2024 Peugeot 508 PSE Fastback: A Test Drive Experience

author: FutureCar Staff    

Peugeot has updated the entire 508 line-up, giving the car a fresh appearance on the outside, as well as a significant update for the human-machine interface inside the vehicle. But while there's a new plug-in hybrid option - making an overall 180hp - many of the drivetrain choices from the pre-facelift 508 family carry over from before, so we've taken the range-topping Peugeot Sport Engineered (PSE) for a drive to see if still makes sense as a high-performance car with an ecological spin.

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.

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 bene 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

FutureCar Staff