Peugeot 308 review

Joel Helmes has filed this Peugeot 308 review.

The only real question that needs to be answered in this review is whether $31,500 is too much to spend on a small car.

My week in the Peugeot 308 came as a bit of a surprise, the guys at Peugeot had the car unexpectedly available so when I jumped behind the wheel I really hadn’t had time to think about what to expect.

I’m pleased to say the Peugeot 308 continued to surprise during our week together.

First of all while there are a fair few of these on the road I will put my hand up and admit I’ve nearly really taken too much notice of the styling.

I spent some time really looking at the design of the Peugeot 308 and I must admit the more I looked the more I liked.

Those swept back headlights and rounded nose are very attractive, all round its a good looking car.

Inside you will find a relatively basic but well laid out interior.

There are some nice chrome touches around the transmission selector, air conditioning vents, and gauges etc.

Generally the feeling inside the Peugeot 308 is that of quality although I must admit the plastic around the radio and temperature controls has a bit of a cheap feel to it.

The seats are supportive but fairly firm, there’s a mile of storage space in the centre console and in the door bins but the glove box is without doubt the smallest I have seen, ever! Just like the bigger Peugeot 508 the glove box is so small the owner’s manual won’t fit in and has to be stored in the passengers door storage bin.

There’s ample leg room front and back and the boot is very spacious.

Inside the cabin external noise is at a minimum, it’s actually quite noticeably quiet.

While dishing out the praise, and the criticisms I would have to say the central display screen is a little small and takes a second or two to read (which is time your eyes should be on the road), and the steering column mounted cruise control, Bluetooth, and radio control stalks are completely obscured by the steering wheel.

That means if you haven’t studied which button is which before you set off you have no hope of making the correct adjustment on the go.

There’s also no satellite navigation or rear reversing camera in the Peugeot 308, although factory fitted GPS is available as an option at a cost of $2250.

Speaking of extra’s, if you want metallic paint add up to another $1000 to the price tag, if you want pearlescent paint that’s another $1000 again.

Leather seats will set you back $2900, a glass roof carries a $1000 price tag.

Although the optional 17” inch wheels are quite a reasonable $350 add on.

With all that out of the way it’s time to get to the best part of the Peugeot 308 and that’s what’s underneath it.

Ride, handling and steering are all excellent, no complaints at all in this regard.

There are also no complaints regarding the Peugeot 308’s 1.6 litre turbo petrol engine and the six speed auto transmission.

Admittedly it’s a little flat down low in the rev range but once that turbo kicks in the acceleration is very, very impressive.

The engine boasts 115kW and 240Nm which are pretty healthy figures given the size of the 308.

Fuel consumption, for a petrol engine, is quite good at a combined 7.4 litres per 100.

The Peugeot 308 comes with a 5 star ANCAP safety rating.

So in summary I was extremely impressed with the 308, if you don’t mind handing over $31,500 for a small car then you’ll be on a real little winner.