Peugeot isn’t standing around idly as it launches its attack on the New Zealand market, with an all-new award-winning 308 hatchback and wagon carrying its vanguard into the thick of the popular small car fray. John Oxley reports.
The secret is in a new special lightweight chassis and improved engines, plus a pretty good gearbox. All of which add up to weight savings of as much as 140kg, improving performance, economy, and most important, agility and roadholding.
Part of the weight saving has been in using the new PSA EMP2 platform, but other savings have come from the use of a tailgate made from moulded thermoplastic, as well as aluminium in the bonnet and mudguards.
The suspension has also been extensively revised, with new axles front and rear, the former comprised of a double wishbone setup.
Three trim levels are on offer in New Zealand – Access, Active and Allure – with both petrol and diesel hatchbacks, as well as a petrol-only wagon coming on-stream in February.
Engines are a 1.2-litre 96kW/230Nm three-cylinder petrol; a 1.6-litre 110kW/240Nm petrol (coming in February); and a 2-litre turbo-diesel with Diesel Particulate Filter and urea injection to reduce NOx.
A six-speed manual is offered only in the entry 1.2 model; the rest have an excellent six-speed automatic developed especially for Peugeot by Aisin-Warner.
Performance figures are impressive. Overall consumption for the 1.2 manual is 4.6L/100km (107g/km), with 0-100km/h in 9.6 seconds; for the 1.2 auto 5.2L/100km, 119g/km, 9.8 seconds; for the 1.6 auto 6.5L/100km, 150g/km, 8.5 seconds; and for the diesel 4.1L/100km, 107g/km, 8.6 seconds.
Styling in the new 308 is clean and crisp, with modern lines and a minimum of fussy detail, producing a design which follows the engineering structure of short overhangs and superb aerodynamics (Cd 0.28).
Peugeot claims a world first with the full LED headlamps, designed to appear cat-like, plus a bold new grille.
The side style includes the classic Peugeot triangular rear quarter panel, centred over the rear wheel, while the rear view shows the car firmly planted on the road. The tail lights are interesting, meant to represent three vivid red lion claw marks to remind of Peugeot’s badge!
The interiors of French cars have often been described as “quirky”, and Peugeot continues this tradition by taking a different path with the interior of the new 308.
Peugeot refers to its latest interior as the i-Cockpit. Thisconsistsof fourintegratedcomponents:acompactsteeringwheel,ahigh-positionedinstrumentpaneltoeasilyreadtheinformationwithouttakingthedriver’seyes offtheroadahead,ahighcentreconsole,andalarge9.7 inchtouchscreenforintuitive driving.
The touch screen permits selection of air conditioning, driving aids, multimedia, navigation, telephone, and vehicle settings, without having actual buttons around the cockpit.
The interior is quite spacious, aided by the short external overhangs, with plenty of room back and front, and the versatility of a 60-40 split rear seat. Boot space is among the best in class and equipment levels are high.
On the Access models this has the 1.2 petrol engine with either six-speed manual or six-speed auto transmission, and includes 15 inch steel wheels, electric mirrors and windows, cruise control with speed limiter, manual aircon, white mono display screen, CD player and radio with six speakers, plus Bluetooth phone and streaming as well as USB and AUX, height adjustable front seats, and full ESP safety and six airbags, for a 5-star safety rating.
The Active level also gets the 1.2, but automatic-only, and adds stop-start, 16 inch alloy wheels, the 9.7 inch touchscreen, automatic dual zone climate aircon, rear park sensors, fog lights, leather trim on the steering wheel and parking brake, lumbar support for the driver’s seat, a rear armrest with ski flap in the rear seat, centre armrest with storage, and hill start assist. A rearview camera including satnav is an extra-cost ($1,500) option.
And finally, to the Allure. This level is available only with either the diesel or 1.6-litre engine, auto transmission only, and also gets 17 inch alloy wheels, with 18 inch optional, satnav and reversing camera, front parking sensors, electric parking brake, and interior mood lighting.
Boot capacity on the hatches is 501 litres with the seats up, enlarging to 855 litres.
The wagon models are obviously longer overall than the hatch models, and benefit from extra space, with a completely flat floor when the seats are folded. Boot space is 660 litres with the seats up, enlarging to 1,775 litres.
We didn’t get a lot of drive time on the launch, but it was enough to immediately show that the lower centre of gravity, taut suspension, and crisp and positive steering, make this every inch a driver’s car, while the little 1.2 engine was torquey and lively.
We look forward to getting the cars for full road test!
PRICING
Hatch
Access manual $30,990
Access automatic $32,990
Active automatic $34,990
Allure automatic $38,990
Allure automatic $42,990
Wagon
Active automatic $36,990
Allure automatic $40,990
