Peugeot dedicated most of its attention to the lineup’s exterior for the simple fact that this is the very first part of a car which people notice. The intention was to make 508 look more mature, rather than sporty, because this is what luxury buyers usually prefer. This is what explains the bigger use of horizontal shapes at the front fascia. With inspiration at the Exalt concept, the headlights were given dark treatment and those irregular shapes seen at other recent Peugeots. They were paired to a wider upper grille, extended by a black section holding the license plate goes. The company logo went there too, for the first time, and this freed the hood to look more imponent. On the lower portion, the three intakes were connected, with chrome inserts above each fog light.
Both sedan and station wagon also received new wheels, and a more sophisticated rear design. The bumper uses very similar chrome lines to those of the front, and the sedan’s tail lights repeated that dark treatment. And when it comes to the off-road-ish RXH variation, its entire lower section keeps standing apart: the front uses a silver-colored protector, while the air intakes were separated in order to take the attentions to those claw-inspired fog lights in LEDs which just look gorgeous. The sides use exclusive wheels, thin protector contours in black plastic and a silver footboard. The rear, in turn, uses a different bumper with bigger black and silver zones. There is even a panoramic sunroof, as if Peugeot’s mission has not been accomplished well enough.
Since this is only a partial update, the interior’s changes were also small. The equipment list was also boosted by reversing camera and blind-spot alerts, the latter on the mirrors, but the greatest feature is definitely the all-new infotainment central: if it still does not abandon almost all the physical buttons of the dashboard, like 208’s and 308’s do, at least it allows 508’s drivers to the entire plethora of applications and functions offered by Peugeot mostly in Europe, such as fuel prices, parking space availability and weather information. The French automaker counts on this car so much because this is the way to enter the luxury market. Prospering at the D-segment now can lead to success with even more expensive – and profitable – cars in the future.
Peugeot 508 had also some news concerning the engines. The diesel lineup relies on the four-cylinder HDi 2.0L in two versions: one reaches 150 hp, uses manual transmission and emits 105 g/km of CO2, while the other goes to 180 hp, uses a new six-speed automatic and emits 111 g/km of CO2. Switching to gasoline, the turbocharged THP 1.6L unit was tweaked in order to take the power from 156 hp to 165 hp and the emissions from 144 g/km to 131 g/km. As another attempt of highlighting 508’s potential of being a truly global product, Peugeot made its release in London, since this city is claimed to reflect the car’s vibrant and upmarket character. Both sedan and station wagon will arrive in Europe later this year.