RSS_Auto_Poster
Well-known member
This is the new Peugeot 508, revealed - not in France - but in London today. And like London, it's going upmarket.
The 508 - first unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 2010 - tops Peugeot's ‘8' range, and finds itself with a new grille; more vertical and with the venerable Lion at its centre to salute the earlier ‘5' range Pugs.
There are also new front headlights, indicators and fog lights, a new, more horizontal bonnet, a redesigned rear bumper and rear lights on the saloon.
Step inside and the Peugeot designers have done away with many of the old buttons on the centre console; instead, there's a new 7in touch screen and a new closed storage box. Oh, and that dash gets a head-up display with driving and sat nav information. In colour.
Peugeot has installed blind spot sensors and a reversing camera into the new 508, along with JBL hi-fi, quad-zone air-con, keyless entry and start and an electronic parking brake. And as with any new car, it is completely apped up, using Peugeot's ‘connect apps'.
The chassis remains the same as before - double wishbones and decoupled hub/MacPherson front and multi-link rear - while you get the option of a new Euro 6 engine; a 1.6-litre 165bhp petrol four-pot, available with a six-speed manual or a new six-speed auto. Emissions on this unit drop from 144g/km to 131g/km of CO2.
The 2.0-litre diesel engine with 150bhp emits just 105g/km - astonishing for a car of this size - while the more powerful 180bhp version of this engine rises to just 111g/km. You can also get a hybrid 508 saloon and 508 RXH; a 2.0-litre diesel on the front wheels married to a 37bhp electric motor on the rear axle. You're looking at 85.6mpg and 85g/km of CO2.
And the reason why Peugeot chose London as the first wave? China eats up more 508s than anywhere on earth, and France comes second, but the UK is a close third. And the French love London right now, so we get to host the launch. Expect to see plenty on the streets when it arrives from September 10, and in China from January 2015...
Written By:- Vijay Pattni
More of this article on the Top gear website