PetrolBlog takes delivery of a Peugeot 508 SW GT Line 1.5 BlueHDi. Over the next six months, we'll find out what it's like to live with the stylish estate.
Do not adjust your set – this is indeed a brand new car on PetrolBlog. For the next six months, PetrolBlog will be running a Peugeot 508 SW GT Line 1.5 BlueHDi.
Either that, or somebody at Peugeot HQ will come to their senses and take it back to Coventry before the six months is up.
In truth, it’s being run for Diesel Car – PetrolBlog isn’t about to become DieselBlog. But it’s French, great looking, and it isn’t a crossover, so it might of interest to PB’s loyal readers. Yes, both of you. If nothing else, it will be good for search engine purposes. Hello Google robots.
https://twitter.com/MajorGav/status/1206973612080746500?s=20
Second update (16 January 2020):
‘Sick car, mister, I bet it's really fast’
I've had the Peugeot 508 SW a month now, so the post-Peugeot HQ shine has well and truly worn off, replaced by a layer of salt, mud and whatever else they chunk on the roads of Devon.
There's a lot I could talk about, but for this update I'd like to focus on the performance – or lack of it. When powered by the 1.5-litre BlueHDi diesel engine, the 508 SW is the opposite of a Q-car. All talk and no trousers. Or something.
I'm paraphrasing a little, but upon seeing the 508 SW for the first time, one of my eldest son's friends commented on the “sick car”, before proclaiming it to be “really fast”. Only it isn't. Thanks to a measly 131hp, it can only muster a top speed of 129mph, crawling to 62mph in a leisurely 10.1 seconds. Fitting a manual gearbox makes it slightly quicker, but 9.9 seconds to 62mph is hardly the stuff of dreams.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7PAmcVlFbN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Obviously, 0-62mph times are rather meaningless in the real world, but the performance isn't good enough. Show it a flat road and the 221lb ft of torque at 1,750rpm makes for reasonable progress, but it cannot cope with hills, junctions or motorway slip roads. You know, the kind of things we're faced with on a daily basis. Unless you're driving is restricted to a rural lane in the Netherlands.
It doesn't help that the eight-speed automatic transmission seems a bit dim-witted. Often, it'll take an age to respond to the demands of your right foot, and occasionally it will select two or three different gears before settling on the right one. As I said in my initial report, a 3.0-litre V6 would be lovely...
Clearly, the engine and transmission have been configured for planet-saving purposes. CO2 emission of 92 to 98g/km and 52.4 to 62mpg are genuinely impressive figures on a car of this size. Time will tell if the Peugeot 508 SW can deliver the claimed economy over six months.
As will become clear in future updates, there's a lot to love about the 508 SW. As things stand, the 1.5-litre diesel is hard to recommend, but that could change once the engine has loosened up. Either that or I'm too in love with the acceleration of my Camry V6...
First update: 18 December 2019
The Peugeot 508 SW was delivered to PBHQ on Monday with around 800 miles on the clock, so it’s pretty much factory-fresh.
Members of the PB community will know that a new car in the PetrolBlog garage sticks out like Rudolph’s nose in a snowstorm. A rather apt analogy, given the fact that this Peugeot 508 SW is finished in a rather fetching shade of Ultimate Red.
It is, without question, the best colour for a Peugeot 508. Four of the ten hues available in the UK are grey, along with two whites and a black. Aside from Anastasia Steele, who needs that many shades of grey?
Monsieur, you're really spoiling us
GT Line is the mid-range trim level, sandwiched between Active and Allure, and GT and First Edition. The top-spec First Edition was obviously designed for French diplomats to carry crates of Ferrero Rocher to ambassadorial receptions.
With the rear seats folded down, there’s a maximum 1,780 litres of space on offer, which is enough for a lot of nutty chocolates wrapped in gold foil. Maybe we should find out…
GT Line specification includes everything you get on Active and Allure, plus self-levelling LED headlights and rear lights, sport pack, tinted rear windows, 18-inch diamond-cut alloys, a smartphone charging plate, and more cosmetic upgrades than a Hollywood beauty parlour.
Power is sourced from a 1.5-litre diesel engine producing 131hp and emitting 94g/km CO2. A 3.0-litre V6 in a Peugeot wagon would have been nicer, but even PetrolBlog must accept that this isn’t 1999.
Take this is an introduction to the Peugeot 508 SW. PetrolBlog will reveal what it’s like to live with over the coming weeks and months. If there’s anything you’d like to know, leave a comment below.
In the meantime, the fact that the 508 SW features frameless doors guarantees at least one star and a place in the PetrolBlog hall of fame.
Peugeot 508 SW GT Line 1.5 BlueHDi: fast facts
- Engine: 1.5-litre 130 EAT8
- Transmission: eight-speed automatic
- Power: 131hp @ 3,750rpm
- Torque: 221hp @ 1,750rpm
- Top speed: 129mph
- 0-62mph: 10.1 seconds
- Fuel economy: 52.4 to 62mpg
- CO2 emissions: 92 to 98g/km
- Emissions standard: Euro 6.2
- List price: £32,280
