Peugeot 308 Review (2022-present)

What is the Peugeot 308?

The Peugeot 308 is a familiar name in the family hatchback class. It’s been around since 2007 (when it replaced the Peugeot 307), and this current model is now the third generation. It represents a big change for the brand and the model, though, as Peugeot takes another step upmarket, signified by the sharp styling and minimalist, screen-focussed interior.

It’s offered with a 1.2-litre turbo petrol, 1.5 diesel engine, or a plug-in hybrid in two different power outputs, both of which offer a WLTP pure electric range of up to 37 miles. It’s much the same engine line-up as you’ll find in the latest Vauxhall Astra, which shares the 308’s platform and powertrains. All 308 models have an eight-speed automatic as standard, so there’s no manual gearbox, nor a four-wheel-drive model on offer. There is, however, a very handsome Peugeot 308 SW estate on offer for those who want maximum practicality.

Not only that, but Peugeot offers also offers a fully electric Peugeot e-308 in hatchback or estate body styles, complete with an official range of just over 250 miles from a full battery. It's role is to sway buyers away from rivals such as the VW ID.3, Cupra Born and Renault Megane E-Tech.

The way the Peugeot 308 looks, with its smooth lines and trademark Peugeot LED ‘claw’ lights, is sure to be a big selling point. In our opinion, it's up there with stylish alternatives like the Mercedes A-Class for kerbside presence.

How practical is it?

The 308 is practical enough, although there are better options at the price. Two average-sized adults will be comfortable in the back seats, where you’ll also find a centre armrest and small door bins. However, anyone over six-foot might find headroom and legroom quite tight. There are two pairs of Isofix mounting points in the outer rear seats if you need to fit child seats, but none in the front passenger seat.

With 412 litres of boot space in the standard non plug-in cars, the 308 has a big enough boot to take a single baby buggy or big dog with relative ease; the fairly low load lip and square-shaped boot floor helps, too. The plug-in hybrid loses a bit of space to its batteries, with a less useful 361 litres. Opt for a 308 SW Estate and you get a much more useful 660 litres of boot space in non-electrified models, dropping to 548 litres in the PHEV and e-308.

Where the 308 does stand out is in its really plush, modern interior. The materials feel classy and the minimalist dash design looks good and features a pleasing combination of tactile finishes. It does take a bit of getting used to the touchscreen that is the go-to interface for just about everything, and you should make sure that you can get comfortable and see the dials clearly over the small steering wheel (this unconventional layout might not suit everyone). If you’re okay with that, the rest of the finish and features in the Peugeot 308’s cabin are likely to be big selling points.

What's it like to drive?

The Peugeot 308 offers a more enthusiastic drive than you might expect. It features the company’s familiar (but divisive) small steering wheel, which helps to give the car fairly quick steering response. This in turn means that the Peugeot 308 turns into corners keenly and has quite a darty feel even if you’re just swinging around a mundane roundabout or through normal town roads. It’s quite a fun car, then, and given that you can get it with a plug-in hybrid powertrain delivering 221bhp, you might think it’d be getting on for hot hatch-like performance, too. However, the range-topping Peugeot 308 Hybrid 225 actually only does 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds, and the eight-speed automatic gearbox is a bit sluggish at times, so while it has hearty straight-line pace it never feels like a hot hatch in the same way that a VW Golf GTI or Ford Focus ST does.

If you do want plug-in hybrid efficiency, we’d recommend going for the cheaper Hybrid 180 model instead, as it does 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds - virtually the same as the much more expensive 225. The petrol engine and electric motor interact neatly, so there’s no doubt that the Peugeot 308 is a calm and enjoyable daily commuter. Refinement is excellent when the car is in pure EV mode, too, but it’s a shame that the 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine is quite coarse sounding, even under moderate acceleration.

