Hybrid vehicle

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Thursday – Unique But Not Different Enough

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Jeremy We arrived back from London in the early hours after a quick dash up to meet some friends in Shepherd Market. Relieved of £26 for parking the RXH for three hours, earlier it had taken me almost four hours to drive up from Bath because of a minor accident on the M4.

Sat in stationary traffic, it was a good moment to try and get to grips with the DAB radio again. Sadly, I had to give up and accept I was doomed to suffer FM for the final day in the Peugeot. It’s not just me, a couple of other people had a go too and failed in frustration.

Life with the RXH has had its ups and down. Which I can only applaud Peugeot for the diesel hybrid technology, in reality this version of the 508 is an acquired taste. The sluggish gear change, heavy steering and various rattles have been a constant source of annoyance.

Fuel economy has been a respectable 44.5mpg, although this is much less than the 68mpg claimed – and I haven’t been driving the car hard either. Jessica has also found the seats very hard, to the point that she has suffered pins and needles whilst nearing the end of a 90 minute journey!

So, if you are after a lesser-spotted hybrid estate car with genuine four-wheel drive ability, the RXH couple be for you. In the real world of depreciation and marque image, I imagine most people would opt for an Audi allroad instead.

 

 

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Thursday – Think Electric

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Jeremy It doesn’t matter what you think of pure electric cars, hybrid models are popping up all over the place at the moment. There’s no escaping the rash of new models coming onto the market, nipping away at our conscious over environmental issues and offering the opportunity to save money at the filling station.

All that technology costs though and hybrid cars are more to buy than their petrol or diesel counterparts. Just one look at the price tag of the RXH for example and you know it’s not going to be a major seller for Peugeot. What is does do is highlight how far the technology has come and presents a very real alternative to some of the premium band 4×4 estates out there.

Driving the 508 today I love the fact that it looks so different to the familiar Audi, BMW and Mercedes estates on the road. It has a unique look and that in itself counts for a lot. The questions is, is it worth the premium you pay for the RXH’s hybrid power unit and will the car suffer from  poor residuals if you sell it in three years time?

It’s probably too early to answer both of those questions but on image alone, I’d say the RXH is definitely worth a look. Yes, it is a Peugeot and not a German premium brand but the quality and attention to detail in this car are quite exceptional. I’m looking forward to many hundreds of miles getting to know the RXH, seeing how the economy fares in real-life conditions – and working out what all the buttons do (I’ve not seen a car with this complicated a dashboard for a long time!).