor the road ahead and detect pedestrians when it’s dark or visibility is reduced.

All models come with a reversing camera. Rear visibility is pretty poor, thanks to large pillars blocking your view and weirdly small door mirrors.

It’s no surprise to learn the Peugeot 508 comes with a five-star Euro NCAP score and did especially well for adult occupant protection.

With the 1.2-litre petrol model, Peugeot quotes a maximum braked trailer weight of 1340kg.

With the 225e HYBRID model, you’re limited to 1320kg, while the 360e drops to 1280kg. There is no figure quoted for an unbraked trailer for any Peugeot 508 model.

There are two slightly different dashboards depending on whether you choose a manual or automatic gearbox.

We prefer the automatic’s floating centre console, which is handy as the auto gearbox is the option to go for in this car (hit the ‘Driving’ tab above to find out why). Tucked away under the floating dash is a wireless phone charger.

The front seats of the Peugeot 508 are extremely comfortable and finding a good driving position is easy thanks to multi-way electric adjustment (standard on the GT level). A massage function is also standard on the GT, and optional on lesser models.

Rear-seat passengers aren’t quite so well catered for. Headroom is fine once you’re in the car, although tall passengers will have to be careful not to hit their head when getting in, and legroom is little more than adequate.

You’ll also sit slightly awkwardly with your knees above your legs – a pose that can soon become uncomfortable.

This isn’t uncommon for cars of this ilk, however, and if you regularly carry rear passengers, you’d be better with a Peugeot 3008 or Peugeot 5008.

The brand nailed the interior of its Peugeot 3008 and Peugeot 5008 SUVs – and it’s done the same with the Peugeot 508.

Premium yet very, very different to something like a BMW 3 Series, the Peugeot 508 features lots of soft-touch materials and that typical, tiny steering wheel.

However, a potential weakness of the Peugeot 508 is its build quality.

The company has been trying to shrug off a reputation for flaky build quality, yet we’ve driven a few Peugeot 508s which have had various creaks and rattles, despite being practically new.

It makes you question how well it will last after a few years of family life.

The biggest disappointment is the Peugeot 508’s 10-inch infotainment display, which is standard on all models now.

It controls everything from the radio to the climate settings, and is irritatingly laggy to use. We also failed to get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to work in our test car and the DAB radio had a very poor reception much of the time.

An annoying ‘quirk’ of the infotainment system is that, when doing anything from adjusting the air-conditioning to turning on the massage seats, you’ll temporarily lose the navigation information.

That’s frustrating when your passenger decides they’re a bit warm as you’re navigating a city centre ring road.

And, although the toggles below the screen look pretty slick and act as shortcuts to various features, it’s difficult to decipher what does what – especially in the dark.

At the time of writing, the lowest list price for a Peugeot 508 is for the 1.2-litre Allure, which comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard.

For this, you’ll pay just over £34,000, but upgrade that to the hybrid version and the price climbs to not much less than £44,000.

It’s the same story across the Peugeot 508 range, while the more powerful HYBRID4 360e model costs from only a fraction less than £54,000.

For company car drivers, the hybrid models are an obvious choice as you can have a Peugeot 508 with emissions as low as 28g/km.

This also means free road tax in the first year and those that follow. However, these hybrid versions all cost more than £40,000, so there is a road tax surcharge of £390 to pay for the first five years. Still, with average fuel economy of 256mpg, you shouldn’t be too concerned about this cost.

The 1.2-litre petrol models emit between 127 and 149g/km, so road tax will cost you from £210 to £255 in the first year, and there’s no surcharge as these models don’t bust the £40,000 mark.

As for fuel consumption, depending on the trim you choose, Peugeot claims anywhere from 42.7mpg to 50.0mpg.

A three-year, 60,000-mile warranty is provided as standard with the Peugeot 508, and this can be extended up to five years and 100,000 miles. There are also fixed price service contracts available that will cover you for routine maintenance for up to five years and 60,000 miles.

The Peugeot 508 sits in insurance groups 22 to 34, with the more powerful HYBRID4 360e at the top end of that scale.

From November 2021, the range was slimmed to three models, starting with the Peugeot 508 Allure that has heated and electrically adjusted door mirrors, reversing camera, automatic headlights and wipers, electric windows all-round and updated front grille.

Inside, there’s the i-Cockpit, 10-inch infotainment screen with voice recognition, TomTom sat-nav, and eight speakers.

The Peugeot 508 GT comes with the Driver Assist Pack Plus that includes adaptive cruise control with Stop and Go. It also has a 360-degree parking camera, 18-inch Epherra alloy wheels, GT badging, aluminium trim inserts, half-leather and Alcantara upholstery, heated front seat and electric front seat lumbar and cushion adjustment.

At the top of the pile sits the Peugeot 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered model with its ‘Claw Effect’ light design front and rear, keyless entry and ignition, and active suspension with Comfort, Normal, and Sport modes.

An uprated stereo is joined by Nappa leather upholstery and front seats with eight-way electric adjustment. On the outside, there are 20-inch alloy wheels and a front grille unique to this trim.

Up to November 2018, the line-up was different.

The Peugeot 508 Active had Peugeot Connect SOS and assistance, safety pack (with advanced autonomous emergency braking, distance alert and lane keeping assistance), automatic dual zone climate control, rear parking sensors and a warning triangle.

There’s also a leather steering wheel, cloth seats with manual adjustment, navigation, voice recognition, DAB radio, Mirror Screen (with MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), 17-inch alloy wheels plus the visibility pack with automatic headlights, automatic windscreen wipers, auto dimming rear view mirror and ‘follow me home’ headlights.

In the Peugeot 508 Allure you have active suspension (on the 1.6 Puretech), safety plus pack (with active blind spot detection, advanced driver attention alert, smartbeam assist, speed limit and road sign recognition), Peugeot i-Cockpit with 10-inch touchscreen infotainment display, keyless entry and push button start and power fold door mirrors with blind spot detection indicator.

There’s a rear armrest with ski flap and two cup holders, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, ambient interior lighting, front and rear carpet mats, electric front seat lumbar and base angle adjustment, heated front seats, leather seats, two rear USB sockets and 17-inch alloy wheels.

The Peugeot 508 GT Line comes with self-levelling headlights, tinted windows, aluminium pedals, wireless phone charger, black door mirrors, chequered radiator grille with chrome trim, 18-inch alloy wheels, LED head and taillights and visibility pack (with frameless, auto-dimming rear view mirror).

With the Peugeot 508 GT, you get active suspension, drive assist pack plus (with adaptive cruise control and lane positioning assist), memory function for door mirrors, power folding door mirrors, smart electric tailgate, multi-way adjustable electric seats, massage seats, premium speaker system and 19-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels.

At launch, the Peugeot 508 First Edition featured night vision, 360-degree colour camera system, fully automated parking assistance, Alcantara and part leather seat trim, stainless steel door sill scuff plates with ‘First Edition’ inscription, chrome chequered radiator grille with gloss black edge trim plus 19-inch two-tone diamond cut alloy wheels.