Peugeot 508 Fastback Review

In moving away from the traditional three-box saloon to a more fashionable fastback look for the 508, Peugeot has sacrificed something in the way of practicality. But while this does have a couple of downsides - mainly rear headroom - overall the 508 is a comfortable and roomy proposition. The interior apes the car鈥檚 sporty fastback look, with a stylish cockpit that feels coupe-like yet is still comfortable. The dashboard design features swooping curves, and with a high centre console, you feel nicely cocooned and insulated when sitting in the front seats. All models have at least part-electric front seat adjustment, and from Allure models up there鈥檚 lumbar support and heated seats as standard. One thing that鈥檚 worth noting is that the 508 has Peugeot鈥檚 i-cockpit set up, where you look over the steering wheel to see the instruments. While it works well for the most part, some drivers may feel they don鈥檛 have a clear view of the dash pod when the steering wheel and seat are adjusted to their liking.

The 508 offers a comfortable ride both around town and on the motorway, and while there is some low-speed fidgeting when fitted with the largest 19-inch alloys, this will be less of a concern for most buyers. If you opt for the top of the range GT model, then there鈥檚 also active suspension to keep the ride comfort at an optimum level. Where most cars are becoming ever larger, the 508 bucks this trend by actually being slightly shorter than the outgoing model. At 4,750mm long the 508 Fastback is nearly 15 centimetres shorter than a Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport, but a little longer than premium rivals such as the new BMW 3 Series saloon. Those up front will be more than comfortable with plenty of leg, elbow and headroom. But those in the rear will be slightly less fortunate, especially if they are six-feet tall or above. The sloping roofline really does make it tight for rear seat passengers in terms of headroom, and it鈥檚 likely their heads will be brushing the headlining. The 508 SW improves the issue slightly, but not by quite as much as you might have expected. Legroom is adequate without setting new standards for the class, as it doesn鈥檛 offer the same amount of space as you鈥檇 find in the back of a Skoda Superb or Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport. The 508 saloon鈥檚 boot has a 487-litre capacity when the rear seats are raised, which increases to 1,537 litres when they鈥檙e folded flat. The 508 SW does offer a larger carrying capacity, but perhaps not by as much as you might think.

But, it seems like the only difference in body style in the last 20 years is the taillights. They should just have one name, and different tags. I.e. mustang, mustang gt, mustang gt 500, instead of just giving the same car(with minorly different body kits) a different name. I think it's because Lamborghini made the wedge shape their trademark. Name a Lamborghini that isn't either a Miura, a tractor, or wedge shaped. Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Ford, Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, etc etc have all managed to make a relatively minor portion of their car the defining characteristic that is shared by most of their models. But Lamborghini is still a wedge because their defining characteristic is the whole car. Personally, I want to see Lamborghini break the mold and come out with something that isn't a wedge with a big motor. But I don't see that happening any time soon.

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