A panoramic glass roof is a necessity.
Only the other week I tested the Mazda CX-5 and bemoaned how dark the interior was compared to the Nissan Qashqai. The reason was that the Mazda lacked the expansive glass roof of its competitor making it really dull even on a bright summer’s day.
Peugeot, unlike Mazda, knows the importance of such a luxury and has been duly incorporating this into its designs for sometime. The 508SW benefits from an expansive 1.62 sq m tinted glass roof (25 per cent larger than the one fitted to the 407 SW). It makes such a difference, especially when the sun is beating down during the heat wave where temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees Celsius. This roof really does transform the passenger experience so much so that two year old daughter Harriett thoroughly enjoys looking out of it during a long journey to Devon. The numerous branch covered roads eventually send her to sleep.
I drove the 508 saloon when it was first launched and marvelled at the high specification and its sheer style as you can see in the video at testdrives.biz. But I do believe that Peugeot has surpassed itself with its SW estate version. Gone are the days of ugly estate cars. This is a joy to behold. Head on its masculine, purposeful and sporty front end is enough to make even the most hardnosed BMW driver pull over when he sees it appear in the rear view mirror. There is no part of its design that I can criticise; I even like the boot, which is quite an achievement for an estate car. The pearlescent white paintwork (a £655 option) undoubtedly adds to its appeal.
When you’re struggling with two little children the last thing you want to do is fiddle about trying to find your car keys and then have to unlock the vehicle. With the Peugeot, as long as the key is on you it will automatically unlock with two pulls of a door handle. Sumptuous luxury is found inside and there’s a massive amount of room, too. The boot swallows our tandem pushchair and is large enough to cope with a week’s worth of holiday luggage, although admittedly the security cover has to be left at home because the pushchair is too large to pull it over. The two girls have bags of room in the back, which is just as well because the floor provides added luggage space.
A driver couldn’t be happier really. They are provided with an electrically adjustable seat complete with massage function, for those particularly stressful journeys. Needless to say it comes in very handy when we are confronted with an hour-long tailback due to a major road traffic accident. The blistering temperatures require the quad air conditioning (front and back of the car – with controls for rear passengers – a £310 option with the rear sunblinds) to be on for the duration of our week together and we find it to be effective and equally as importantly, efficient. It doesn’t noticeably affect the fuel economy as we are able to travel nigh on 600 miles on the tank. This is pretty impressive for a 2.2-litre 200bhp diesel. Cruise control, a speed limiter and a smooth six-speed automatic gearbox all contribute to its average 47.8mpg reading.
On the border of Devon and Dorset the roads begin to free up and with a clear dual carriageway ahead of us, it is possible to begin to put the 508SW through its paces. When sports mode is engaged the revs increase and it shoots out of the blocks like a fine thoroughbred. An approaching bend does not present a problem either, in the way that I first anticipated, and with minimal roll, it hugs the corner and comes out the other side with aplomb. By virtue of the fact that it is a large estate car it is cumbersome but its design tackles and generally overcomes this issue. There are occasions where it is tricky to see all the way over the bonnet and reversing does require perhaps a little greater concentration than in smaller cars.
Often those who buy estate cars do it out of necessity and in the past have had to forgo any sporty appeal in favour of load carrying ability. Thank goodness for the Peugeot because now parents of a certain age can still enjoy an 8 second 0-60 time while carrying a large pram. Try doing that in an Audi TT…
Facts at a glance
Peugeot 508 SW GT HDi 200
Price £30,880
0-60mph: 8.4secs
Top speed: 138mph
Combined economy: 47.8mpg
Watch the video at www.testdrives.biz
