As luck would have it, a Peugeot 508 Hybrid4, the saloon aimed principally at fleet users, was heading towards the Fleet World offices and the chance to spend time with the car was too good to miss.

£31,450 (OTR) buys a long list of cars, although none with a total power output of 200hp with carbon dioxide emissions of 95g/km. On top of that, our test car came with Pearlescent paint (£655), a head up display (£300), Front parking aid and parallel parking guide (£255), Xenon directional headlamps with Peugeot smartbeam assistance (auto dipping headlamps), headlamp washers and daytime running lights (£715) and full leather trim (£615), adding £2,540 to the total.

Based on Allure trim, the 508 Hybrid4 comes well stacked anyway, with equipment such as 18 inch alloys, electrically adjustable heated front seats, keyless entry, automatic electric parking brake, Peugeot Connect navigation, cruise control and speed limiter, USB and Bluetooth connectivity and dual zone climate control air conditioning.

Peugeot’s EGS six-speed automated manual gearbox is standard equipment and the car offers four different drive modes – Auto, ZEV, Sport and 4WD, selectable with a rotary switch on the centre console. Generally, the car will use electric power for reversing, if the batteries have enough charge and switch the diesel engine on and off in Auto mode as required. ZEV gives all electric drive, until the range is exhausted (approx two miles), Sport uses both diesel and electric drive for max performance and 4WD also uses both for maximum traction.

In all – a fair bit of kit for your money, which given the price tag is no less than I would expect. So far, I’m averaging around 52mpg, nothing outstanding today, but remember that 200hp. Next month we’ll look at what it’s like to drive in more detail.