Gilles Vidal on Peugeot's Design Direction

Peugeot's new 508 sedan and sport wagon unveiled in detail last week represent not only a new pair of family cars to compete against the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Opel/Vauxhall Insignia but the start of a new design direction for the brand.

When asked whether he was going to kill off the brand's current low-down big and gapey grille graphic for something more subtle across its whole production range new director of style at Peugeot, Gilles Vidal exclusively told Car Design News: "Yes... definitely. It's already on the 508 and all the re-stylings will also go that way."

Key to the new look is a smaller and less brash front grille situated higher up the car's front and in between, rather than below, more angular front headlights. Alongside four subtle creases in the hood, these features combine to make the car's nose feel fuller and more upright. This new grille is also indented at the top by a subtle center hood overhang to emphasize the more three-dimensional lion logo above and also reveal the Peugeot name in small letters below. The so-called 'floating grille surround' – where the chrome-effect frame sits slightly apart from the bodywork and thus appears to float – is another new feature as is the revised logo sitting directly on the hood's metal surface rather than encased by a black shield within a U-shaped chrome frame.

In profile the sedan has a much better balance than the outgoing 407 courtesy of a 92mm longer wheelbase, 43mm shorter front overhang and a slightly longer rear overhang. The higher waistline is closely echoed by a simple front-to-back shoulder and slimmer DLO with a chrome frame that thickens in front of the C-pillar akin to a Jaguar XF. At the back of the sedan model new style taillights feature three 'claw-like' vertically angled red lights while a pair of more conventional wing-shaped lights with a red light frame adorn the rear of the wagon. The SW's profile is also vastly improved due to a long window graphic uninterrupted by the intrusion of the tailgate glass wrapping around the side of the car (as on the outgoing 407SW).

Inside, the 508's interior is a marked step up both in ambience and quality. The shapely IP top now flows from one side of the car to the other with a wider center stack beneath its lip that tapers inward toward the transmission tunnel in contrast to the old 407 center stack that was much higher and more dominating while dividing the IP in two.

Vidal says almost all the controls on the 508 are new and that more budget was allocated to the interior this time around. It shows. Some of the dark matte plastic buttons framed by brushed aluminum accents are almost Audi-esque in their quality and finishes on the top GT trim including machine-polished aluminum inserts on the dashboard recall luxury marques such as Jaguar. Little details like the thick-thin-thick sections of the chrome surrounds framing the gearstick and satnav control areas are slick and different and, says Vidal, give a more "Latin feel" not seen on German marques.

Of course Vidal was too late to the top job to have any major influence on the 508, but he is confident the brand is already moving in the right direction and has big future plans: "The 508 is a true Peugeot and goes away from the hyper-sportive front ends [of the current range] to a more subtle front face and yet with a lot of personality. What we've shown with the SR1 concept we will have a chance to really develop and exploit. We want a brand that is more elegant and subtle and yet still with sporty roots or values, and we also want to bring modernity and innovation – something that's never been done before – fresh and new enough that people go 'wow!' Not only in the graphics but in surface treatment and volumes too."

Beyond the 508's official motor show unveiling in Paris at the end of this month, two new concepts from Peugeot are promised – one at the show and one rather mysteriously only viewable in the metal at a special preview event on September 29, the night before the first press day.

By Guy Bird