2015 Peugeot 308 GT Petrol Review: Not Too Hard, Not Too Soft…
What’s Hot: Stand-out interior design, quality feel throughout, comfortable ride, plenty of punch for a 1.6 litre.
What’s Not: Swift, but not really a performance car, axle tramp (from soft front end).
X-FACTOR: The flagship of the 308 range may not be the hot-hatch you were expecting, but it excels in other areas.
Vehicle Style: 5-door small hatchback
Price: $41,990 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 151kW/285Nm 1.6 turbo petro 4cyl | 6sp manual
Fuel Economy claimed: 5.6 l/100km | tested: 8.2 l/100km
OVERVIEW
Have a gander at the 308 GT from the back. Looks pretty smart doesn’t it?
The small Pug’s rump is a wonderfully clean design, and in GT guise it’s gussied up with a discreet ‘GT’ badge and a pair of rectangular chrome exhaust tips on a unique rear bumper.
But take a closer look. In fact, get on all fours and peek under that rear.
Those exhaust tips are frauds. Not only do they not connect to the exhaust itself, but those two chrome rectangles are blocked off. No air can flow through them, and the real exhaust doesn’t come close to either.
And those faux outlets hold the clues to the 308 GT’s real character: it’s more about dress-up than performance car.
Despite the big wheels, appropriation of the “GT” initials, sporty styling cues and big “SPORTS” button on the centre console, it’s just a pretender.
Is that a problem? To be fair to Peugeot, the French automaker doesn’t make any explicit claims about the 308 GT’s chops as a performance hatch. In the marketing material for the GT, it’s described as “sporty”, “sports styled” or having “sports heritage”.
It’s no GTi successor, and Peugeot knows it.
But what’s in it for you? Is it worth your money, given the wide array of enticing hatchbacks around the 308 GT’s price?
We took the entry-level petrol model for an extended spin to find out.
THE INTERIOR | RATING: 4/5
- Standard equipment: Power windows, dual-zone climate control, active cruise control/speed limiter, keyless entry/ignition, front massaging seats, dusk-sensing LED headlamps, reversing camera, parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, rain-sensing wipers
- Infotainment: 9.7-inch infotainment display with 7-inch touchscreen, satellite navigation, 6.9G onboard music storage drive, AM/FM/CD stereo, Bluetooth phone/audio integration, two USB ports.
- Luggage capacity: 435 litres minimum, 1274 litres maximum.