Peugeot 308 reviewed
Back in 2014 the Peugeot 308 won European Car of the Year. However, does the new 308 live up to expectations in 2016?
You can certainly see why the 308 won so many awards as it really is a good looking car. Surprisingly, it looks a lot more expensive than a Volkswagen Golf but it’s actually about £1,000 cheaper. You can get your hands on a new one for about £15,000 but if you take a look on the DesperateSeller.co.uk website you’ll also find some really great 308 used car bargains. The good news is that not only is the 308 awesome on the outside but the theme continues on the inside too. Peugeot have really gone to town with the cabin materials. They have a really good feel to them and are up there when compared to the materials used in other premium rivals. The cabin has a very minimalistic feel to it with very few buttons in sight. In fact most of the car’s controls are incorporated in the car’s infotainment touchscreen.
If you’re seriously thinking about buying this car then we would suggest that you ignore the headline grabbing entry level model. Although it has a very attractive low price tag it really has no features on it. What you should do is try and step up to the Active model because you get some really nice additions such as all round parking sensors, dual-zone climate control and a 7 inch satellite navigation touchscreen. Unfortunately, the sat nav isn’t quite as nice and intuitive as the ones seen in VW’s or Audi’s but you can forgive it for this.
With regards to practicality there are a few cubby spaces dotted around the cabin but we could do with a few more. The door bins are great however in the front and back of the car allowing you to hold large bottles of water.
The 308’s trump card is certainly its huge boot. It’s actually one of the largest in its class and so it will be able to handle all of your luggage with no problems at all. The only problem with the boot is although you have some underfloor storage, you can’t actually raise the floor level up so you end up with a really big boot lip. Another issue we have with the boot is that when you fold the rear seats down you end up with a big step in the floor which makes it really hard to push heavy items towards the front of the car.
Unfortunately, when you sit in the back the news doesn’t get much better. This is because the large boot means that there’s an inevitable trade off with the space you get at the back. What this means is that it feels more like a supermini when you sit in the back. The leg room is a little on the tight side and the head room isn’t much better either. Passengers that are 6ft or over really aren’t going to have the most comfortable of journeys. The 308 isn’t great for carrying three passengers either. Not only do you have to deal with a large hump in the floor but there’s the small foot-wells and narrow seating. In fact the Peugeot 308 is one of the worst cars in its class for rear passengers.
So what’s the 308 like on the roads? Well, it’s probably best to get the bad stuff out of the way first. In manual versions of this car the gear shift and pedals just don’t feel good at all. There’s also the wind noise, you get quite a bit of it when driving at speed which gets quite annoying. The visibility isn’t great either. It’s great if you’re constantly looking forward but if you want to look out of the back you’re going to struggle as there are really big pillars obstructing your view.
There are some really good things to like about the 308 when you’re out on the road and this is really evident when you opt for the 1.6 litre diesel with 120 bhp. This car really does have plenty of poke especially considering its weight and size. It’s even more impressive considering Peugeot claim it will return 80 miles to the gallon. You’ll love the sporty cut-off small steering wheel and when you combine it with the light steering it makes it dead easy to manoeuvre this car in and around town. Peugeot have done a great job with the suspension as well making the 308 able to absorb corners wonderfully well while being nice and comfortable over bumps and pot holes. Ok, it’s certainly not the sportiest handling car in its class and it’s not going to set your world on fire but you can’t have everything. Well, maybe you can with the Vauxhall Astra which is probably why it was Car of the Year in 2016.
On the whole the Peugeot 308 is a fantastic family car but it does have some annoying traits, some of these being:
1. Depending on your ideal driving position the dials can be obstructed by the steering wheel.
2. The only way to adjust the climate control is through the touchscreen which can prove to be a little bit awkward while you’re driving
3. There’s no clever storage compartment for the parcel shelf
4. The glove box is half the size it should be due to Peugeot not bothering to place the fusebox on the driver’s side.
There are also some pretty cool things about the 308 such as
1. The bulbs in the full LED headlamps should last the life of the car so you’ll never need to replace them.
2. To improve efficiency the 308 is 148kg lighter than its predecessor.
3. Unlike the rest of the body, which is made out of metal, the boot lid is actually made out of plastic so it’s lighter for you to lift.
4. The rev counter revs in the opposite direction of the speedo just like in an Aston Martin.
So in conclusion what we can say about the Peugeot 308? Well what we can say is that the infotainment system is a bit annoying and non-intuitive and so is the driving position which won’t suit everyone. However, the 308 is a very comfortable car with a massive boot!
