New Peugeot 508 SW: a sporty family estate for "dads"

To offer a car that makes you forget about SUVs, the new Peugeot 508 also needed an estate version. And here it is: the new Peugeot 508 SW

The new generation of the Peugeot 508 continues its rollout. The saloon, which reaches dealerships from September, will be joined a few months later—by early 2019—by the estate version, the Peugeot 508 SW. It will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show this year.

With a very sporty style, the dimensions of the Peugeot 508 SW are slightly different from those of the saloon: it measures 4.78 metres in length (about 3 cm longer), but stands out for keeping a low body profile, which helps achieve that dynamic look. With the roof bars fitted, the Peugeot 508 measures 1.42 metres, compared with 1.40 for the saloon. That is almost 6 cm less than the height of the Peugeot 508 currently on sale.

Peugeot 508 SW: sporty with a coupé-like look

A characteristic feature that the 508 SW shares with the saloon, setting it apart from other family cars in its category, is its frameless doors. The tailgate that gives access to the boot can be fitted with hands-free opening and power assistance. Once open, it reveals a loading area whose sill is 6 cm lower than the saloon’s, offering a capacity of 530 litres, about 40 more than the five-door Peugeot 508, and 30 fewer than the current estate, once the parcel shelf is taken into account.

By folding down the rear seats, which can be done via the Magic Flat system from controls located in the boot itself, a flat floor is created and the cargo volume rises to 1,780 litres. Estates with the largest boots in the segment start at 600 litres, such as the Volkswagen Passat Variant. An Opel Insignia Sports Tourer offers 560 litres. As is usual in estate bodies, there is no shortage of features to improve the versatility of the cargo space, such as cargo nets to separate the cabin, or tie-down points that can be moved along a rail system in the floor.

Compared with the saloon, the only relevant change inside is that the roof design allows an additional 4 cm of headroom for rear passengers. Everything else remains unchanged, from the dashboard design with the Peugeot i-Cockpit to the various connectivity and multimedia systems and the new driver-assistance features of the 508 saloon.

A plug-in hybrid will also be available

The mechanical range for the Peugeot 508 SW will be the same as that announced for the saloon: two Puretech petrol engines with 180 and 225 CV, and three BlueHDI diesel engines with 130, 160 and 180 CV. All of them come as standard with the EAT8 automatic gearbox, except the lowest-powered variant, where it can be fitted as an option. The petrol versions feature a coasting mode between 25 and 130 km/h, which disengages the gearbox from the engine to reduce drag and improve fuel economy.

For the second half of 2019, Peugeot announces a high-performance plug-in hybrid version, which it is previewed will not lose boot capacity—the batteries will be placed under the rear seats—and its electric-only range will reach 50 km.

Peugeot 508 SW image gallery