Peugeot 508 review - Interior, design and technology

If a car was purely judged on its exterior design, then the Peugeot 508 would certainly be amongst the class leaders with its eye-catching looks and considerable showroom appeal. It’s certainly far more stylish than its predecessor, moving away from the traditional three-box look for a more curvaceous and cohesive appearance.

Its bold new nose echoes the current sporty Peugeot look, and while the headlights aren’t the most distinctive, the blade-type LED daytime running lights certainly catch the eye. The 508 is equally stylish from the rear, with mildly extended rear wheel arches and a black panel running across the tail which incorporates the LED rear light clusters. It’ll certainly stand out in an office car park populated by more traditional designs.

Inside the sporting theme is continued, with a real coupe feel about the interior. It accentuates the difference between this car and an SUV, where you sometimes have the impression you’re sitting on it, rather than in it. The curving and swooping dash continues the stylish appearance in combination with the small steering wheel and Peugeot’s i-Cockpit electronic display.

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And the quality look is backed up by material quality and a fit and finish that has a nigh-on premium feel to it It’s almost good enough to tempt buyers away from BMW’s 3 Series and Audi’s A4 perhaps.

There’s certainly enough in the way of standard equipment to keep most buyers happy too, and even the entry-level Active trim level doesn’t feel poorly specified. You’ll need to upgrade to the Allure model to get the larger (10-inch versus 8-inch) of the two centrally-mounted touchscreen systems offered, and it’s worth it for the greater functionality it brings.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

All 508 models come with sat nav – an 8-inch screen in the Active model, a 10-inch screen in all other models – and it works pretty well in practice. Many of the 508’s functions are accessed either through the touchscreen – hence the need to opt for the larger version – but there are also a series of ‘piano key’ shortcuts, which make navigating through the various menus much simpler.

All models come with Bluetooth, DAB radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with voice recognition. Allure adds USB inputs in place of a 12v output and also gains a full colour reversing camera system. The GT Line models add a Smartphone charging plate while the GT and First Edition models have an impressive Focal Audio premium hi-fi system which does sound significantly better than the standard equipment.

There are an impressive array of safety systems as standard – automatic emergency braking, a distance alert system and lane keeping assistance, while Allure and GT Line models add blind spot detection and an advanced driver attention alert system. The GT has adaptive cruise control too. While most of it works well, we weren’t hugely impressed with the GT’s adaptive cruise control or the lane keep assist system, which is somewhat jerky in operation and not up to the standards of rivals