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Blue Monday? We hope you are not experiencing that. This week we are spending time with the sometimes overlooked premium Peugeot 308 hatchback. It’s powered by a competent 1.2-litre turbopetrol engine with 96 kW and 230 Nm. It’s quite punchy on the highway and easily at home in the city. The famous small steering wheel makes the drive engaging and the car quite agile. The 308 is high on standard spec. On the entertainment side, there’s a standard 9.7-inch infotainment touchscreen that has Mirrorlink, meaning your Apple or Android smartphone can be mirrored on the screen. Other standard features include, rain censor wipers, auto lights, folding mirrors, cruise control, climate control and rear and front PDC. The front offers great seats and great legroom but this comes at a bit of a cost for rear legroom. The fuel consumption figure has been surprising. I am currently averaging 8.8/100km and Peugeot claims a 5.2l/100km. This is probably due to my stop and start nature of my trips which was made worse by the rain over the weekend. The Peugeot 308 Allure Automatic is priced from R369,900. @salaontop #peugeot308 #peugeot #308 #premium #feelpeugeot #wecometoyou #french #hatchback #citycar #roadtripcar #funcar #monday #mcm #mancrushmonday #cars #city #johannesburg #durban #capetown #paris #travel #tourism #harties #shotleft #mondaymotivation #motivation #motivationmonday 📸 @salaontop

A post shared by The Car People (@khulekani_on_wheels) on Oct 14, 2018 at 10:21pm PDT

By Sala Masindane

Peugeot has always been the car of choice for my family with my late grandfather and father having owned the 504. This was back in 90s and the brand lost its ground in the early 2000s due to many reasons, but with the new fleet of rejuvenated cars Peugeot seems to have the potential to go back to its former glory days. The likes of the 5008, 3008, 308 and 208 can be competitive in their respective segments. We recently tested the premium hatchback 308 1.2 Allure to see if the good old days are truly on their way back.

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Exterior

The 308 is often overlooked and sometimes the dark horse in the C-segment, this is no fault its own but due to the decline of the premium hatchback segment. Other reasons could be the lack of dealer network across the country. Looking outside the 308, you may question its non-popularity; it’s trendy, upmarket and has a decent overall body. The front vertical grille that has the Peugeot lion badge framed on it and this makes the 308 standout. The sleek bonnet, rear lights with full LED “claws”, the two-tone black and chrome headlights completes the exterior design of the 308. In terms of the shoes, the 308 struts its stuff with 16-inch Zyrcon alloy wheels.

Interior

Quality materials are employed inside the 308 and the dashboard looks uncluttered. The reason for this is that most of the common rotary dials are operated on the 9.7-inch infotainment touch screen. This means the dual zone climate control and the media/radio are controlled on the screen which may not always be practical as you may take your eyes off the road whilst operating it, but it is worth mentioning that this looks great and minimalistic. In terms of connectivity, the 308 comes with one USB, Aux port and the Mirror Screen, which duplicates the smartphone on the touchscreen. This means that it is compatible with Mirrorlink, Apple Carplay and Android Auto. This proved to be a helpful tool when using our smartphones to navigate on daily commutes to Sandton.

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In terms of user practicality, the 308 is quite spacious. The boot space is decent at 385 litres and 1224 litres with the seats down. Legroom is decent upfront but not so much so at the back. Tall occupants like me will feel cramped when travelling over long distances but all is not lost as the seats are comfortable. Although the Peugeot 308 has an average size glove box, there is space in the centre console, a deep hiding spot in between the gear and centre console. Finally, the door bins are decently sized.

Safety and the drive

This being a modern premium hatchback, safety is paramount, and Peugeot have ensured that the 308 delivers on this score. There are driver aids such as Active Safety Brake System, Lane Departure Warning and cruise control. If you are parking at awkward spaces or not sure about the distance, there’s also front and rear PDC.

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The 1.2-litre turbopentrol engine 308 is punchy and fun to drive in the city and highways. The wheel feels light but is responsive. The 96kW and 230Nm of torque is felt when going uphill. As much as the Peugeot 308 is quite engaging to drive but the jury is still out on the driving position. This due to Peugeot’s iCockpit with a small multifunctional steering that you look on top of as opposed to through to see the digital speedometer. I found it refreshing to use but distracting at times. On the fuel economy front, we averaged 8.8 l/km which is a far cry from the claimed fuel consumption is 5.2 l/km. Although the Peugeot 308 is a decent drive with a lot of standard features, this may turn away fuel conscious consumers.

The Peugeot 308 1.2 Allure Automatic is priced from R369,900. The price includes a three-year/100 000km warranty, four-year/60 000km service plan and three-year/100 000km road assistance