NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Peugeot 508: Key issues

NZ Herald
19 Aug, 2011 05:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

When it gets started, the 508 has an Allure. Photo / Supplied

When it gets started, the 508 has an Allure. Photo / Supplied

Peugeot is one of those European brands forever trying to propel itself out of the mainstream and into the premium class. With the new 508, it might have stumbled over quite a small hurdle: the key.

It's that little piece of car that goes everywhere with you. You hold it, feel the action of the buttons with your fingertips, sometimes even throw it on the table at a cafe.

Premium cars generally have really nice keys. Outwardly, the 508 does - it's a different shape to the parts-bin item that starts a 207 or 308, has a substantial feel and is finished with a nice line of chrome-look trim around a glossy black backplate.

Trouble is, the key of our very new 508 SW test car was looking pretty secondhand, with scratches all over the shiny backing. A small thing, but it rather undermined the Peugeot's opportunity for a great first impression. Delight can be in the detail, but so can disappointment.

I digress. Fob off those key concerns and the 508 marks the start of a new generation of Peugeot models: different styling themes, a new attitude towards driving and a higher level of cabin quality.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As it should, because until the 1.6-litre petrol Active model arrives later this year, the 2.0-litre HDi diesel Allure is the entry-level 508 - at $54,990 for the sedan and $57,990 for our SW five-door.

That's a lot of money for a French midsizer, but then this is a really great car. Peugeot's diesel technology is well proven (120kW/340Nm, 5.7 litres per 100km), the six-speed automatic shifts in a sensible (if occasionally sluggish) way and the chassis is superb.

The 508 isn't back to the level of Peugeot's great driver's cars of the 1990s, but it does feel like it came from the same company. The 508 has strong steering, true cornering poise and pretty decent ride.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Peugeot cabins have been a mixed bag in recent years. The 508 plays it safe on styling and concentrates on fundamentals like fit/finish and equipment - with success. The Allure offers part-leather upholstery, parking radar front and rear with an "assist" function that lets you know whether a space is large enough, glass roof, four-zone air conditioning, blinds for the rear-side windows and powered tailgate.

So ... it's a French car. It's got to have some inexplicably annoying details, right?

Actually, the 508 has remarkably few. The staggered gate for the automatic gearbox is so fussy it's a rat-in-a-maze situation to find reverse gear, the electronic handbrake is jerky, the centre-console information display persists with the confusing interface of other Peugeots ... and that's about it really.

This is a genuinely impressive car that's got the look, the driving dynamics and the quality to command your attention. Does it finally earn Peugeot those premium credentials? Put it this way: if I was in the market for a 2.0-litre turbo diesel Audi A4 Avant, I'd be totally swayed by this particular Peugeot. Seriously. Not all to do with an $18k price difference, either.

Discover more

New Zealand

Audi ice-fest: The ultimate cool experience

27 Aug 07:30 PM
New Zealand

Peugeot: French lugger a six pack

02 Sep 05:30 PM
New Zealand

Charity racers in the pink

16 Sep 05:30 PM

Since the 508 Allure comes as standard with keyless entry/start, I'd just keep that scratched keyfob in my pocket.

The bottom line:

Finally, a Peugeot that will appeal to more than just the Francophiles. New 508 is generations ahead on dynamics and quality. A pleasing alternative to entry-level executive cars.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
New Zealand|crime

200 dodgy visas granted for businesses linked to Vietnamese cannabis houses

05 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Letters to the Editor

Letters: Where have our statesman gone?

05 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Shane Te Pou: Springsteen is a pulse of musical power for the working class

05 Jul 05:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
200 dodgy visas granted for businesses linked to Vietnamese cannabis houses

200 dodgy visas granted for businesses linked to Vietnamese cannabis houses

05 Jul 05:00 PM

Investigation revealed how Vietnamese crime groups exploited hundreds of migrant workers.

Premium
Letters: Where have our statesman gone?

Letters: Where have our statesman gone?

05 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Shane Te Pou: Springsteen is a pulse of musical power for the working class

Shane Te Pou: Springsteen is a pulse of musical power for the working class

05 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Editorial: Kiwis support the business battler, not the shoplifter

Editorial: Kiwis support the business battler, not the shoplifter

05 Jul 05:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP