The only Peugeot 508 RXH to buy is the proper hybrid version

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Last day with the 508 RXH. The big Peugeot estate has been on sale since 2012, although back then it was in diesel-electric hybrid form only. This erm, other version might look the same but it has none of the benefits of that Hybrid4 system.

Apart from the rufty-tufty body trim, it’s really just a two-wheel drive estate powered by Peugeot’s standard BlueHDi unit. I doubt you will ever get anywhere near the 68mpg claimed either.

Still, at least it looks that little bit different to the many BMW and Audi estate offerings out there. You won’t see many on British roads because at £30,000, it really doesn’t make any sense against far better competition.

If you are tempted, then pay the extra and get the proper hybrid.That’s actually a car with something to shout about.

All shook up – why the Peugeot 508 RXH isn’t as comfortable as it looks…

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My 508 has got the jitters. There’s a stretch of road I use near Stow-on-the-Wold to test every car I drive and the Peugeot estate just doesn’t like it at all.

There is also rather too much wallowing on the corners – it lacks the composure of a BMW 3 Series touring, against which it is firmly pitched at £30,000.

Sure, the RXH has more room on the inside but really I’d enjoy a better drivers car instead – it’s just rather dull, even with the ‘sport’ button engaged.

Tomorrow is press day for the Silverstone Classic event. The 60-mile route to the circuit will expose any issues the Peugeot hasn’t revealed this far…

I’m pondering who is actually going to buy the Peugeot 508 RXH…

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I’ve been pondering all weekend who is going to buy the RXH. If you are French and live in France, then I imagine this car is aimed at you. As we know, the French would buy a broomstick if it had Peugeot, Renault or Citroen on the handle.

We haven’t bought British cars in vast numbers since, ooh let me see,  the 1970s? Forget all the Honda, Nissan, Mini and Toyotas built here, I mean proper British manufactured cars like Triumph and MG.

But a large Peugeot estate car with more frilly equipment than a French fancy – well, non. The last great Pug estate was the seven-seat 504 and they killed that off in the 1980s.

So, I wonder how many RXHs they actually sell in Angleterre? It’s a fine looking car with lots of standard kit but the bottom is is this – there are far better two-wheel drive estates than this for £30k. And they won’t lose their value at such an incredible rate either.

I’m just stating the obvious….

The Peugeot 508 RXH is an Audi allroad lookaline

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Am I the first to note that the Peugeot 508 RXH looks remarkably like the Audi A4 allroad?

No bad thing, of course. Just remember that despite the butch looks of the Pug, it doesn’t actually benefit from four-wheel drive. You need the more expensive hybrid version to enjoy that.

I can’t deny the RXH is  pretty car. The curves and lines give BMW’s estate range a run for its money.

Sadly, this being a Peugeot, it doesn’t have anywhere near the same badge kudos. So why is the RXH expensive?

I could buy a standard 3 Series or A4 estate for £30k. Both the Audi and BMW are much better drivers cars too…

It’s a Peugeot Jim but not as we know it…

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After the madness of last week’s Jeep Renegade in orange, enter the positively restrained Peugeot 508 RHX – in white. Never have I welcome a blanco car so much!

So this is Peugeot’s £30k jacked up estate with a twist. That’s right, it’s a hybrid. Or is it?

Although it might look like the company’s chunky, electric-petrol Hybrid4, this version is front-wheel drive only and equipped with a 180bhp diesel engine.

So like the the two-wheel drive Jeep, the RXH is another pretender that doesn’t do what it says on the tin.

Could be an interesting week ahead – but I promise not to lose my rag over another pseudo 4×4 with no off-road ability…

The hot hatchback Peugeot 208 GTi is bags of fun – just the price might sting you

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I’ll never get used to the driving position in the 208 GTi, or the lack of steering feel but there’s no denying this pocket rocket majors on fun.

The 1.6 turbo engine serves up lashings of torque, so you can tootle along at city speeds, then quickly dip into the full potential of the car when the road opens up.

You get the feeling the beefed up suspension would allow the GTi to take even more performance. However, it feels a lot faster than it is – partly because you can’t actually see the bonnet from the driving seat! The Tarmac just zings by in front of you.

Issues? Well, really most of it comes down to price. The Peugeot is much more expensive than the Fiesta ST and that’s a killer blow. Unless you really want a French car with a performance heritage, that £22K price tag might look well out of reach…

The Peugeot Sport 208 GTi has a red backside and a matt black front three-quarters. It looks more like a baboon

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Iconic cars – they were two a penny back in the 1980s. The Ford Sierra Cosworth, Golf GTI, Austin Allegro (I jest) and, of course, the Peugeot 205 GTI.

Our 208 GTi is considerably more powerful, more agile and more expensive than the original. Yet somehow, modern day safety requirements and our constant quest for ever more mpg means it doesn’t really set the pulse racing like the 205 once did.

That’s perhaps no bad thing – the 205 GTi was a lunatic at times. Anybody who can afford the 33E insurance rating would find the 208 an absolute pussycat by comparison.

It’s considerably more subtle, easier to use and, dare I say it, more practical too (yawn). Yes, even I’m averaging 30mpg with a heavy right foot at times.

Which makes the crazy paintjob even more bemusing. A car with  than a serious hot hatch.

For now I’m only driving it under the cover of night. There are other mad colour schemes too but I’ve just grateful it gets dark earlier these days…

The Peugeot Sport 208 GTi has a crazy paintjob but don’t let that put you off…

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When Peugeot launched the sell-out 208 GTi 30th Anniversary special edition it seemed inevitable that a more permanent, hot hatchback cut from the same cloth would eventually join the line-up.

And here it is – the Peugeot Sport 208 GTi. A close relation to the 30th model, it’s turned a lukewarm city runabout into something rather special.

Thanks to sports tuned steering and suspension, 18-inch Michelins and other detailing, the new model looks every inch the part. We’ll discuss the paintjob tomorrow though!

Tweaks to the 1.6 engine mean power is up to 205hp from the 197hp in the 30th – plus this Gti reaches the very latest Euro 6 emission standards.

Happy to pay £22k for the pleasure? More tomorrow…

Barn owl white – the new colour for the Peugeot 308 GT…?

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I’ve invented a new colour name for the 308 GT – barn owl white. I know this because I’m having breakfast this morning with one (an owl, that is) perched on my gatepost.

It looks remarkably similar. Surely it’s about time Peugeot coughed up and admitted it stole the colour for Car Couture’s test car this week from Mother Nature. A £50 donation from each one sold to the RSPB perhaps?!

I’m off on safari to Kenya tomorrow, so apart from some well-battered Land Rovers, there won’t be much in the way of car reviews for a week.

At least there’s no chance of running in to the lesser-spotted Clarkson and crew making some pointless film on the Serengeti…

There’s something of the Audi A3 about the profile of the Peugeot 308 GT…

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Daydreaming as I listen to England play New Zealand at cricket today, I couldn’t help noticing the 308 GT has a profile that bears close resemblance to the Audi A3.

No bad thing. This GT version is growing on me all the time too. The 308 is the 2014 European Car of the Year and building on such a sound model has its benefits.

While a hot hatch model is in the pipeline, the GT will have more than enough grunt for most people. The steering lacks precision and the suspension is softer than an ‘enthusiastic’ driver might like but you can still enjoy a winding country road.

And the GT has the Driver Sport Pack as standard – which means a generally more responsive feel to the controls all round. It’s no Audi A3 to drive, but for £24,000 it’s great value for money…