Peugeot Australia’s growing plug-in hybrid range could gain another member in the shape of the 508 Sportswagon.
“The 508 PHEV wagon is currently under consideration for this market, part of the electrification journey for Peugeot,” said Kate Gillis, managing director of Peugeot Citroen Australia.
The 508 plug-in hybrid, currently sold here only in GT fastback guise, is considerably more tame than the wild Sport Engineered (PSE) plug-in hybrid that tops the 508 range in Europe.
Like the PSE, it teams a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with an 11.8kWh lithium-ion battery, but features only a single 80kW/230Nm electric motor and front-wheel drive.
Combined, the plug-in hybrid drivetrain has total system outputs of 165kW of power and 360Nm of torque. By comparison, the standard 508 GT offers 165kW/300Nm from its higher-output 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine.
The brand claims it will drive up to 55km per charge according to European WLTP lab testing, and do the 0-100km/h dash in 8.2 seconds.
Pricing for the plug-in 508 starts at $81,610 before on-road costs – just over $18,000 more than the petrol-only 508 GT Fastback ($63,431 before on-roads) which has the same level of specification.
The 508 GT Sportswagon is priced at $65,657 before on-roads, pointing to a potential list price of around $84,000 for the plug-in hybrid wagon.
That would put it lineball with the plug-in hybrid version of the mid-sized 3008 SUV, although that model features all-wheel drive.
Peugeot mightn’t be alone in offering a mid-sized plug-in hybrid wagon, with Volkswagen considering bringing a Passat PHEV to Australia.
Don’t expect to see the more aggressive 508 PSE plug-in hybrids in Australia, however.
“The PSE is fairly limited in the number in production, so right now we’re not considering it for this market but if ever there comes a time when we can, we definitely will,” said Ms Gillis.
“But it certainly won’t be here in the short-term.”
The PSE fastback and wagon feature a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain with total system outputs of 268kW of power and 520Nm of torque, good for a 0-100km/h time of 5.2 seconds.
There’s an electric motor on each axle, giving the PSE all-wheel drive, and an 11.5kWh lithium-ion battery under the boot floor.
Claimed electric range is 42km.
The Sport Engineered also features three-mode dampers, a wider track than the standard 508 (24mm front and 12mm rear), 380mm front brakes with four-piston calipers, and 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, as well as various sporty aesthetic tweaks inside and out.
The 508 line-up in Australia currently consists solely of the GT fastback and Sportswagon plus the GT fastback PHEV.
The Peugeot is a niche player here, even in the context of a declining mid-sized car market. Only 106 have been sold here to the end of September, putting it ahead of the Honda Accord (85 sales), Genesis G70 (68 sales) and Jaguar XE (56 sales) but behind everything else in its class.
MORE: Everything Peugeot 508
