Extinction Rebellion

IF SEDANS ARE A DYING BREED, NO-ONE TOLD THIS TRIO OF HOPEFULS. HERE WE PITCH THE REBORN PEUGEOT 508 GT AGAINST THE NEW VOLVO S60 T5 AND FINE KIA STINGER GT-LINE

- Ron Mathioudakis

EVOLUTION, biologist Charles Darwin first proposed, is key to survival. Either adapt to change, or die.

With hatches, SUVs and, lately, dual-cabs squeezing medium and larger sedans inextricably towards oblivion, creating yet another Camry clone nobody wants no longer cuts it.

Peugeot finally gets it with the latest 508 – a front-drive mid-sizer so utterly different from its dowdy, underperforming predecessor that surely a new name is deserved. Shorter by 42mm, 53mm lower and lighter than the 2011 original nobody remembers, it breaks convention with a far sleeker silhouette, frameless doors, a tailgate and a fiercely bold interior. A switch to the company’s lightweight tech-heavy EMP2 platform enhances the makeover’s cred.

Inevitably there is a price to pay for such progress. From $53,990 before on-road costs, the 508 GT Fastback rises some $10K over the Volkswagen Passat 132TSI Comfortline that the old bus bumbled behind, but is also a similar amount under the popular Mercedes C200, placing it in a sort of ‘premiumeconomy’ no-man’s land. Is Peugeot deluded, or is it an Audi A5 Sportback from Sochaux?

We’ll see, but in the meantime, the French fastback is chockfull of features, with few options, to help overcome sticker shock, including stop/go adaptive cruise, auto parking, adaptive dampers, Nappa leather, massaging electric front seats with heating, and a gesture-activated tailgate. Strangely, though, no rear cross-traffic alert. And the engine’s a downsized 165kW 1.6-litre turbo.