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Peugeot

Wednesday, 1st of October 2008

Our test car was the 1.6-litre petrol engine that comes with a power plant putting out 150bhp. The THP 150 engine has plenty of torque for overtaking safely as it puts out 180lb ft at 1400rpm. On the performance stakes the 308SW comes out well – it will get from zero to 62mph in 9.6 seconds while it has a top speed of 129mph. The 308 was sprightly on both B and motorway routes and the turbo engine made long trips pass quickly. The power plant is refined but quite noisy when there is a need to push on - however it is really punchy through the gears.

First thing is first – the steering is well weighted for a car of this size – it’s definitely as good as the other competitors in its class. The 308 saloon is quite a capable car and sibling the SW is no different. Our estate when pushed, handled our test route well and there was little body roll from the car even in tight bends. The 308SW has a composed and comfortable ride and is a controlled and reassuring car even when put under pressure - a big improvement on its predecessor and a real feather in Peugeot’s cap.

Peugeot wanted to enhance the interior quality and feel of the cabin and the French maker has certainly achieved this with the 308. The materials have been improved and the plastics give a sense of quality. The 308 cockpit is plush and airy with the panoramic roof. All the shut lines fit well and there are no gaps in any of the panels. The 308 has a fresh looking centre console from the majority of the range – the white dials look sporty while we thought the circular air vents were neat touches. A downside is that the glove-box is quite small but there are plenty of other cubby-holes to hold nik-naks in.

The 308SW, has not been rated by EuroNcap just yet, as the car is not launched until June but the saloon received five stars for safety so the SW should be just as good. If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident there’s lot of features to help you stay safe. You have a driver and front passenger airbags while curtain and front side airbags also come as standard. The 308SW has also got ABS, EBFD, EBA and ESP to help get the car stopped quicker and in a controlled way. The 308 is secure too – remote central locking, deadlocks all come as standard.

The SW’s practicality is one of its main selling points. All the seats fold down or can be removed completely to create a huge load space – there’s 2149 litres of potential load capacity. The folding process still isn’t as clever as some of the MPV’s that will become rivals for the 308SW but that doesn’t mean the process is a chore. The chairs flip with ease and it is really impressive how practical this car really is when you start to play around with the seating arrangements. The middle seats all slide forward independently, and thanks to clever floor mountings you can have either have two or three chairs in the second row. Accessibility is good as Peugeot has kept the double tailgate openings – the boot has a wide opening when you need to store awkward items but if you’re just doing a quick shop then the separate glass tailgate is a boon.

This is a brilliant family car – the 308 will push many of its more luxury rivals in the space race. The car offers more optimum load space than a Mercedes E Class and it oozes practicality with the clever seating arrangements. The extra two seats are a little small for adults but will be ideal for kids and means the 308 offers that little bit more. The maker claims it will return 37.6 on the combined cycle while it emits 177g/km of CO2 emissions. That means it falls into Band E and will cost you £170 per annum on Road Tax.