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Peugeot 308 plays Golf. Peugeot wins.

Published by Gavin Big-Surname at 3rd February 2014
PetrolBlog 2014 Peugeot 308 review

You may not like the new Peugeot 308. You may not think that you have any interest in the new Peugeot 308. But for one simple reason, you should be thankful that the new Peugeot 308 exists.

And that’s because it’s a car that – once and for all – will shut up the people who still insist on placing the Volkswagen Golf on a pedestal. To some folk, it’s the best metal to come out of Germany since The Scorpions. Well sorry, Volkswagen, but there’s a wind of change blowing through the C-segment.

*Mullet mode switched on* The Peugeot 308 will rock you like a hurricane. *Mullet mode switched off*

We knew the Peugeot 308 had the potential to be good when we completed the first drive last year. But we wanted to reserve judgement until we’d had a chance to spend a week with it.

Pearl White Peugeot 308 Feline

Well we were wrong. The Peugeot 308 isn’t good. It’s great. It no longer feels like the sloppy seconds of the C-segment sector. Putting one or two notable issues aside for a moment, it’s a match for just about any of its rivals. And yes, that includes the Volvo V40 and the Audi A3.

For a while, Peugeot has been harping on about its desire to move upmarket. To appeal to a more demanding customer. Well, if the Peugeot 308 is anything to go by, it’s very much mission accomplished.

As Loyd Grossman would have said, let’s consider the evidence.

Peugeot 308: the styling

Face it, in this segment, looks matter. Whether it’s an attempt to get one over on your neighbours, or simply to impress in the office car park, a five-door hatchback has to look good. The Peugeot 307 didn’t, and the previous generation was even worse.

The all-new Peugeot 308 Feline

But the new car looks fresh, chiselled, athletic and very, very smart. Against it, the Volkswagen Golf simply looks frumpy, bloated and tired. The Audi A3 looks OTT, the Ford Focus a little old and the Vauxhall Astra, well that’s just anonymous. Even the new Mazda3, which by all accounts is rather good, just looks like it’s trying too hard. The SEAT Leon is the only rival that can run the 308 close, but only in three-door SC guise.

Everywhere you look, there’s a fine piece of detailing. Like the LED rear lights, which are squeezed into the rear-end with Swiss levels of precision. You couldn’t even fit a piece of cigarette paper between the light cluster and the bodywork. Then there’s the crease line, which runs from the rear lights, through the doors and drops off at the front wheel arch. It’s a really nice touch.

You’ll also appreciate the subtle roof spoiler and the way in which the C-pillar ‘hugs’ the rear window. And the rather wonderful headlight clusters, which – on the Alure and Feline models – are full LED with integrated LED daytime running lights. We could also mention the sculpted bonnet, the subtle way in which the boot lid curves as it meets the rear bumper, or the 18-inch alloy wheels – standard on the Feline – which are about as sexy as wheels get in this sector.

Peugeot 308 rear light

Notice the use of the word ‘subtle’, which has been deliberately mentioned twice. In its entirety, it’s a very subtle approach, but it just works. We lost count at the number of times people stopped for a closer look at this car.

Without wishing to dampen the flames of desire too much, it has to be said that we were driving the top trim Feline model with the brilliant 1.6-litre THP 156 petrol engine. And at £21,345 plus £675 for the pearlescent paintwork, you’d have every right to demand a little kerb appeal. With smaller wheels and without the LED headlights, it will undoubtedly lose some of its gloss. But it will still remain a class act.

Peugeot 308: the interior

Once inside, the Peugeot 308 continues to impress – perhaps even more so. Peugeot has clearly worked hard to bring the 308 up to the standard we now expect in the highly-competitve sector. It’s as though the company has listened to the criticism of the previous models, seen what’s good about rival models and then set out interpreting them in a very Peugeot way.

And that’s the crucial point to start. Any fears that the Peugeot 308’s interior would simply be a facsimile of a German product are soon diminished. First impressions are exceedingly good. Looking for quality issues soon becomes a fruitless exercise. So much so that you soon give up and revel in the 308’s brilliance. By the end of the first week with the car, you’ll still be as impressed as you were within the first five minutes.

Interior of the Peugeot 308 i-Cockpit

Of course, the big headline isn’t what Peugeot has added to the 308, it’s what it has taken away. Peugeot calls it the i-Cockpit (stop laughing at the back), which in the 308 essentially consists of four components – the compact steering wheel, the raised instrument cluster, a high centre console and a 9.7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Peugeot has also taken the bold step of doing away with the majority of the buttons on the centre console. So the climate control, the navigation, the telephone and the audio settings are all controlled via the touchscreen. It works, up to a point.

