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Preview: Peugeot 508 (2011)

In brief

In the past few years Peugeot’s styling has become more and more challenging on the eye with overgrown grilles and odd proportions. With that in mind the French car maker is hitting the reset button with its new family sedan, the 508.

Based on the lovely SR1 and 5 by Peugeot concept cars from the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, the 508 is set to replace both the 407 and 607 sedans, the latter of which is no longer on sale in Australia.

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(Credit: Peugeot)

Officially, all Peugeot is saying about the car’s in-cabin features is that it will be “hi-tech”. From its publicity shots we can tell that multi-zone climate control air-conditioning, seats with both heating and massaging elements, cruise control and driver-adjustable suspension will be on offer. There will also be a JBL hi-fi available with sat nav, Bluetooth hands-free and an iDrive-style controller.

A bunch of fuel efficient drivetrains have been confirmed for the 508, including turbo-diesels with stop-start technology. The highlight, though, should be Peugeot’s 147kW Hybrid4 system. Unlike current hybrids available today that utilise both petrol and electric engines, Hybrid4 has a turbo-diesel motor driving the front wheels and a battery-fed electric motor powering the rear wheels. Depending on the situation, Hybrid4 cars can operate as a normal front-wheel drive diesel car, a rear-wheel drive electric vehicle or a hybrid four-wheel drive.

Outlook

The Peugeot 508 is to be formally unveiled to the public at this year’s Paris Motor Show and is due for sale in Australia in the middle of 2011. So far sedan and wagon versions have been revealed, with a coupe widely tipped to be also in the offing. Whether all body styles, or even the Hybrid4 version, will make it here is currently being nutted out.

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