It must be Peugeot week here. The official distributor for Peugeot automobiles in Malaysia, Nasim Sdn Bhd has launched the facelifted Peugeot 508 and I was there. The new 508 gets quite a major front end revamp. There is a new family grille with new bumper design and a redesigned bonnet too. There are also full LED technology in the car now. Headlights (which also swivel according to steering angle) are LED as are the daytime running lights, fog lamps and rear lights too. The rear bumper also has a redesign also.

The interior gets a 7 inch multimedia display and is fully loaded with audio, reverse camera, driving aids, connectivity and navigation. A whole lot of stuff as well as JBL speakers (which do sound good as I managed to sit in a display unit and cranked it up a fair bit). Aside from the above, you also get every other goodie you can think of. safety systems, keyless entry, push start, electric parking brake, electrically adjustable seats and other stuff too.


The Peugeot 508 comes sedan and SW (station wagon) models with two engines - the 1.6THP with its 1.6liter turbocharged high pressure turbocharger (THP) that has 165ps and 240nm torque and the 2.2 turbodiesel with 206ps and 450Nm torque. Both get the 6 speed automatic gearbox that as adaptive learning with tiptronic and sport modes for those that want more interaction. You get a 0-100kmh time of 9.2secs and 220kmh max speed with the THP and a 0-100kmh time of 8.4secs and 235kmh in the oil burner. Prices are estimated to start at RM175,000 for the 1.6THP to around RM205,000 for the 508 GT SW. A lot of performance and equipment for the price.

I have to say that Peugeot have revamped the 508 and made it better looking. There are still certain idiosyncrasies that are prevalent in this Peugeot as in other Peugeots. Call it typically French - like the smallish glovebox and no proper place to put your larger smartphones. But this is still just a facelift, and not a total model change. But that being said, the Peugeot 508 is one of the better options to get in terms of how unique it stands out of the crowd of slightly mundane Japanese D segment cars as well as how the car would handle compared to the Japanese too. I mean, you don't win many Car of the Year awards if it wasn't good you know.

Nasim informed us that they hope to be able to sell between 70-90 units of the new 508 monthly. They also stated, quite surprisingly that the 508 is actually their second best selling car in Malaysia behind the 208. This is 16% of the total sales and will contribute to the 6,000 units sales target for 2015. Another bit of trivia is that Peugeot sales in Malaysia account for 71.4% of all Peugeot sales in the ASEAN region. We do love our Peugeots.

Peugeot has facelifted their large family sedan, the 508 for the 2015 Model Year. The new nose gets its new themes from the recently launch 308 and is actually more promiment as well as being a more conventional split two grille front end rather than one large grille previously. Lots of brands seem to eschew the large single grille and are now reverting to the traditional split grille setup. Ah, how things are so fluid in the automotive industry.


The facelift covers the sedan, the SW estate and also the crossover RX wagon (which isn't on sale over here) and aside from the front end rework, the new stuff are some new engines and the interior, which has new dials, instrumentation, less clutter (from less switches) and a larger infotainment screen. There are also blind spot sensors and a reverse camera as options too.



As for the new engines, most are new diesels and the only one new petrol engine is what we most probably will be getting when it is launched here (which isn't very soon as official debut is in August at the Moscow and Chengdu Motor Shows with European sales beginning in September 2014). The new 1.6liter petrol engine is a new Euro 6 compliant engine and it makes 165bhp instead of 156bhp of the previous 1.6liter lump. The earlier engine was previously used in the THP160 models that we are familiar with here so the models now could be called a 170 for approximately 170ps/hp instead of bhp then.

Today's posting is something that I'd like you folks out there to start thinking and using your grey matter a little. This is a comparison of second hand prices of a few cars sold at the RM150,000 or thereabouts. 

I Spotted a 2011reg Volkswagen W Jetta 1.4TSI going for RM96,000 over at Mudah.my. In 2011 the car had a purchase price of RM149,000+ without insurance. This is a fantastic piece of kit as it has a 160ps twincharged 1.4liter engine as well as a DSG transmission. It gives you that feel of what a well built car and fun to drive as well as being actually a very stable drive at high speeds. Granted, it has its faults, one of them being its high maintenance costs. Well? What do you expect from an engine that has a supercharger and a turbocharger as well as a gearbox that shifts super fast and has no transmission lag whatsoever? Cheap technology? Like a BMW, you need to shower this car with TLC. More than you think.


I also spotted a 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0 High Spec (as it has a sunroof) comes in at RM89,900 which went for RM143,000+ when new. This one has Hyundai's fluidic styling and is 100% kimchi and Korean drama. This basically means a drama free drive as it is reliable and all. Drama free could also mean slightly dull. But like a good Korean drama that takes months to finish, the Sonata will be reliable until the end.



Then we come to the heavy hitters of this D segment - The Honda Accord 2.0VTI and the Toyota Camry 2.0. When new the Accord sold for RM149,800 for the VTI-L and the Camry 2.0G for slightly over RM150,000. The Accord seems to be on sale at around RM111,000 and the Camry around the same price too. This are the cars nearly everyone in this price range buys. One is sportier than the other. One seems to be preferred by Uncles too. Both are styled differently and I do think the 2011 Camry - the previous generation Camry is a handsome car to look at compared to the current model and compared to this previous generation Accord too. Both are extremely reliable and somehow convey a sense of prestige in this price range or category. Which is why everyone seems to end up with one. Either a company car or otherwise.

Now just to stir things up we add another Continental, the 2011 Peugeot 508. This costed RM170,000 back in 2011. Now it is going for RM118,000 over at a used car lot in Johor. This is a pretty good car. It is powered by a turbocharged 1.6 and looks quite classy. It may not get as much attention as the others here but there are those that fancy a big Pug. Maintenance costs could be slightly higher than usual but most Peugeot owners (especially the turbocharged ones) are somehow aware of this. The car also drives well and is refined too.


You now know the approximate second hand price of the cars mentioned above. You also can now easily tell which one holds value and which one does not. You also know what I basically feel about each of the cars herein too. Now just remember to knock off about RM15,000-20,000 and you get the approximate trade-in value of each of the cars above. So which car would you choose to purchase from the cars stated above?