At first glance the Peugeot 508 RXH estate has plenty of presence and presence is what is needed to establish an estate as being something different than a standard car with a boxed off rear end. The car has its origins in the diesel hybrid model introduced, and then killed off by Peugeot last year, when it realised - as others have had to - that diesel and hybrid are not really a successful mix.
It looks sturdy and it still has that four wheel drive stance about it despite now being a front wheel drive only car and it also looks practical. However, this is a car that is in mid-life and it is really showing its age. What might be expected to be a good all 'rounder is a car that has ageing technology; fuel consumption that is below par for the lean diesel range Peugeot now produces and its price leaves it little chance in competing with the likes of Skoda; Volkswagen and Ford.
The automatic gearbox showed itself to be sluggish and unengaged for city driving but loosened out for motorway conditions and, in fact, the car - like a lot of diesels - was at its best on the motorway for overall performance. Interestingly, it was also a rewarding drive on some challenging back roads. Some criticism can be levelled at the occasionally vague steering but when it came to soaking up some serious bumps on twisty roads, the RXH acquitted itself very well.
Peugeot has now established itself as one of the leaders in diesel fuel efficiency (it should be mentioned as the only car company publishing real-world consumption figures) but this heavy car has a 2.0 litre engine that produces 180 horse power but none of the efficiency magic. Even coaxing the car at moderate speeds yielded nothing better than 5.9 litres per 100 kilometres and most of the time it was nearing 7.0 litres per 100 kilometres. I've have better from an Audi Quattro estate with full-time four wheel drive.
The interior is also showing its age and the display screen is irritatingly small.
It is well equipped, although it is hard to appreciate things like a driver seat massage mechanism when you are dealing with a centre display with a miserably small and hard to read screen. Trying to decipher satellite navigation or other-on board information was the equivalent of watching black and white television.
Overall, despite having some good qualities, the 508 RXH is already past its sell by date and despite having an impressive equipment level, it does not have the safety technology offered by competitors, such as auto braking to avoid collisions. Despite its relative comfort and overall comfort, a similiarly-priced Skoda Octavia estate would leave it in the shade.
