It's always a debate how far you go back when deciding which was the first Sedan made by Peugeot. They have been making very basic automobiles since 1896 but I am shooting for the Peugeot 201 manufactured in 1929 as it was a 4 door and fully enclosed vehicle. Sedans have been the mainstay of Peugeot's auto production success for most of the life of the company and although they only currently have one Peugeot Sedan model currently on their 2012 list, it has been very successful up to date. ... (full review continues below)
It's always a debate how far you go back when deciding which was the first Sedan made by Peugeot. They have been making very basic automobiles since 1896 but I am shooting for the Peugeot 201 manufactured in 1929 as it was a 4 door and fully enclosed vehicle. Sedans have been the mainstay of Peugeot's auto production success for most of the life of the company and although they only currently have one Peugeot Sedan model currently on their 2012 list, it has been very successful up to date.
The Sedan market is the primary market for almost every auto manufacturer barring some of the niche ones. In general, between the sale of Sedans and the Hatchbacks outside of the USA, this accounts for more than half of all the revenue generated from most major car makers. As a result, there is a tremendous amount of competition in the Sedan market and less innovation than in most other sectors as manufacturers are wary of making any major changes that would alienate their base market without already having tested them in Coupes and other non mainstream products.
The list of competitors to the Peugeot Sedan is too long to mention all of them so here are just some of the sedans that are currently in and around the top 10 for 2012 so far. The Nissan Maxima, Hyundai Accent, Mercedes Benz C Class and the Dodge Charger are all strong competitors in this market and there are further offerings from every single major manufacturer in the same price range as the Peugeot Sedan.
The mainstay of the Sedan market for Peugeot is the Peugeot 508 Allure which comes in 4 different trims and unusually out of those 4, only one is a gas model while the other three are diesel. The gas model is the Peugeot 508 Allure starting at $35,000 with a 1.6 liter engine and 6 speed sport automatic transmission giving 154 horsepower for a top speed of 136mph with 0-60 in 5.71 seconds. It is a bit of a gas guzzler only managing 22mpg in cities and 44mpg on the highway.
The next two models are both diesels, the first being the Peugeot 508 Active E-HDi starting at $37,000 with a 6 speed automatic sport transmission, 1.6 liter turbo engine producing 109 horsepower and a top speed of only 122mph. This trim manages 0-60 in 7.39 seconds. Thanks, in part, to its auto engine shut down while idling or coasting feature, it manages a fantastic 46mpg in cities and 58mpg on highways. The other diesel model is the powerhouse of the range - the Peugeot 508 Allure GT. It starts at $53,000 with a 6 speed automatic transmission and a 2.2 liter turbo engine giving out 200 horsepower and providing a maximum speed of 145mph with impressive acceleration for a diesel of 0-60mph in 5.1 seconds. The Peugeot Allure GT is not the most fuel efficient of diesels but given the performance it still manages 29mpg for cities and 53mpg on highways.