2015 Peugeot 508 Active Review : Long-term report two

We initially described our long-term Peugeot 508 Active as being a very “business-like” executive sedan.

Sensible grey colour, sensible size wheels, sensible size and overall demeanour but with one small lemon-wedge of flair â€" it’s French! Think of it as a four-wheeled accountant; grey suit, black shoes, smart haircut, paper-bag lunch, but with a Hermes pocket square tucked away in their jacket.

So, with that in mind, we handed the keys for our sensible accountant-like Peugeot, to our sensible accountant-like CFO, John Smith.

John’s day to day job, when not making sure the editorial team don’t go mad with expenses (I swear we needed the chopper that time John…), is overseeing the fiscal growth and performance of the CarAdvice empire.

This means regular meetings in and around the Sydney CBD as well as plenty of time in the car in between.

In that role, John needs his car to not only be comfortable and practical, but also representative of his and the company’s position.

“The design of the 508 is very contemporary and smart and I found it somewhat unique on the road, in that I didn’t see anything else quite like it”, said John, “I found that the car became more stylish the more I drove it.”

Some elements of “Frenchness” exhibited by the 508 that we had previously found frustrating were seen by John to make the car much more interesting, “It sounds silly”, he said, “but I loved showing people the hidden boot release button in the middle of the 0 in the 508 badge.