Curiously, the buttons for the heated rear window, the screen blowers, the hazard warning lights and the air recirculation are all left on the console. But everything else has gone. It takes all of five minutes behind the wheel to get used to it, with most options executable within two touches of the screen. Like the instrument clusters, the display is clean and crisp, making it easy to read at a glance.

The problem is, the system demands more time with your eyes taken off the road. Take the climate settings, accessible either via an option on the left of the screen or via the temperate at the top. Accuracy is required on both, and once you’re on the climate control screen, you need to locate exactly where on the screen you need to ‘press’ to adjust the temperature. A single dial is much, much simpler and would require less eye movement.

Peugeot 308 infotainment display

Aside from that, it’s all good news. The small steering wheel and raised dials combination works even better in the 308 than it does in the 208, plus the steering wheel (leather on all but the basic Access model) feels delightfully premium. It’s a theme that’s carriers through to the plastics used on the dashboard and the door panels. Peugeot has got the 308 interior just right.

Minor niggles – and they are minor – include a slightly awkward positioning of the USB socket, the decision to include only a single cup-holder in the front, an adjustable centre armrest which shuts with the ferocity of a starved alligator, and a slightly rough edge on the silver plastic where it meets the cup-holder/lid. But such nitpicking shows how far Peugeot has come with the 308’s interior. After 900 miles in a week, we still weren’t tired of it.

Peugeot 308: space

And so to the subject of space in new Peugeot 308, which is a proper mixed bag of results. Peugeot is keen to shout about its “record” amount of luggage space – 470 litres to be precise. So Peugeot wins the space race.

But as a result, the rear seat passengers are forced into a game of space invaders, with the amount of rear legroom seriously restricted. Even the shortest backseat passengers will be pleading for those in the front to move their seats forward. In doing so, the driver will lose his or her ideal driving position, which can be tricky to get right with the compact steering wheel/raised dials.

Rear legroom in the 2014 Peugeot 308

It’s made worse by the general cramped feeling in the back, not helped by the low roofline and huge C pillars. There’s no getting around it, Peugeot could potentially lose sales as a result of the rear space.

Peugeot 308: performance

Peugeot UK played a canny card by sending the 1.6-litre 156 THP turbocharged petrol engine to PetrolBlog for review. It knows how much we rate the quite brilliant engine.

And it doesn’t disappoint in the new Peugeot 308. Eager to rev, wonderfully refined and – by averaging 38mpg across 900 miles of hard driving – reasonably economical. The peak power of 156bhp comes at 6,000rpm, so you do need to push hard to get the best from it, but so smooth and linear is the delivery, it never becomes an issue.

Rear of all-new Peugeot 308

The 1.6-litre THP is likely to be the choice of the enthusiast. It makes the most of the new 308’s strict weight loss diet, with as much as 140kg shaved off the weight of the predecessor. The new car feels more agile. You can certainly feel the benefit of Peugeot’s new EMP2 platform. It bodes well for future models.

Peugeot 308: ride and handling

Those 18-inch alloy wheels – standard on the Feline – may look fantastic, but there is a trade-off when it comes to the ride quality. The Peugeot 308 can feel unsettled over rough surfaces, with even a humble cat’s eye managing to throw the car off line. The ride – whilst probably fine for readers of PetrolBlog – is also a little on the firm side.

The 17-inch alloys – as experienced during the Peugeot 308 first drive last year – would represent the better choice for all-round performance.

Peugeot 308 Feline 156 THP front

To drive, the Peugeot 308 falls on the side of pleasant rather than exciting. And that’s fine, because the 308 Feline makes no attempt to position itself as a performance car. The compact steering wheel means that only the tiniest of input is required to make the 308 change course. Some drivers won’t like that, but it does help to make the 308 a delightfully engaging car to drive.

It’s also wonderfully composed through the bends, with only the merest hint of body roll and huge levels of grip. Being critical, the overall driving experience does feel rather sterile – too artificial. But as a car to live with on a daily basis, it feels very special.

Peugeot 308: any other business

And ‘special’ is a key word when it comes to the Peugeot 308. It looks special, feels special and does a highly convincing job of feeling like a premium product. Whether the 308 has been festering too long in the doldrums for people to look beyond the badge remains to be seen. But if they can’t, they’ll be missing out.

The pitiful amount of rear legroom and the ride quality associated with the 18-inch alloy wheels are two issues that can’t be ignored. And it’s also worth pointing out that the sat-nav system managed to get itself confused – with the audio instructions disagreeing with the infotainment screen. A case in point was on the M4 – whilst on the way to the launch of the Peugeot RCZ R – where the infotainment screen said ‘exit for the A419’, but the voice and instrument cluster was encouraging us to stick on the M4 and exit at the A34. Teething problems?

