- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.6i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
88kW, 160Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 7.3L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2011)
Peugeot 308HDi Touring – Long term update
2009 Peugeot 308HDi Touring - Long term update
Right from week one, I was impressed with the sheer versatility of the Peugeot 308 Touring, particularly for a car that is just 225mm longer than the 308 Hatchback.
With over 50 seating configurations (yes, I have checked every last one of them) it wouldn’t matter whether you’re in the photocopy repair business or surfboard manufacturing, the 308 Touring would be a wise choice for small business owners requiring a moderate load capacity without the need to go the commercial van route.
It’s much, much easier than that, simply fold the middle rear seat forward and you can comfortably load up to a ten-footer in what must be a contender for the Swiss Army Knife of the automobile world.
Although, we have used the optional third row seats only twice over the two month period we have had the car, I would strongly recommend ticking that box if you have young kids, who of course have lots of young friends who will need to be dropped home after a play at the park.
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Another thing that drives me around the bend are the number of personal grooming objects (I’m the only male in our family of four), a variety of hair brushes, moisture crèmes and lippies that usually litter our family vehicle, which is just not an issue with the 308 Touring, as the side door pockets alone, can swallow all this junk.
There’s also a tonne of storage space for the largest of drink bottles, wallets, E-Tags, and almost any other personal item you would need to store in a car.
For those of you hoping for an economy report this time around, my apologies, but I just can’t get enough of that 340Nm 'with overboost' and the way this diminutive little family wagon devours any incline that gets in its way.
You do sit quite high up though, at least in the driver’s seat, and that’s a good thing as far as all round visibility goes.
However, don’t think for one minute that this high seating position will affect the car’s handling, because I can assure you, it doesn’t, not one iota.
Just to prove it to myself, I took the 308 HDi Touring to my favourite set of bends in New South Wales and put the car through its paces, as I have done so in many a performance car.
Now, while the Peugeot wagon will never claim performance characteristics to match the purpose built Lotus Elise S, it can claim to be the best handling lifestyle wagon in its class, and by some considerable margin.
Moreover the ride during these fast moving bends is sufficiently compliant, almost leaning towards soft but not quite, that you could rest several platters of gourmet sandwiches on the rear seats without any damage to the Fromager D’Affinois. That’s despite the fact this particular stretch of road is of a deplorable surface condition.
The result is perfectly calibrated steering, no matter how fast you go or how bad is the road surface. The full leather three-spoke sports steering wheel is also an excellent piece of kit.
That’s been my experience with every Peugeot model I’ve driven in the past three years, they all handle superbly, only with the 308 Touring, you also get that incredible versatility.
The 308’s 2.0-litre, turbo diesel engine seems to be even quieter now, with just over 4000kms on the odometer, all parts are bedding in nicely.
George, one of my colleagues from CarAdvice mentioned to me the other day that he noticed the particularly large brakes on the Peugeot. Good thing that, as you can never quite predict what a Sydney taxi is going to do in front of you.
This particular driver decided to hit the anchors midway through a green light on Pitt Street, which caused me to drill the brake pedal towards the firewall to avoid a collision, and the verdict – they work damn well.
Stay tuned for a proper economy run in the 308 HDi Touring shortly.