Fresh-faced Peugeot 508 revealed

PEUGEOT has unveiled a facelifted version of its 508 mid-sizer featuring updated front-end styling and a pair of new-generation fuel-efficient powertrains.

The French car-maker’s refreshed family favourite will debut simultaneously at the Moscow and Chengdu motor shows in August before going on sale in Europe a month later. An Australian launch is expected early next year.

Relatively minor stylistic changes include a new grille design that is slightly narrower than the existing model, with the Peugeot lion badge relocated from the bonnet to the middle of the grille.

The new front-end design is now in keeping with Peugeot’s latest corporate look that can also be found on the new-generation 308 range due in Australia later this year, the 2008 and 4008 compact crossovers and the facelifted 5008 people-mover.

Peugeot says the bonnet has been reshaped, while the redesigned headlights, daytime running lights and foglights are all LED, with the DRLs incorporated into the restyled front bumper.

The rear of the car has been refreshed with a new bumper and redesigned tail-lights, while maintaining the motif of three claws that is becoming a Peugeot signature.

The French car-maker has upped the technology in the cabin, with the introduction of a seven-inch touchscreen that now controls a number of functions and reduces the number of buttons on the dashboard.

Also onboard is a head-up display, blind-spot monitor, reversing camera and Peugeot’s ‘Connected Apps’ system that provides the driver with information such as nearby available parking spaces and fuel prices.

Other touches include a closed storage box in the centre console, new cloth trim and other new materials, upping the comfort levels to what was already a well-equipped cabin with high-grade features such as an electronic park brake, keyless entry/start, automatic headlight dipping and four-zone climate-control air-conditioning.

On the powertrain front, Peugeot has replaced one of its petrol units with a new Euro 6-compliant 1.6-litre ‘THP 165’ four-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 123kW, matched with either a six-speed manual gearbox or new ‘EAT6’ six-speed automatic.

This is a boost in power compared to the Euro 5-compliant 115kW/240Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol available on the current Australian-spec 508, while CO2 emissions of the Euro 6 engine (combined with the manual) fall from 144g/km to 131g/km.

A new 110kW 2.0-litre ‘BlueHDi 150’ four-cylinder diesel unit matched with a six-speed manual, and a more powerful 134kW 2.0-litre diesel unit with a six-speed auto, will also be available in Europe.

The former brings CO2 down to just 105g/km but is unlikely to be offered in Australia due to its lack of an automatic transmission, while the higher-output oil-burner that is on the cards for release here returns a still-impressive 111g/km, “constituting one of the best combinations of power and fuel consumption in the segment” according to Renault.

The current 508 range in Australia includes a choice of three engines – the 1.6 turbo-petrol and two HDi diesels, a 120kW 2.0 and 150kW 2.2 – with the sedan available in Active, Allure and GT model grades and the wagon sold in Allure and GT guise only.

Australia currently misses out on the diesel-electric hybrid RXH wagon, which features jacked-up SUV styling cues in the vein of the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack and Subaru Outback.

Peugeot Automobiles Australia is still to advise whether the updated RXH will get a look-in for this market.

Overseas reports this week have suggested that Peugeot is well down the track on a fully redesigned 508, due for release in 2016/17, and that a third body style – a sportier coupe-like model in the vein of the Mercedes CLS and Volkswagen Passat CC – is likely to emerge alongside the regular sedan and wagon.