Peugeot 308 LED headlight and DRL

But nothing can dampen our enthusiasm for the new Peugeot 308. If the RCZ R is the brand’s best performance car for a couple of decades, then the 308 is arguably its best everyday car for a generation. Ignore the base-spec Access trim levels and hunt down a deal on either an Access+ or Allure model.

Or better still – wait until the much-mooted 308 R or 308 GTi models arrive. Based on the 308 Feline, we have every reason to be optimistic.

Anyone for Golf?

All images © PetrolBlog.

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7 Comments

  1. Boldium says:
    3rd February 2014 at 5:34 pm

    You can paint whatever picture you want, but that stupid steering wheel ruins the car.

    Also, it’ll be a cold day in Hell when I’ll ever drive a car that makes me use a touch screen to adjust climate controls. Car interior design has evolved over decades so that drivers could adjust the controls practically without looking at them. Now it seems touch screens are mandatory.

    Hurry up, Google, with your autonomous cars… drivers are getting more distracted than ever!

    Reply
    • Gavin Braithwaite-Smith says:
      3rd February 2014 at 5:49 pm

      After the first drive in the 208, I too was unconvinced by the small steering wheel. But after a week with the 208 GTi and 308, I have been won over. But it’s likely to divide opinion for a long time to come.

      And I can’t help but agree with you regarding the touchscreen tech. It was the same on the Vauxhall Insignia. Progress, it is not. But it’s certainly the trend.

      Reply
  2. BenD says:
    4th February 2014 at 8:37 am

    Those rear seats look too tight, I can imagine my daughters legs kicking me in the back of the front seat for mile after mile.

    Another vote down on the touchscreen. I can adjust fan speed, temperature and the on/off switch on my Astra’s air con in a nano second.

    And without intending to be ageist – I can imagine some older people being put off by it!

    Reply
  3. Tom Ellis (@Elstro1988) says:
    24th July 2014 at 10:39 am

    I really, really like the looks of the 208 and 308. Finally Peugeot have got their neatness back after FIFTEEN years of ugly, overstyled, blobby monstrosities. The 308 is a very pretty hatch. The grille isn’t stupidly big either.

    Reply
  4. andrew says:
    20th September 2014 at 7:05 pm

    I’ve been driving this car for about 2000 miles and it is as very pleasant drive. The touchscreen climate controls are a ridiculous idea though.

    Not only do you have to open the menu you have two sets of plus minus arrows with the current temperature between them. One for each side of the cabin. If for example you drive during a hot day and want to set it to cool, you have to press the down arrow to move down through the temperatures by 0.5 then 1 degrees a click.
    From High (one notch above 28°) down to low (one down from 14°) is 21 presses. Then the other side of the cabin. Then set the fan speed. Then call your insurance company as you wonder how you are going to peel your car off the one in front.
    Also there are 3 buttons for direction and an Auto button which seemingly does nothing and an A/C button.

    The sat nav is also terrible. Unless I’m doing something massively wrong you must press 5 buttons then type, in order, in boxes which cannot be skipped

    City>road>number

    With no option for postcode.

    It’s such a shame as the car is otherwise a lovely drive. Comfortable (in the front) the toggle switch handbrake is very good. The hillstart assist, cruise control, speed limiter and auto headlight/wipers work very well.

    Having previously owned a 207 for several years I do wonder when everything will start becoming “temperamental” as electronics was not a strong point in that car.

    Reply
  5. Conor cranks says:
    30th June 2016 at 6:20 am

    I can’t help but say I don’t agree with previous comments I drive the 308 and I love it. The touchscreen is defiantly the best touchscreen in any car to date! Setting aside the tesla I suppose! It’s fast and responsive and I don’t find any problem with regulating the heating controls while on the move. It’s a lovey car to drive gets lots of attention and is rather economical. I would recommend this car to anyone. As my car is a 2014 model I am hoping to upgrade to the new 3008 next year and If the 308 is anything to go by i will be rather impressed with that too!!

    Reply
  6. Wojtek says:
    12th November 2019 at 11:03 pm

    BenD has right – this is not the car for old people but i think all the new cars they are against the older people . i have 2017 peugeot 308 . i have had lot of cars before but i did replace this of ford mondeo 2001 . I can say there is a not big improvement . Ford had brilliant plastics and fabrics inside – much better quality as peugeot which feel cheap. touch panel is not the best as can not be customize . i hope peugeot will fix this mistake . this is not the car which can be kept for 10-15 Years , dont think those 130hp 1.2 engnes will suvive 200k miles

    Reply

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