Peugeot's new 508 SW estate goes on sale with £26,845 starting price

The estate version of Peugeot’s Mondeo-rivalling 508 is now available to order with prices starting from just shy of £27,000.

Dubbed the 508 SW, the newcomer is the more practical sibling of the stylish hatchback revealed at last year’s Geneva Motor Show. Like that car, the SW will offer a high-tech cabin and an attention-grabbing design, but the hatchback’s 487-litre boot is eclipsed by the estate’s 530-litre volume.

More on the Peugeot 508:

Peugeot 508 SW First Edition flagship revealed for Paris debut

The £26,845 starting price, however, buys you more than just a big boot. Even the basic Active model comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights and an eight-inch touchscreen with satellite navigation as standard. And that’s before you mention the i-Cockpit digital instrument display and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration systems.

Stepping up to the Allure model, though, brings the price tag to at least £28,145 and adds active suspension, keyless entry and push-button ignition. You get blind-spot detection that tells you when another vehicle is lurking in the blind spots over your shoulders, too, and a system that automatically dips the headlights when it detects an oncoming vehicle. And better still, the car comes with a larger 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, electric front seats and a 180-degree reversing camera.

But if you have even more to spend - £29,895, to be precise - you can have the sporty-looking GT-Line model. That car gets full LED headlights and the Peugeot i-Cockpit Amplify digital instrument cluster, which allows customers to choose the “interior lighting balance” and alter the engine not that’s pumped through the on-board speaker system.

Crowning the range is the top-of-the-line GT model, which gets 19-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, full leather upholstery and a Focal premium hi-fi system. The £38,020 comes with more powerful engines, too, as well as a driver assistance pack that incorporates adaptive cruise control and lane positioning assistance.

For a limited time only, however, the 508 SW will be available in limited-edition, £40,819 First Edition guise. Just 70 examples of this high-spec model will come to the UK, with a night vision camera that helps you ‘see’ in the dark, a 360-degree reversing camera and fully automated parking assistance.

Like the GT model, that car will be offered with a choice of the two most potent engines in the range: the 2-litre 174 bhp diesel and the 1.6-litre 221 bhp petrol. The petrol is the faster of the two, offering a 0-62 mph time of 7.4 seconds compared with the diesel’s 8.4 seconds. However, the diesel is more economical, offering between 45 and 50 mpg depending on the model and options.

At the opposite end of the range, though, the entry-level engine is the 1.5-litre diesel with 129 bhp. It’s the only engine on offer in the basic Active model, although it does come with a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. Manual is the more economical choice, offering economy of up to 59.8 mpg.

In between those polar opposites is another 2-litre diesel engine and a 1.6-litre petrol. The former offers 161 bhp, while the latter produces 181 bhp. Both come with eight-speed automatic gearboxes.

In October, however, there will be another option, in the shape of a plug-in hybrid model. Combining the 1.6-litre, 181 bhp engine and an electric motor, it will offer increased economy and an as-yet-unconfirmed electric range.

David Peel, the managing director of Peugeot UK, said: “The all-new 508 SW will bring a unique combination of style and driving dynamics to the D-segment estate sector. We’re already seeing the 508 Fastback challenge the norm in the saloon sector, and we have the same high expectations for the 508 SW.”