Peugeot 308 review: Finally a worthy challenger to a Golf or Focus

Akin to something like a stealth bomber – albeit of the industrial variety – Peugeot has been slowly creeping up the charts of people’s consciousness in recent times, producing a raft of cars which have not just simply increased the broad appeal of the brand, but turned it into a sales powerhouse.

And the irony with this is that for so many years Peugeot has tried – and largely failed – to break down the near-monopoly of Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors on the workaday car market – the manufacture and sale of cars for your everyday man and women.

Of course there is further irony in that Peugeot, under the Stellantis banner created when it merged with the Fiat Chrysler Group, now controls the General Motors end of things in Europe and has the wherewithal as a result to make the pace in the very market in which it struggled for so long to be the company it wanted to be.

That’s not to say, of course, that Peugeot has been engaged the manufacture of poor cars, it simply came up to rarely with the sort of product that would sustain it against the big boys. 

Sure, it had many successes with such as the 205/206/207/208 family and the 405/406/407/408 ranges, but you always had the impression the French company could do better.

A case in point is the 307/308 models which for many years tried to break the stranglehold VW and Ford had on the small family car market courtesy of their respective Golf and Focus ranges which were – and remain – the class leaders in the segment. Neither the 307 or the 308 ever really cracked the big time and were – until now – more of a niche thing than a certifiable class leader.

Certainly, Peugeot has cracked the SUV market with its’ highly successful 2008, 3008 and 5008 ranges and that is very important because it is where a majority of sales are right now, but you suspect there is an element of unfinished business here and central to that is the new Peugeot 308.

And, now, perhaps the most important 308 has arrived with us and, to be honest, it is the first time Peugeot has made a car which is truly capable of taking on the German/American axis. This is a car which has moved the dial for Peugeot and, on a continuing basis will so the same for Stellantis as it is also built on the same EMP2 platform as the new Opel Astra which we will be testing in the near future.

Everything about this car – from its looks to the way it goes – suggests Peugeot has made a big leap here and put itself in a position to truly take on those cars which have frustrated the marque so successfully for so long. It might have taken a while, but it seems at last they have managed to make that step.

So, what of the car? Well, it is imbued with great looks, has a very upmarket interior with plenty of tech and, in the hybrid form we tested, it is a smooth, powerful and economic performer.

The first thing you notice here is the level of smoothness Peugeot has achieved with the car. Swing this out on to any road and you will be immediately impressed with the manner in which it goes about its business. 

And in electric-only mode it is even more impressive, whispering its way around the place with nary a shudder coming from the suspension.

Now, on the electric or hybrid front we here at Examiner Motoring have concluded that such vehicles are only really worthwhile if they can provide some 80 km or so of electric-only motoring. 

A majority of these things will only give you as little as 40 km of electric driving before reverting to the ICE unit under the hood, while some are capable of doubling that.

The Peugeot we tried – a 308 Hybrid 180 GT – falls between stools somewhat, providing around 64 km of electric motoring. It is useful – a lot of people will find that enough for their daily commute – but not hugely so and you have to remember that when you run out of electric power, your 1.6 litre petrol engine has an extra 300 kg of weight to lug around the place.

Peugeot claims the car will give you a 1.0 l/100 km consumption rate (that’s a ridiculous 280 mpg) but – spoiler alert here – it won’t. Driving with an easy right foot and a full battery you will see 5.6 l/100 km (50 mpg); driving with a heavy right foot and a flat battery you’ll be lucky to see 9.3 l/100 km (30 mpg) because you’re dragging around all that dead weight and that puts added strain on the engine.

The system will recuperate energy all the while you’re on the move, so there is always some electric power available, but this too has some trade-offs. The eight-speed gearbox is fine in normal circumstances, but when you need it to kick-down quickly, for overtaking say, it seems ponderous.

There is something of the order of a two second delay between you asking for action and action actually happening. In such instances the opportunity for you to pass may actually have gone by the time the car has responded to your wishes.

But the upside of here is that the extra weight really adds to the car’s handling characteristics and smooths out the ride no end and the very quick steering makes the car feel very agile. 

Add in the hushed driving experience – thanks to such as an enclosed underbody and double-glazed front windows – and you’ve got something that seems quite special for the class.

While the interior is also quite superior for the segment, there is a downside here too and that’s the Peugeot i-Cockpit. Although revised for this model from what we’ve seen heretofore, using an even smaller steering wheel and a higher-mounted digital instrument display, it still takes a lot of jiggling about between seat and steering wheel height settings to get to a point where you can actually see the dials.

But with typically comfortable French seating and a lot of interior space, the 308 is a really delightful place in which to drive or be driven and the added boot space Peugeot has created on the car is a boon too. And the amount of tech and the easiness with which it can be used is also a marvel.

All of this bodes very well for the forthcoming electric model which we cannot wait to experience, but essentially the new 308 in whatever mode you have it – petrol, diesel, hybrid – is a huge leap forward for the brand. The quality difference alone between this and past models is pretty impressive.

The bottom line here is that Peugeot has moved what was an old lag into a new realm. It is now shoulder to shoulder with those who it has vainly chased down for so long in terms of build quality, refinement, practicality and design, It drives really well too.

Some might say it’s about time Peugeot hit these heights with its small family car contender but – and as always – it’s better late than never.