Back to Back: The Peugeot 508 VS The Kia Optima

In an SBT first, motoring correspondent, Simon Skinner, tests two saloons that find themselves bartering their benefits in the market right now: The Peugeot 508 Active BlueHDi 120 Auto and the Kia Optima 1.7 CRDi ‘3’ ISG

The trusty saloon is a staple motor that finds its popularity transcending all kinds of practical applications. Extremely popular with business customers, the saloon car has proved to be a trusty rep-mobile for many a year and with the space, economy and price points of many, there’s no sign of this trend slowing. However, you are just as likely to find the average family, including the 2.4 children, trundling along in one of these, or towing a caravan – full to the brim, for many of the same reasons. So it’s with some luck that I managed to book two current models, occupying this space, over two consecutive weeks, thus giving me the perfect opportunity to compare them against each other.

Given the popularity of the humble saloon, you’ll find a whole stack of options to choose from; VW’s Passat, the Ford Mondeo, Skoda’s Superb, all make up just a small party of this significant category.

The Peugeot 508

So kicking off with the Peugeot. Being partnered up with my wheels for the week outside SBT Towers, as I was, I pondered the impending journey that laid ahead, to the West Country as this would serve as our chariot for the week’s stay during the River Fal Festival. Incidentally, those of you who would like to read about that trip can find the full review in the autumn issue of our sister title, Inspired Travel Magazine.

First impressions of the Peugeot were, as I’ve been finding with others in the current range of late, good. The cavernous boot showed promise of being capable of taking the ridiculous amount of luggage needed for such trips that include a 7-year-old and a 9-month-old baby.

The space inside was equally impressive and, happily, with levels of comfort that ultimately delivered over the subsequent 7-800 miles covered over the week.

In the cockpit, you’ll find a Sat nav with a 7.0-inch colour display, touch screen and reversing camera, a six-speaker stereo allowing streaming via Bluetooth. No DAB radio, though, so points lost there

In the cockpit, you’ll find a Sat nav with a 7.0-inch colour display, touch screen and reversing camera (optional extra), a six-speaker stereo system that I, unfortunately, didn’t really get a chance to put through its paces but did allow streaming via bluetooth. No DAB radio, though, so points lost there.

The build quality of the interior is relatively standard. Fair quality with cloth covered seats and asymmetrically folding rear seats; the bench type with space for three people.

Where this car did particularly well was with its fuel economy. The leaflet boasts 72mpg, which as we know, is only a likelihood if nobody’s occupying the car and it’s been stripped of all of its components (like doors and seats) and the test is carried out in a vacuum.

Still, with all of that considered, the Peugeot performed well and we averaged over 50mpg during our trip and with enough performance being driven from the 6-speed gearbox to make for a comfortable, longer journey.

The Kia Optima

This car didn’t quite have the same ‘real life’ test as the Peugeot in all honesty. Once back from the (actually, for once) sunnier climes of Cornwall, I was back in the office with the Kia taking me to/from and to the occasional meeting through the week. Still, enough time was spent in the car to get a feel for things.

The Kia Optima is quite different to the Peugeot. It’s a good-looking motor and it has a fair amount going for it, not least the stunning, Kia seven-year warranty. That’s hard to beat.

The Optima has a fair amount going for it, not least the stunning, Kia seven-year warranty. That’s hard to beat

The (one) diesel engine in the range is the one we have for the week. A 1.7-litre offering that gives economy and emissions figures that leave me relatively non-plussed. The Skoda Superb 1.6 TDI Greenline is a much more efficient car and would be considerably cheaper to run as a company car. Also, and unlike rival manufacturers, Kia have also introduced the PHEV plug-in hybrid model, which is capable of travelling up to 33 miles on electricity alone and boasts emissions of just 37g/km CO2. With those figures to hand, it makes the car the cheapest company car option in the range by far.

The drive in the Kia isn’t at all bad. Regular readers will know that I’m no fan of 6-speed manual gearboxes in underpowered/overweight cars, but the Optima doesn’t perform too badly here. It’s a noisy engine and seems to give just about enough grunt in each gear to keep you on track. Even though it doesn’t sound like it wants to. It’s faster than the Peugeot but in all honesty, these aren’t racing cars and I don’t expect to see either in a drag race anytime soon.

All versions of the Optima give you sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity and a USB socket. Also as standard comes front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera; only in the top trim (4) do you see the advent of wireless mobile phone charging and a 360-degree, bird’s-eye view cam.

The space in the car is generous. As with all saloon cars, there’s plenty of it; perhaps not as much as you’ll find in some rivals, but enough for most people to be happy with. Stepping on from this kind of space, you’ll probably want to consider a tourer or even a full-on estate car instead. The build quality is good too; sturdy and sleek all at the same time.

In conclusion

For me, the Kia wins. There’s not a lot to choose from between the two if I’m honest; they’re both great cars and in all honesty, I’d be happy to be handed keys for either if I was being handed a company car. They’re both naturally practical, fuel efficient, spacious and comfortable, but if I had to choose, and I do, the Kia pips the Peugeot to the post by way of standard features. I have become so used to having DAB radio in new cars nowadays, that I find it puzzling that many still don’t have them. It’s odd and surely the tech is so cheap and commonplace today, that there really isn’t a reason not to have them loaded up?

Beyond that, and even though the Peugeot won on average fuel consumption, the Kia is a better looking car in my opinion. The 7 year/100K mile warranty is hard to ignore for anyone looking at buying but even aside from that, the build quality is such, that you get the impression that you won’t need to call them on it.

The Peugeot is the kind of car that better suits the family crowd. Probably. It’s the kind of car that you can expect to see towing the aforementioned caravan. It’s not trying to be cool or quick, whereas, the Kia is sleeker and the noisy engine screams ‘travelling sales rep’.

I know which ones I’d order for my fleet.

The Peugeot 508

Engine Capacity: 1560cc

Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox

0-62mph: 11 seconds

Max Speed: 125mph

Insurance Group: 28E

Retail price (OTR): £24,125.00

Kia Optima

Engine Capacity: 1685cc

Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox

0-60mph: 9.7 seconds

Max Speed: 121mph

Retail price (OTR): £23,495.00