2008 Peugeot 308 Review
May 19, 2008 by Anthony Crawford
While I’m not so sure about the 4-speed auto on the petrol 308s, the 6-speed automatic box on this car is superb, if left in auto mode. Hit the “S” for Sport button though, and gear ratios will be held longer before upshifts, and will blip the throttle on downshifts into corners, when braking.
While it’s a ‘Tiptronic’ gearbox and you can use the shifter to switch gear ratios sequentially, don’t bother; it’s too slow to be anything but be annoying. If you do find a nice windy stretch of road, just leave it in sport mode and enjoy.
But straight-line speed is not what the 308 will be remembered for. No, it’s something far more important than that. It’s how this small family car does corners that demands considerable praise.
If you like driving and you like those quiet bendy roads even more but don’t like any body roll whatsoever, then buy a Peugeot 308 or 207. It’s that simple.
Pirelli PZERO NERO 225/40’s are as good a tyre as money can buy, and well worth the $600 option price. The grip they provide is astonishing, and that’s rain, hail or shine.
And let’s not forget the steering. You want the perfect weight and level of power assistance if you plan on driving with a certain level of enthusiasm. Just another area where this Peugeot delivers in spades, using a perfectly calibrated hydraulic electro unit, which delivers accurate and comfortable steering at any speed.
The 308 stops as well as it goes, with large 302mm discs up front, and 249mm at the rear. More importantly, pedal feel inspires confidence even when breaking late into a corner.
Interior wise, the 308 is all class. Plenty of soft materials on the dashboard and doors, together with stylish metal accents in all the right places.
Silky. I get what yours saying. Your right we are all entitled to think what we want and spend our money how we want.
Food for thought though: Just some simple maths. Two cars with 60L fuel tanks.
Petrol car gets 10L-100km and the diesel gets 6.9L-100km. Petrol $1.5 a litre, Diesel $1.7 a litre. That’s a 12% saving on filling the petrol cars tank. However in the diesel you will be able to go 32% further on that tank.
Your right the car is more expensive, but the more k’s you do the closer you are to making up that initial $2k extra you will pay for the diesel.
I think this is why people are confused as to your logic. I know I am. But your free to do and think what you want offcourse. Just food for thought.
P.S Silky, You may be amused to know that I drive a French car. A Peugeot in fact.
Although, that said it could take a few years to make up the extra cost, so I see your point there. But in my opinion, I think your getting a much better car as a result.
hey Jimbo, if I lived in europe I would probably be driving a diesel. If I was enviro concerned and also enjoyed the diesel drive, guess what, I would probably be driving a diesel. All Im saying is that from a financial perspective there is little point in buying a diesel in australia, unlike europe. Hold it 3 years, maybe, maybe, break even, then you are buying your next car.
What are you driving Jimbo, be good to have a bit of a session on french cars from their owners, the good, the bad and ugly, come on guys, what has your car been like so far? :)
Sounds like a fantastic lil pug.
Not sure why they can’t squeeze more power & torque from their 2L oiler tho.
And your point Silky. Your on your own well maybe TP’s there with you.
Cameron – I wouldn’t think it will be long before PAS up the power a bit. They did do a 2.2 litre in the 407 with 127kw which was nearly as fast as the 2.7V6 diesel
Hello No Name, actually Im not on my own, quite a few people think the same as myself, quite a few dont, whilst I am enthusiastic regarding cars, like anything else there has to be a business case, there isnt here, but there is no doubt that the diesel users on this site love their diesel and stuff the cost :)
If you didn’t get my point after those posts mate, I can”t make it any simpler..
Okay Doky Silky – Agree to differ but like Golfie says its not about a business case for me its about Paaashun.
Silky, I drive a 207 Touring. It has been brilliant, I have had no problems. I have had it for almost 6 months and I enjoy driving it. At work I drive new Commodores, Falcons, Territories, Land Cruisers and I can honestly say, I would rather drive my car on any trip for any distance. It is a joy to drive and own, well so far. Although when it was delivered one of the plastic moulds inside was installed crooked. But the fixed it.
