Peugeot still in the race for family buyers

Peugeot’s post-crisis tagline is “back in the race” but the message from the launch of a revised 508 is very much that the brand is still in the race. The timely facelift of the 508 coincides with the arrival of a brand new VW Passat and a new Ford Mondeo.

In a segment of the market that's already looking overcrowded - and one that internationally is losing sales to alternative formats like crossovers and SUVs - it's always hard to get heard. Throw in two major new arrivals that will catch most of the media spotlight in the next few months and you can see why Peugeot is eager to keep the 508 in the public consciousness. What's more, it wants to underline the message that the brand is moving upmarket.

It has been four years since the 508 made its debut and a lot has changed for the brand. In came the Chinese - and French government - money and in return a new strategy has been devised, based principally on pushing the brand slightly upmarket; still within the reaches of the mainstream buyers but a little distance away from the cut-throat price-conscious end. That said the new 508 will still be competitively priced, starting at €26,750.

In truth this is not a new strategy, for the cars it is now unveiling were clearly in the pipeline for the last few years. But the timing is right.

With the 508 the revision involves revised engines - including a new 1.6-litre petrol - that will, in the case of the 2-litre diesel, move the new model into lower tax bands for Irish buyers. The real changes, however, are inside, where the cabin has undergone a major revamp. Touchscreen controls in the central console mean the traditional array of buttons that cluttered French cars is giving way to cleaner control panels. Much of the new look interior trim is taken from the latest 308, which recently picked up the coveted European car of the year award.

While as a jury member I didn’t give it my top vote, having spent time this week in the new 1.2-litre 110bhp petrol version I can certainly see why my colleagues did. The little three-cylinder is a revelation, offering an incredible breadth of torque without the usual rattle or whine you might expect from such a small engine.

The 308 remains a real fun drive and part of this is down to something that really shouldn’t matter: the small steering wheel. Such a simple difference to its rivals and yet it makes a massive impact on the sense of control you feel behind the wheel. In reality it’s still a rather large and wide family car, but from the driver’s seat it feels every bit the nimble little go-kart.

We pitted the 308 and its new 1.2-litre engine against a twisting mountain pass. It was barely the width of two cars and wound - with a dozen or so hairpin bends - up the side of the mountain. It should have been a horrid drive. The car should have been unwieldy, the engine should have screamed and struggled and I should have spent the entire time desperately changing gears to try and get some semblance of forward motion. Instead it was incredible fun. This engine is a little cracker and even on the steepest stretches and when I slipped it into too low a gear it merely grumbled and fought on.

Acoustic tricks are clearly part of the 308 package, not least when you try out the 308 automatic with its sport button. The soundtrack is so throaty that it’s clearly not the natural sound of this engine in any guise. You can’t help thinking that the button has less to do with changing an engineering feature in the car as it is hitting the play button on an MP3 soundtrack. It does prove, however, that Peugeot engineers could probably make your kitchen blender sound like a Bugatti Veyron if they so desired.

Regardless of its acoustic attributes, this three-pot 308 is a winner and should certainly make Irish buyers realise it’s time to dump the diesel-only fixation. Cars of this size deliver respectable fuel economy, are often less expensive and ultimately offer much more fun for the driver. And while this engine is offered in varying power outputs - from 82bhp, 110bhp and 130bhp - it’s hard to see why you would bother going for anything other than the 110bhp, which starts at €22,815.

The French brand may still struggle to get saloon buyers to consider the 508 amid the hype that will surround the new Mondeo and Passat. In the hatchback market, however, it’s 308 has such a viable proposition in the petrol 308 that it should be considered on any buyer’s shortlist.