Test Car Specifications
Model: 2024 Peugeot 508 PSE
Price: 508 Fastback from £34,170, PSE from £53,975
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder PureTech turbocharged petrol plus 81kW front and 83kW rear electric motors
Battery: 12.4kWh lithium-ion
Transmission: eight-speed EAT8 automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 360hp at 6,000rpm (system max)
Torque: 520Nm at 3,000rpm (system max)
Emissions: 40g/km
Economy: 156.9mpg
0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Boot space: 487-1,537 litres
Styling
The 508 PSE is arguably the easiest facelift model of the revised Peugeot's range to spot, mainly because the enlarged radiator grille is finished in gloss black for a more aggressive look on the rapid flagship. Lesser models still get the wider design of the grille, but it'll be body-coloured so if you see all the black detailing, you know straight away it's the 360hp 508. Beyond that, the usual PSE signifiers - like large alloy wheels, an enhanced lower body kit and those three Kryptonite-coloured diagonal lines, which are the PSE motif - are retained, while there's now a 'three-claw' arrangement for the daytime running lamps and the three-pod, slimline matrix LED headlights of the car. The net result is that a model that was always good to look at... remains good to look at, with a notable difference about its aesthetics that makes the facelift work worthwhile.
Interior
The changes within the cabin amount to the infotainment set-up, mainly. As before, there's a central ten-inch touchscreen for the non-driving-related information and the like, while the i-Cockpit - small, low-set steering wheel, high-mounted instrument pod on a digital screen - retains the 12-inch driver's cluster. However, the graphics have been updated with the later software from the 308 and 408 lines, so there's more configurability to the 508 PSE's displays. Perhaps the bigger alteration is the adoption of the small 'toggle' switch for the gear selector, which has resulted in a redesigned centre console/transmission tunnel in all 508 cabins. Other than that, and again as it was before, the PSE gets various sporty addenda to remind you it's the range-topping performance one, such as deeply sculpted bucket seats with Alcantara upholstery and bright-green stitching everywhere to remind you of the Kryptonite exterior accents. All in all, it's a very high-quality place to spend some time.
Practicality
We drove the facelifted PSE as a Fastback, which still has its party trick of looking like a three-box saloon, but not actually being one. The whole tailgate is hinged at the top, so you get great access to a boot with decent, if not outstanding, storage figures of 487 litres with a full complement of humans onboard, and 1,537 litres if you fold the second row of seats away. Of course, rear headroom in any 508 Fastback, never mind the PSE, isn't ideal if you're very tall, while those craving even greater practicality will probably want the svelte 508 SW estate, which ups the boot to 530 litres at a minimum. Aside from these details, and the narrow view afforded by the rear screen on the Fastback, the main potential stumbling block in here will relate to the driver's build - no, we're not body-shaming anyone, you understand; we're simply saying that the Peugeot's idiosyncratic i-Cockpit layout doesn't work for everyone, as the steering wheel can often impede the driver's view of the digital dials behind. So if you fall into that camp, then that's a serious black mark against the 508's practicality rating. Luckily, we've always got on with it so no such qualms from us.
Performance
No changes to the petrol-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain of the 508 PSE are forthcoming, which means you get a 200hp 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, ably assisted by 81kW (110hp) front and 83kW (113hp) rear electric motors powered by a 12.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Total outputs aren't, regrettably, a sum-of-their-parts job and therefore you're looking at 423hp, although we still think peak figures of 360hp and 520Nm are more than decent from a 1.6-litre Peugeot, when all's said and done.
Providing the traction advantages of four-wheel drive and propelling 1,866kg of car, you can expect the PSE to tick off 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds and run on to a limited top speed of 155mph, where possible (and, crucially, legal), all while giving you a theoretical 157mpg, just 40g/km of CO2 emissions and an all-electric driving range of 34 miles. Forward momentum for all this lot is provided by the long-serving EAT8 automatic eight-speed gearbox, which is fine enough - if not at the very cutting edge of self-shifting transmissions.
And with some charge in its battery pack, the 508 PSE still feels suitably urgent. The danger these days, with increasing numbers of fully electric vehicles which can run sub-four-second 0-62mph times out and about on the roads, is that something like the Peugeot - which would once have been considered to be 'pretty damned fast' - is no longer thought of as that punchy any more with a 'mere' 360hp, or more pertinently 193hp-per-tonne. But there's still an impressive rate of pick-up from the car, whether you're clogging the PSE from low speed and low revs, or asking it to give you a healthy dose of roll-on acceleration.
