Peugeot 508 hybrid: order books open for plug-in fastback and estate

Order books for the new plug-in hybrid versions of the Peugeot 508 and 508 SW estate have officially opened, with the first customer deliveries set to take place in January 2020.

Both models produce 178bhp from a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, with an electric motor on the front axle adding another 108bhp. Total power output stands at 222bhp.

Meanwhile, an 11.8kWh battery takes two hours to fully charge from a 7kW home wallbox. The official figures claim that the 508 hybrid returns up to 235mpg and produces as little as 31g/km of CO2 emissions, but – as is the case with all plug-in hybrids – achieving these numbers in the real world will depend on regular charging.

Peugeot says that both the saloon and the estate versions of the 508 plug-in hybrid will achieve 39 miles of pure-electric, zero-emissions driving on a full charge.

The are three other driving modes: Sport (which combines the power from both the petrol engine and the electric motor to give maximum performance), Hybrid (which switches between the two for maximum efficiency) and Comfort (which softens the suspension for improved ride comfort).

Company-car drivers will benefit from the 508 hybrid's 10% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax band from April 2020.

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Peugeot says it has engineered the battery packs so that they don’t take up any more space in the boot, so the saloon retains 487 litres of boot space and the estate 530 litres.

The 508 hybrid will be available in three trim levels: Allure, GT Line and GT. Top-spec GT cars get leather seats and a premium stereo. All versions get adaptive cruise control, a lane positioning aid and night vision.

We've driven a prototype of the 508 hybrid and found that the engine and electric motor “interact neatly to give quiet and punchy progress”. However, we did find the eight-speed automatic gearbox holds on to gears for too long and makes the engine sound thrashy – something we hope has since been resolved.