I can’t understand why someone keeps trying to argue the case against diesel with inaccurate assumptions like 3-4 years to break even, dirty bowsers, expensive service, blah blah blah.
The argument seems to be that diesel cars are more expensive, but that’s not true. You can buy a V6 diesel Touareg for 74999, and the petrol version is – oh dear – $74999. Or a Captiva diesel, same price as the petro, and many more examples are out there.
Then the argument comes that diesel is much more expensive than ULP, but that’s only true for standard ULP. To get petrol cars to be as economical as possible, you have to use PULP, which costs pretty much the same as diesel.
Then there’s dirty – well, have you ever had petrol splash back on your hand, or worse still your clothing? It doesn’t happen often, but when it does you’ll never say petrol is clean – if you don’t feel like chucking from the stink you’re a rare person.
Diesel not appropriate for Australia? So cruising across the Nullabor at 1750rpm in a diesel using 4.0l/100 is worse than buzzing across at 3,200rpm in a 4cyl petrol using 7.0l/100. Yeah, OK.
Service costs? Well, modern diesels with particulate filters require extremely low ash engine oil which is very expensive. Guess what – modern petrol engines require extremely high quality oils as well. Repair costs – high for diesel? Yes, high for petrol? – Yes, just as high. It’s all labour cost dismantling complex engines. And gouging for parts.
So please stop crapping on about diesel not being suitable for Australia, etc. Thanks.
Glad you like it Jimbo, how many km’s have you put on it mate? Ok, Jimbo, whats the best thing you like about it, and then what annoys you the most about it?
Reckless, seriously, wheels mag did the math on diesel in there mag about 6 – 9 months ago. Same result as me, it don’t make financial sense unless you are doing mega kms. Also think drive has done something similar. Its not just me. I think diesel is great, if I lived in europe I would have one but please dont throw a dollar case for it at me, because on average it aint gonna fly,while you are there try bmw, golf, mazda merc for the diesel mark up. And yer, like Im going accross the Nullabor once a week, and no, premium petrol does not cost the same as diesel at my bowser. If you purchased a diesel cause you love what it has to offer, THATS FINE, its your money :) but please don’t throw a financial case at it, on average it isn’t there! Like I would buy a captiva anyway, go check out the complaint section here mate.
as an aside, I saw my first 308 today, what did you guys think about the front and its lights?
I love the look of the 308 inside and out. I agree with the writer that the designers ran out of crayon around the back of it.
What Alborz no mention that the 1.6-litre petrol turbo you drove is one of BMW award winning engines for 2008 ,come on babe put a little insert in there for me….pweaseeeeeeee
Silky, When it comes to the 207, I like the superb handling and the fuel economy the most. The engine is rather responsive for its size too. A 1.6L Petrol pushes 1.3t around with the performance of a 2L. When it comes to dislikes, it has a tiny glove box and it does not have ESP even then it still gets 5 stars. And she is about to turn over 10,000km any day now.
Why the curiosity, are you fishing for faults or recommendations?
Like the 207, I think the 308 looks better as a 3-door. It’s a pity that Peugeot Oz are not giving us this option as the 306 3-door sold well (the 307 didn’t but then it was a horrid looking car).
Hey Phillip
Actually they might bring out the 308 GT ( 3 Dr) soon, I asked the dealer and he said it would come over later this year. Also there was a 3 dr 307. I think it was called the XSi or something.
To Silky, I quite like the look of the lights. From what most say its a like or hate thing. I really like it.
it sure is different look, interesting front including the bonnet, hould have asked the guy to pull over!
Jimbo, your happy mate, good buying :)
Thanks Steven. I meant in my post that the 307 3-door didn’t sell well, which is understandable given its ungainly looks. It is one of the only European mid-size hatches I can remember that looked better as a 5-door.
I’m glad that Peugeot are importing the 308 GT, although I was hoping for a lesser model 3-door with a diesel engine. You can buy them in Europe but alas (like most European brands) we only get a small selection of models in oz.
Can someone review the 308 XTE model and how it stands up against the 308 XTE HDI model reviewed here.
