It’s slightly more refined, though. The main advantage is so it uses Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) to reduce harmful local emissions. The 1.5 feels largely like the outgoing 1.6. There is a 99bhp version, which will be better compared to the old 99bhp 1.6 just for the actual fact it comes with a more flexible six-speed gearbox as standard. The 128bhp version is slightly more powerful than most potent outgoing 1.6, even though the performance difference is unlikely to be noticeable.
It’s a handsome car, for a start. To accomplish well from this crowd, the 308 needs to be special. Furthermore there’s the striking Mazda3, the Skoda Octavia with its immensely practical boot, the Hyundai i30 having its long five-year warranty and the Kia Ceed, with a far more generous seven-year warranty than the i30. Fortunately, in many ways it is, and the Peugeot 308 is unquestionably worth considering for your following hatchback. The trunk benefits from Peugeot’s new claw-style tail-lights, which are usually illuminated and look really eye-catching. Adhering to a facelift, the Peugeot 308 now includes a stronger-looking nose and tasteful details throughout, including stylish alloy wheels, chrome body touches and smart LED lights.
Plastic quality is much better than in Peugeots of old and the 308 gets far nearer to matching the wonderful Volkswagen Golf in this respect. Active gets 16-inch alloy wheels and dual-zone climate control, plus rear parking sensors, automatic headlights and wipers, driver’s seat lumbar support and the 9.7-inch touchscreen. Peugeot hasn’t held back with equipment for the 308. In the facelifted model, and also this gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with TomTom Live updates for the sat-nav. The Peugeot 308’s dashboard is stylish. Peugeot has chosen to mount the car’s main dials above the steering wheel – because it does in the smaller Peugeot 208 – but this setup could mean the dials are obscured by the steering wheel for many drivers.
Inside, things have also moved up a gear thanks to a couple novel flourishes such as for instance Peugeot’s minimalist i-Cockpit layout featuring a big 9.7-inch touchscreen in place of the most common scattering of buttons and switches. In accordance with other Peugeots, you look over, rather than through, the tiny controls to start to see the instruments – it’s an unusual touch, and something you’ll either get on with or won’t.
The tiny controls touched on earlier suggests a sporty car, but the 308 is quite definitely comfort-orientated. However, it does trail more engaging cars like the SEAT Leon, Honda Civic and Ford Focus. That’s not to imply it’s a softly sprung plodder; it’s actually agile and fun to drive. If you prefer real 308 fun, you will need to maneuver around the GTi hot hatch model, which we’ve reviewed separately. New upholstery finishes, smarter touchscreen graphics and updated services including TomTom Live traffic updates, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for smartphone users help bring the 308 bang current, but i-Cockpit isn’t quite as successful here because it is in the bigger Peugeot 3008.
The Peugeot 308 Hatchback is a nice-looking alternative to rivals that’s comfortable, spacious and reliable. There are few market sectors as competitive as the family hatchback class, which can be where you will discover the facelifted Peugeot 308. Its many rivals include the top-selling Ford Focus, the classy Mk8 Volkswagen Golf, the stylish Renault Megane, the radical-looking Honda Civic and the well-balanced Vauxhall Astra.
Overall, Peugeot was the strongest-ranking French brand again, finishing 8th out of 30 manufacturers. Peugeot has a good reputation for safety and the 308 isn’t any exception, getting a five-star crash-test rating from Euro NCAP. The Peugeot 308 came 63rd within our 2020 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey of the very best 75 cars currently for sale in the UK. The 308 is a functional and stylish hatchback but there’s an improved all-rounder in its class in the form of the Volkswagen Golf, in addition to cars that trump it in specific areas — the Honda Civic is better to operate a vehicle, for example.
The 1.2-liter engine almost doesn’t run and stays silent when extended, but a long sound is heard when the rotation counter hits the red line. Now the range starts with the 108-horsepower turbo PureTech 110, which drives 0-62 mph in 11.1 seconds, a high speed of 117 mph, and offers 205Nm of torque delivered from just 1,500 rpm. It once was manufactured in a type with 81 horsepower with no 1.2-liter turbo, but that was dropped in 2017. The Peugeot 308 2.0-liter engine used to have 148 horsepower for a time, but now it’s in the shape of the BlueHDi 180 with only 178 horsepower. The petrol engine choice is Peugeot’s 1.2 PureTech turbo three-cylinder and 1.6 PureTech four-cylinder.
Based on Driver Power, the Peugeot 308 is fairly reliable, but the amount of security can also be impressive. Additionally, it features a 308 speed limiter and a zip similar to a chair belt that covers the leading and rear seats. Safety features such as for instance six airbags and front seat belts mean Peugeot holds up well in a vehicle crash, and the car was awarded the full five stars when tested by Euro NCAP. The client also chooses to recognize 2021 Peugeot 308 road safety and road signs for the very first time as part of yet another safety package. Safety technology has further enhanced the face-lift model, now the AEB system works at speeds as high as 87 mph, adaptive cruise control now works on slow-moving vehicles.