Sent to try us
Devilishly annoying details.
Time – the great healer. Take the steering wheel. Peugeot started shrinking them back in 2012 with the last-gen 208 and its ‘i-Cockpit’ design. It had a shrunken wheel that you looked over, rather than through, to see the dials. With your hands bunched close together like you would in a Caterham, it exacerbated the nimbleness. Perfect for a city car, then.
In the 508, though, with a tiny wheel in your hands you feel like you’ve been forced to buy a vehicle one size too small. And rather than the dials being raised up higher on the dash, it’s more like the wheel has been artificially restricted in rake adjustment. Add in an electric seat that won’t go low enough, and everything meets in the middle.
But then, the steering is quick, so you rarely need more than a quarter of turn of lock, the point at which my knuckles would bash my knees. In short, I’ve got used to it.
Elsewhere I’ve used my problem-solving skills to deactivate the incessant warning noises that bonged as you approached a speed camera, bonged as you passed it, bonged ahead of average speed cameras, and bonged again once you were through.
Given the fact that a variety of symbols pop up on the dials too – right in your eyeline, remember, now the steering wheel is so small – the audio warnings seemed unnecessary. I eventually found the crucial settings not in the menu alongside the safety systems, but within the in-built Tom Tom sat-nav. The infant can now sleep uninterrupted, while the Peugeot silently warns of approaching speed cameras.
So that’s sorted now. We’re good. Everything is how I like it. Unless you stop the car, even for a few minutes to, say, fill will fuel. At which point the 508 SW severs the
Bluetooth connection with your phone – and when you restart the car your quietly-playing podcast is replaced by a blaring radio. The driving mode selector also resets itself. And yet if you killed the ignition with the heated seat on, that reactivates when you start the car. Why?