Given the price diference between the two ( about $3,000)and diesel being more expensive which would be a more wise model to drive??
I’d personally go for the petrol one but have heard negative feedback about the gearbox used in it..
Is this true??
Quiet1, jump onto the seats of the XTE and XTE HDi and give them a test drive, and you’ll notice the difference between the two – the XTE tends to stay at high revs for a while before the gear shifts, whereas the for the XTE HDi the gear shift is more smooth. You get more torque on the HDi too. Once you have driven the HDi you’ll love it. Try to bargain with the dealer to get a good price ;)
And by the way, the XSE Turbo uses the same engine as the XTE so I think you could refer to this review for the performance of the XTE petrol.
Thanks Jimmy…
josh.s email regarding waiting for a 308 xse turbo petrol is right I have been waiting for my new 308 5 months and still have not got it but i can’t wait.
The 308 2L HDi has nearly the same torque as a Commodore (320Nm vs 330Nm) and uses about half as much fuel (5.5L/100km vs 10.8L/100km). The 308 can tow 1700kg braked but unfortunately the max tow ball down weight is only 68kg. Peugeot needs to increase their ball weights.
Hi all,
We have just ordered the XTE diesel in Babylon red & I cannot wait for its arrival, mid November!
I own a V6 406 & many other Pugs & have had little or no problems with all of them.English built Peugeots had electronic problems but then again what English car hasn’t ?
They are built for Oz conditions, better than the local stuff I believe.
Greg
Hello! Seems long time this review has gone asleep!!! Well it is time to wake up, waiting for the 308cc :-DDD
Anyway, I’m just writing from europe, and found this review very honest and very little to argue ;-)
I bought the 110kW 1.6l twin scroll turbo petrol last october, just to say this engine is made after PSA and BMW collaboration, whell the engine is the same available on BMW’s Mini Cooper S!!!
I still amazed how cheaper european cars are down under! Mine costed about 40,000 AUD… you guys shouldn argue on pricy european cars, just love your dealer’s special prices!!! Also love your tyres coming as sporty as 225/40, in europe come with 225/45. They are use to change tyres brand.. PZero at first release, than Continental SportContact3, now it seeems to be solde wearing GoodYear tyres!!!
Yes the gearbox is sometimes stubborn, need some hard kicks to quick change between the 2nd and 3rd… consumption has to be agreed is about 8-9 l/100, hardly less. Someone said about the black bumper in front.. well, have you noticed that bumper has disappeared in almost all new cars? I have to say i’m happy with and works well to protect from hard touches :-P
Bye guys…
I bought one of these HDi turbos and love everything about it except for the lack of a USB input to the stereo (no excuse for this in 2009) and the very bumpy ride (feel every small bump on the road).
Hi All,
I am researching the Peugeot 308 range of diesel cars intending to buy one before the end of the financial year. So you could say that I am very interested to know if the current 308 range has inherited the same problems / issues as the 307 & 206 models had. Any help would be greatly appreciated. “Real engines don’t have spark plugs”
Hi Mark,
I read your Blog and have a couple of questions you talk about the “very bumpy ride” can you explain, is it because of the tyres or suspension? Is the 308 you bought the 2.0 LT HDI with automatic transmission? Have you had any problems what do you think of the car overall? I look forward to your response.
Hi garth,
the bumpy ride is in comparison to my old car (Magna TJ) which would soak up the small bumps so you don’t even notice them. In the 2.0L HDi Peugeot the suspension feels a lot harder/stiffer and you do notice every small bump in the road, things that are loose in the boot rattle when you go over small bumps and the car bounces a bit. The car has 16″ alloys (stock standard). I haven’t had any problems with the car and absolutely love the torque of the diesel engine (makes up for the loss of the V6 magna). I tried several cars before narrowing it down to a 308 or a TDi VW. The 308 won on styling, good highway performance and to my ear the diesel engine sounded a lot quieter inside the 308 than the VW did. Yes I would buy another 308, but would probably opt for the XTE if I could afford it to get the stereo with a hard drive.