2023 Peugeot 308 review: Hatch and wagon, first Australian drive

Sometimes things disappear for a while and you don’t miss them.

I think for a lot of people, that’s things like MySpace or the Motorola Razr or, in a few hours/days/weeks/months, Twitter. Heck, hardly anyone misses the Holden Commodore.

Interestingly, I think the Peugeot 308 isn’t one of those cases. In a shrinking market for European hatches, the 308 always stood out as something a bit different, especially in its previous guise.

You could get a 1.2-litre turbo three-cylinder, right up to the fire-breathing 1.6-litre GTI that I genuinely thought was as good as the Golf GTI of the time.

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I bet people walked into a Peugeot dealer expecting to see it and saw nothing but 2008, 3008 and 5008s.

You see, just before we were slapped around by the ghastly pandemic, Peugeot stuck a sign on the 308’s bit of the showroom that said, “Be right back, just getting changed.” Then the plague arrived, along with chip shortages and other supply chain nonsense.

And reading between the lines, you kind of get the idea the 308 has outperformed what were no doubt modest expectations, so Peugeot’s local importer decided to wait until there was plenty of stock.

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JUMP AHEAD

• What is the Peugeot 308?
• How much is it, and what do you get?
• How do rivals compare on value?
• Interior comfort, space and storage
• What is it like to drive?
• How is it on fuel?
• How safe is it?
• Warranty and running costs
• VERDICT
• Specifications

What is the Peugeot 308?

The Peugeot 308 is available as a small five-door hatchback and wagon.

Last seen on our shores in early 2020, you could have a 308 Allure for $30,499, an Allure wagon for $32,499, or a GT-Line hatch for $34,990 (all before on-road costs). The manual GTI fell out of the range a couple of years previously and is much-missed by an admittedly small section of the hot hatch fandom (i.e. me).

The most famous of the Peugeot 300s was probably the Pininfarina-designed 306, which was very successful here in Australia because it was a ripper of a car. Its successor, the 307 and the first 308 weren’t great cars, so sales fell away.

Peugeot's second iteration of the 308 was awfully good, but too expensive compared to its obvious rivals. And then SUVs happened.

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Peugeot has looked at the market and decided the cheaper Active and Allure spec levels probably wouldn’t sell in Australia. In the first half of next year, the 165kW plug-in hybrid will arrive, with a price and exact timing yet to be determined. There is no replacement for the GTI hot hatch but there is an all-electric 308 that is “under consideration”.

The new 308 is built on the Stellantis EMP2 platform which allows for internal combustion, plug-in hybrid and electric-propelled machines. As of a few weeks ago, the 308 is all three of those. At least in Europe.

You will be able to spot the new car with its bold blacked-out grille, the new Peugeot badge, Matrix LED headlights, the LED daytime running light fangs and the new claw taillights. The new Olivine green will catch your eye as well.

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How much is it, and what do you get?

At launch, three versions are available. The 308 GT Hatch starts at a formidable $43,990, rising to $48,990 for the Premium Hatch.

The wagon tops the range at $50,490 and is only available in GT Premium spec. All these prices are before on-road costs.

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Also along for the ride is Peugeot’s new internet-connected 3D Navigation.

Like the Connected Services of sister brand Citroen, Peugeot's TomTom-run system powers a range of cleverness like finding things you need, car park spaces, daily fuel prices, live traffic and monthly map updates for three years.

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The ten-speaker Focal stereo in the GT Premium is some kind of complicated scientific experiment. The supplier worked with Peugeot on what materials were where, the design and the angles and how thick the glass is (probably). The result is impressive sound quality that feels like it fills the car.

I’ll be quite interested to see the results of the wagon coming only in Premium spec, too, but sadly without the Focal system.

The new 3D digital dashboard is really good. It seems slimmer than the old one so the relationship with the low-set steering wheel is improved. The new 10-inch touchscreen is vastly better than the unit it replaces, with new software and hardware. Both screens are configurable, too, which is nice.

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How do rivals compare on value?

If the pricing wasn’t a giveaway, Peugeot has its sights set firmly on the premium market, which fits between mainstream and luxury.

To that end, the most obvious competitor is the Volkswagen Golf which starts at $34,690 for the 110 TSI, rising to $36,990 for the TSI Life and $39,990 for the 110 TSI R-Line (all before on-road costs). The wagons add a $2000 premium but aren’t available in R-Line trim.

Give or take a few bits and pieces, the Golf 110 TSI R-Line hatch is about the same specification as the 308 GT Premium, but is $4000 less.

Skoda’s newly-released Fabia is available only in well-specced Monte Carlo form. It’s a much bigger unit than the old one and stuffed full of gear, if not quite as much as the 308 GT hatch. That weighs in at $39,990 drive-away and has a longer warranty.

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Interior comfort, space and storage

Peugeot has been doing great interiors for a few years now, starting with the car this replaces.

You still get the whacky small-and-low steering wheel matched with the high-set instrument pack that you’ll either love or not buy. It’s worth getting the hang of because Peugeot has refined it over the years.

The 308's front seats feel great whether they’re cloth or leather. They lean towards the sporty end of the spectrum so may not be for everyone, but I found them very comfortable.

A fresh dashboard design reminds me a lot of the 3008/5008 pair but the new screen is the real deal and much nicer to use than the old one, which could be a bit slow off the mark. It’s crisp, too and goes some way to justifying the price of admission.

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Two cup holders in the centre console have a lot of room because Peugeot has taken the VW route of a little pokey tongue for a transmission selector. There’s an open tray behind them, a space for your phone under the centre stack (with wireless charging pad) and a bin under the armrest. Bottle holders in the doors, too.

