Passat 118TSI vs Peugeot 508 Allure Petrol Turbo?

[kimmik]

I'm looking at getting either one of these before the end of year, and i've driven both once.

What do you guys think? How do they compare?

The major differences i can see for now are:

1: conservative vs bold styling (inside and out)

2. a slightly better engine, and better transmission in the passat (115kw 6sp auto in 50

3. slightly more features in the 508 for the same price (e.g. sunblinds in the rear, 4zone climate, keyless entry, folding mirrors)

4. 508 lacks the lcd screen, has lots of buttons instead.

in terms of price they are very similar. both before and after negotiation.

http://www.peugeot.com.au/discover/508/sedan/

[guthrie]

Thats going to be a tough one... not many will have driven the 508 to compare it to the Passat.

I have the 118tsi in the old shape and also a 308 hdi touring in our garage. The quality of our VW is miles better than the Peugeot.
The 308 has really light doors that feel like they belong on a Hyundai.. What is standard of finish on the 508 like?

Also the 1.6l in the 508 seems a bit small for a big sedan? Is it the same motor as the mini cooper s?

[kimmik]

i've got the 308 in hatch form using the same 1.6l turbo. the engine makes 240Nm from low rev so it feels pretty close to a 2.5l NA engine you might find in Mazda 6. in the 308, its very zippy, so i'm not too worried about its appearance in the 508, which is only 100kg heavier.

the 508 is a big step above the 308, using a lot more textured soft plastic panels, more design trim than the passat. but i would agree the passat is still slightly cleaner with its seams and finish.

[phaeton]

IMO while biased towards VW, the Passat would have better after service outside of warranty if your keeping it that long.

[kimmik]

what sort of after service do you mean?

regarding the 1.6turbo 508, just confirmed it is arriving in October, so unfortuantely i could only test drive the diesel - which seems ridiculously overpriced.

$3500 for the 120kw Diesel, with no increase in options anywhere!

[anthony]

Drive just compared the Passat to the Honda Accord Euro,and they came out very similar,both excellent.

Stay away from Peugeot,you will have nightmares from it.

[kimmik]

Drive just compared the Passat to the Honda Accord Euro,and they came out very similar,both excellent.

Stay away from Peugeot,you will have nightmares from it.

already own a peugeot. its the best car we've ever had. i hear a lot of people claiming peugeot is a nightmare, but not often are these backed up substantially...

why do you say that anthony?

but of course, the peugeot dealers will hear from me, what you have just said - that everybody thinks its rubbish, and needs discount =P

as for passat vs euro - what about that?

[anthony]

I have a collegue who had a lemon 308.

She was given a brand new one ,which had lots of issues.

Eventually traded in on a new Jetta,and no issues at all.

She is finally happy with her car...

[jetfuel]

Back when the French were doing nuclear testing people who owned French cars were having their vehicles vandalised. Peugeot, Citroen and Renault virtually ceased selling new cars in Australia. There was no resale on anything French. Owners even pulled the badges of cars. I remember one Citroen had a Toyota badge on it

Its taken nearly 20 years to rebuild the name back in Australia and the cars are much improved. The bigggest problem with French cars in Australia is the horrible resale. Yes there are lemons in all brands of cars, so that wouldnt stop me buying one. VW has far better warranty back up and better availability of spare parts in Australia.

I would be waiting a couple of years before buying a Peugeot 508. Let's see how they perform in Australia. The Passat has superior build quality, better dealer network and is a proven resale product

[kimmik]

I have a collegue who had a lemon 308.

What problems were they? which engine/drivetrain? I own a 308 with 1.6turbo and 6sp auto. so far so good, and haven't yet heard of a common complaint so to speak.

As for Peugeot resale, thats the main worry for me too. Head to head, the same price buys more with the peugeot in both upfront and servicing costs. but if carsales.com is anything to go by, the peugeot 308 resale is not terrible. 407 is known to be terrible at resale, but mostly because the new cost was overpriced.

now that the 508 is retailing relatively cheaply, my gut feeling is the retail will be better than previous peugeots. not up to VW level, but not too far off either.

personally i think used VWs sell for more than they're worth...