About the only criticism of the speed of this 508 is that the 1.6 PureTech buried underneath all this power-assisting technology can occasionally sound coarse and even gruff when being revved out, while it never makes any noise that would be what you'd call appealing. However, despite that, we're inclined to say we approve of the way the PSE puts its power down. The only other bugbear is a classic PHEV one: drive it hard, and you can obviously forget about 100mpg-plus. You'll be more likely in the 20-30mpg bracket if you're really on it, but more like 40-45mpg ought to be attainable with a reasonable mix of gentle and, erm, spirited sessions behind the wheel.
Ride & Handling
In terms of grip and balance, there's much to admire about the Peugeot 508 PSE's handling. It has tons of the former and a quite pleasing neutrality when it comes to the latter, so if the conditions are right then it can link together a series of challenging corners in quite devastating fashion. It's just that... it's not hugely engaging while you go about it. In that classic way some fast, all-wheel-drive Audis fell into a similar trap years ago, what Peugeot's engineers have done here is mistake sheer, unremitting competence for excitement. You can get in the 508 PSE and drive it very quickly from the get-go, but you're unlikely to learn anything else rewarding or unexpected about its chassis after the initial few explorations of the limits of grip, which all makes it slightly uninvolving.
There's also the grey area over how potent it will feel with an exhausted battery pack. Carmakers tend to engineer PHEVs so they will always reserve some charge to keep the electric motors turning no matter what, but we've driven the 508 PSE before when the battery indicator says it is empty and the performance is notably less vivacious in such circumstances. We had enough charge this time to get the test drive done with all the car's petrol-electric resources available to us, but that won't always be the case for owners. Also, we're not big fans of Peugeot's fixed paddle-shifts with the movable silver toggles at the end of them to change gear. They're not only way off standards of the glorious items in the competitor Alfa Romeo Giulia, for example, but other paddle-shifts from various rival manufacturers are simply better than these strange contrivances from Peugeot.
Thankfully, the pay-off to the 508 PSE's slightly inert dynamics is a good level of refinement, although again the car isn't flawless in this regard. For instance, its variable dampers are attempting to control the unsprung mass of 20-inch alloy wheels sitting over gigantic 380mm brake discs, so the ride quality always has an insistent edginess to it that reminds you that you're in the fast one. Good for driver interaction, not so good for long-distance comfort for passengers.
Nevertheless, the ride quality is a long way from awful or uncomfortable, and the general refinement levels in the passenger compartment are excellent - you don't hear much of tyre chatter or wind noise when you're travelling in the Peugeot, even if you're doing motorway speeds. There's also the side-benefit of rolling around urban areas on electric power only, which makes the big 508 feel that touch more relaxing than if the 1.6 was buzzing away permanently under the bonnet, going some way towards validating Peugeot's decision to make the PSE a PHEV, rather than just a petrol or diesel car.
Value
There's a generous stash of standard equipment on the 508 PSE, as you'd expect from a flagship car trying to lever customers out of the default choice of some kind of SUV. So among the kit you get from the off are highlights such as Night Vision, the Nappa leather and Alcantara upholstery, three-mode adaptive suspension, 20-inch wheels, a high-power, premium Focal sound system (we tested it to the max on a demo car and it simply will not distort, no matter what crazy French house you play through it and how much you provocatively turn the bass/subwoofer up in order to try to get it to show an acoustic weakness), and a 15-watt wireless smartphone charging pad. A further benefit, again relating to its PHEV nature, is that the PSE will give you various tax breaks, especially if it's a company car, and if you charge it regularly it will cost you a lot less to run than, say, a BMW M340i xDrive.
What can't be ignored, though, is that in a line-up which starts from £34,170, the PSE is 25 quid shy of £54,000. Ouch. To be fair to Peugeot, it is a product with serious premium aspirations and to get something German or Italian with the same level of power and performance, you're going to be paying pretty much the same amount of cash. But there will be plenty who look and think £53,975 for a dolled-up family French fastback is a huge ask, especially as it retains a relatively modest four-cylinder powertrain at its core.
Verdict
The revised Peugeot 508 PSE continues where its pre-facelift forebears left off - what you have here is a car which is great to look at, reasonably practical, well-equipped, cheap to run (if you plug it into the mains a lot), and yet has plenty of speed and highly capable handling if the mood takes you. It sounds like a beguiling confection and, to be fair to the PSE, it's a very likeable car when you take everything into consideration. However, the high asking price and the lack of outright thrills - both from its chassis and its petrol-electric drivetrain - just takes the shine off it a touch. It's a technically mighty impressive creation, yet we can't help but feel that 'lesser' 508 models make more financial sense, while those seeking the last word in driving excitement will be better off looking elsewhere.