For those not after hybrid power, the 1.2-litre petrol engine is a really good little motor that revs happily and feels fast enough in everyday use, despite a fairly pedestrian 0-62mph time of 9.7 seconds. We haven’t driven the 1.5 diesel Peugeot 308 yet, but we’ve tried the same engine in the Astra where it proves pleasantly torquey and responsive with decent refinement, too.

The e-308 electric model impresses with its refinement, but the acceleration is not nearly as punchy as you might hope for from an EV.

Regardless of powertrain, ride comfort in the Peugeot 308 is generally good. True, it can feel a little choppy over town roads but it is generally settled once up to speed.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The Peugeot 308 comes in five trims – Active Premium, Allure, Allure Premium, GT, and GT Premium. All of them get climate control, cruise control, six speakers, heated and electrically folding side mirrors, rear parking sensors, and auto lights and wipers. Most buyers will go for one of the mid-spec trims, though; Allure adds part-leatherette seats, a reversing camera and LED running lights, while Allure Premium gets adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, blindspot warning and more – making it our pick of the range on balance of equipment and cost.

The high spec GT models up the ante with features like adaptive LED headlights, Alcantara upholstery, bigger alloys and – if you go for GT Line – massage seats with electric adjustment, and an upgraded Focal sound system.

As for infotainment, all Peugeot 308s get digital driver’s dials and a 10-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth, digital radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s a good system, which is fairly quick and logical to use, even if the system in the BMW 1 Series has better graphics. You have to go for Allure trim to get in-built satnav. The touch-sensitive shortcut buttons below the touchscreen look really cool and can be personalised, but are also a bit easy to hit by accident when you’re using the screen. Wireless phone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard from Allure Premium and up.

All 308s get high levels of safety equipment as standard, including autonomous city braking and lane-keeping assist, with higher trims adding extra features such as blind spot monitoring, a semi-autonomous driving mode, and an automatic parking system.

Peugeot 308 running costs

A Peugeot 308 will be a cost-effective car to run, and is priced in the same region as rivals like the Skoda Octavia and VW Golf, although alternatives like the Kia Ceed, Vauxhall Astra, Skoda Rapid and Seat Leon are a little cheaper. Finance deals are also competitive, and you can get most versions – including the plug-in hybrid 180 Hybrid – for under £300 per month on a PCP deal with a reasonable deposit.

As for economy, the 1.2 petrol with its standard eight-speed auto gearbox manages an official WLTP combined figure of 43-52mpg depending on wheel size and trim, while the 1.5 diesel manages 54-65mpg. In practice, you should expect to see something like 40mpg from the petrol with relative ease, while the diesel should eek economy out of 50mpg and more.

The plug-in hybrid achieves low CO2 emissions of between 24-30g/km, but ignore the official mpg as the WLTP economy figures are misleadingly optimistic on all plug-in hybrids. The best bet is to consider whether you can charge regularly and cover most of your journeys on pure electric running, and then assume that you’ll get around 35-40mpg when the petrol engine is running.

If you think you’ll cover most journeys without bothering the petrol engine then the PHEV will likely be extremely cheap to run. That's because electricity is cheaper than petrol or diesel, assuming you're using a competitive domestic tariff and charging at home.

Same goes for the e-308, which should prove very affordable to run if you're on a competitive energy tariff and can charge at home. On the subject of charging, an e-308 can be topped up at speeds of up to 100kW with a suitable rapid charger. That's OK, but not as fast as many of its rivals. Expect a 10-80% charge in 30 minutes, while a full charge from a 7kW home wallbox will take around 7 hours.

Peugeot 308 reliability

The Peugeot 308 is too new to have garnered any owner feedback on reliability. However, you do get a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty – on a par with Volkswagen, but a way behind the warranty you get on a Toyota Corolla, Kia Ceed or Hyundai i30.

Peugeot as a brand was ranked only 21st out of 32 manufacturers included in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey. That puts it ahead of brands including Renault, Audi and Vauxhall, but behind rivals such as Toyota, Kia and Ford.