Peugeot 508 Hybrid long-term test: This suave plug-in makes for a savvy company car

Low tax rates make the latest model a tempting choice – but it faces stiff competition from premium rivals

Would you choose a Peugeot instead of a BMW or an Audi? Chances are the answer is “No”. While Peugeot has undoubtedly raised its game in terms of style and quality in recent years, it probably hasn’t done enough to take on the premium brand grandees. 
And yet, with this latest 508, Peugeot is clearly pitching toward that end of the market. No longer is this a straight-laced four-door saloon, as the first-generation model was. Instead, its low, sweeping roof and frameless doors make it a little harder to label.
Were it to wear a premium badge, I would have no hesitation in referring to it as a four-door coupe, as indeed we do the BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe and Audi A5 Sportback. So why can’t the 508 sit among such desirable rivals? Is the badge on its snout really all that’s stopping it?
This is a question you might well ask if you’re a company car driver. That’s because the 508’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain and low P11D values bestow upon it some surprisingly cost-effective benefit-in-kind tax (BIK) rates.
It looks the part too, fresh from a facelift that’s given it a scowling face with an arresting, pixelated grille. Indeed, this was already a handsome car, with a suit sharp enough to pass muster in the office car park regardless of the badge. 
So you might well be wondering whether it could, in fact, be an alternative to the usual premium company car suspects – a rakish slice of French couture that’ll turn heads among colleagues and friends. Might you bring yourself to try something a little different the next time your lease is up?
Don’t say we don’t do anything for you, because I am trying a 508 Hybrid for six months to find out whether that thinking stacks up. 
Our car’s a top-of-the-range GT, which gives it a not-inconsiderable price of £46,440. To this, Peugeot has added a powered boot lid (£400) and a high-end hi-fi system from Focal (£900). There’s also a better on-board charger – which takes the maximum charging speed from 3.7kW to 7.4kW, to support use with a home charging point (another £400).
Further, the 508’s svelte lines are flattered by the £850 addition of Elixir Red paint, bringing the total cost of the test car to £48,990. That’s a wince-inducing sum to pay for a car with a Peugeot badge, surely. 
But hold on just a second, because if you’re after a company car all you’ll care about is the tax liability. You might already have discounted an electric car – EVs are the cheapest company cars to tax these days, but they don’t work for everyone.
That being the case, plug-in hybrids are the next best thing, offering considerably more affordable tax rates than equivalent petrol and diesel models. And the 508 happens to be one of the cheapest of its type to tax.
Even including all of its optional extras, our 508 will cost only £1,566 a year in company car tax if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer.
By comparison, a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe or Audi A5 Sportback with a petrol or diesel engine will cost at least £6,000 in company car tax. 
You can get around this in the BMW’s case by choosing a 3-Series saloon instead. But even then, a plug-in hybrid 330e M Sport will cost £2,313 a year to run – and that’s before you’ve added any options.
Even the 508’s stablemate, the Citroën C5 X, will cost more (at £1,979 a year) thanks to its higher CO2 emissions and, consequently, a higher benefit-in-kind banding.
In fact, the only rival that will cost you less to tax is the Mercedes-Benz C300e, by dint of its huge battery and low CO2 emissions. Of course, that also means it’s expensive to buy and lease – so getting one past your fleet manager might not be the easiest thing in the world. 
That’s the case for choosing the 508 as a company car on paper. But does it stack up in the flesh? First impressions are very good. I can’t stop admiring the 508 when I walk up to it. In an era in which ‘arresting’ or ‘unusual’ pass for style, the 508 is a truly handsome car – in the classical sense. 
Inside, it’s just as eye-catching, though there is an air of style over substance; as with all modern Peugeots, you stare at the instrument binnacle over the top of the steering wheel. Given the 508’s driving position is pretty low, that means the bottom of the wheel rests in your lap, so you drive in an oddly relaxed pose as though sitting in a waiting room.
There’s the same old frustrating lack of separate climate controls – you have to fiddle with the climate menu in the touchscreen instead – and there isn’t a lot of space either. More on that – and how the 508 drives – in our next update. 
On test: Peugeot 508 1.6 Hybrid 225 GT
Body style: five-door hatchback (also available as a five-door estate)
On sale: now
How much? £46,440 on the road (£48,990 as tested)
How fast? 149mph, 0-62mph in 7.9sec
How economical? 274.8mpg (WLTP Combined)
Engine & gearbox:1,598cc four-cylinder petrol engine, eight-speed automatic gearbox, front-wheel drive
Electric powertrain: AC permanent magnet synchronous motor with 12.4kWh battery, 7.4kW on-board charger, Type 2 charging socket
Electric range: 42.3 miles (WLTP Combined)
Maximum power/torque: 222bhp/266lb ft
CO2 emissions: 34g/km (WLTP Combined)
VED: £0 first year, £590 next five years, then £180
Warranty: 3 years / 60,000 miles
Spare wheel as standard: no (not available)
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