In the rear, things are tight in the hatch, as in the old car. It’s no worse than a Corolla or Hyundai i30, though. Nobody will want to sit in the middle, which makes the lack of a centre armrest even more baffling. You do get two USB-C ports, though they won’t hold up your elbows.

Between the GT and Premium, the major interior change is the upholstery, going from what I consider a quite appealing Alcantara and fabric mix to a slightly overwrought Nappa leather with lots of perforation and stitching.

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2023 Peugeot 308 boot space

As far as boot space goes, the new 308 is a genuine mixed bag. The GT Hatch kicks off with a pretty hefty 412 litres, rising to 1323 with the 60:40 split-fold backrest down. That’s quite a bit for a hatchback.

A fully sick subwoofer under the boot floor causes the Premium Hatch to lose space, down to 384 litres/1295 litres.

The wagon is an absolute monster at 608 litres and 1634 litres with the 40:20:40 split-fold backrest out of the way. That’s a mammoth cargo area, coming up on the larger Skoda Octavia and running almost level with the Golf wagon. The boot floor also offers two positions for maximum volume.

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What is it like to drive?

The basics

One of the highlights of the old 308 was the 1.2-litre Puretech engine, and it reappears here in the third-generation 308.

It’s a brilliant engine, with very little turbo lag, quiet and, last time I drove one, commendably easy on fuel. This is the only engine available in the 308 at the moment, so it’s fortunate that it’s a good one.

Distributing drive to only the front wheels is an Aisin eight-speed automatic. This is a familiar transmission in the Peugeot-Citroen empire and the company tends to do an excellent job setting it up.

It works extremely well with the 1.2 and given it has so many gears, the 308 manages a fuss-free sprint to 100km/h in under ten seconds. While not quick, it’s not slow either.

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A decent slab of torque is available low down but seems to carry a long way through the rev range. Part of the drive program was quite steeply uphill and very twisty, with some awkward hairpins. The 308 lapped it up, pulling strongly uphill once in its stride.

It’s also a pretty decent overtaker on the motorway and while our B-road excursions also meant a few well-planned overtakes of farmers’ utes, the speed kept building, the engine not falling off boost as the transmission grabbed another gear.

The way it handles reminds me a little of the 306. That car – famously – had an innovative rear axle with passive rear steer. This used lateral G-forces to steer the rears in the same direction as the fronts during cornering and had the net result of being quite a lot of fun.

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While the new car doesn’t have that kind of expensive trickery, it feels a lot like it. The front end is pretty sharp for what is a mainstream hatchback in its home market. The Michelin Primacy 4 tyres help, but it’s got a great chassis, even with torsion beams at the rear.

The engine shone in that back road run, but the security of the 308’s handling was even better than the old 308, with good grip at both ends but a willingness of the rear to come out and play if you were really enjoying yourself.

Despite plenty of potholes to swerve around and lots of bumps and ambitiously narrow roads, the 308 was unshakeable. Out on the freeway it was smooth and quiet, but you do need a smooth surface for a properly hushed cabin.

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That was probably the worst thing I could say about the way it drives and rides – it’s a touch noisy, but no worse than most cars in this class. Of course, more power would be nice, but until next year, 96kW is your lot.

Driving the wagon feels very similar but with a longer wheelbase, the ride is a little more settled on the rough stuff. Like its predecessor, it’s a lot of fun and I had to keep reminding myself it was a wagon. It’s a tad slower, of course, but didn’t feel any noisier than the hatch despite the cavernous boot. It looks great, too.

Peugeot’s i-Cockpit has “evolved” (their word) but the small steering wheel setup feels as good as ever while the slight re-jig of the whole layout makes it feel a bit more natural. I was always a fan, but some folks find it a bit of a challenge. It isn’t really, just needs a short period of adjustment for most people.

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How is it on fuel?

As we drove this on a launch program, it’s difficult to accurately assess fuel usage, so we’ll wait until we have it for a week. The previous car was pretty frugal, though. The downside of a Euro is the need for premium petrol, of course, but the Peugeot isn’t alone.

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How safe is it?

The back seats feature two sets of ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors for securing child seats.

ANCAP is yet to issue a safety rating but in Euro NCAP testing, the 308 scored four stars. Euro NCAP's report on this less-than-stellar result is below.

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Warranty and running costs

Peugeot offers a five-year warranty with unlimited kilometres, which matches up nicely with pretty much everyone else except Kia and Mitsubishi.

Servicing is expensive if you go the pay-as-you-go route, working out at a hefty $2489 over five years, or $498 per year. However, you can save a lot of money by going with pre-paid maintenance, with three years costing $1000 (saves $427) and five years $1800 (saves $689). You’d be nuts not to if you can afford the pre-paid option.

This is a few hundred dollars cheaper than the Golf’s five-year service plan.

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VERDICT

Prices are up, but so is the equipment level. Forty-four grand is a solid start for a hatchback, especially when Hyundai will sell you a tidy-handling car of similar size and shape with a lot more grunt and a handy chassis for ten grand less.

Thing is, though, none of its competitors is a Peugeot. While that might be stating the obvious, there’s a certain something (no, not a je ne sais quoi, I’m just slightly better than that) about the way the 308 drives. It seems happy enough pottering around, cruises effortlessly despite its titchy engine and is packed full of stuff.

Plenty of quality remains in the small car segment, but none really have the Peugeot’s surprisingly coherent but different interior design, comfortable ride and super-competent vibe.

It’s an interesting car that will definitely keep the fans happy, but might draw a few people in from the VW firmament looking for something a bit special. It has to be special for the money, so it’s going to be very interesting to see who bites and how often.

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2023 Peugeot 308 specifications

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