As you look in the mirror everyday, your increasingly grey hair doesn’t notice. Because your trousers get ever so slightly tighter each day, it takes some time for you to realise that you are actually getting fat. It’s only when you see a relative, after a gap of several months and they are visibly shocked at how old and obese you look, that the cruel truth comes home.
The Peugeot 308 seems uncannily like its predecessor, the 307, until you parallel park it behind a 307. Then it hits you, the 308 is a fat, more mature, 307. Let’s be clear here, with age comes wisdom, and the 308, while slightly chubbier, is definitely an improvement over the old car. My memory of the 307 includes an overwhelming range of rattles that develop as the car puts on the miles. The 308 trim seems to be better put together and even when throwing the car over bumpy roads that have been dug up a million times, there were no rattles or clatters from either the plastic trims or the suspension. So Peugeot may have leapfrogged some of the mainstream competitors in that respect.
There is a little more style about this car too. The dashboard design has chrome finished vents which draw the eye to them. Some of the dashboard plastics have a carbon-fibre-effect finish. It all gives the cabin a sense of being slightly more refined and expensive that its competitors, without making the car feel old. This is very much a car designed for the modern family, rather than wheels for retirees.
Like older Peugeots, the seats have a softness that reminds you more of an arm chair. But these seats also offer plenty of lateral support. Which is handy, because the engines – petrol or diesel – are all punchy. Around town you can shoot up to the speed limit and then you discover that this car has hidden depths.
Because the roof seems very high, I expected a high centre of gravity and a handling experience akin to that of Post Man Pat’s van. But instead, you can actually chuck this car into corners and it grips the road and points precisely where you ask it to. The steering is still a bit too light when turning into high-speed sweeping corners. But that is arguably a matter of taste. Mums and older drivers often tell me they prefer lighter steering. And the men of course just don’t want to admit it.
Who is buying them?
Peugeots have a broad appeal and 308s are finding homes in families and fleets. This means there is one for almost any budget, but condition and service history will vary enormously. Peugeot electrics and gadgetry mean buying from a reputable seller, with a full service history and investing in some kind of warranty, is essential.
What’s the market like?
Peugeot 308 prices are surprisingly firm from 2 years on. The many Peugeot 307s in circulation seem to be drawing the cheaper buyers. Whereas the less common 308 is still in small supply and apart from the drop in the first year that confirms the car is now used rather than new, the drops are miniscule. Although we expect this to change over the next six months, so watch this space to avoid a nasty loss to depreciation. Equally, if you want to get a deal, you may want to hang on and watch the prices. At the moment the difference between prices of the 2007 and 2008 petrol cars is less than £500! On the diesel engines it’s a more sensible £1,000.
What else can this budget buy?
The Peugeot 308 competes with all the classics: Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra, Citroen C4, Renault Megane. But it now also has credible threats from Kia Cee’d and Hyundai i20. While average market prices indicate that the Peugeot is no cheaper than the main protagonists, Peugeot dealers, like Renault dealers do seem to be more up for negotiating a discounted deal. So if you are prepared to work for your savings, this is a car to consider.
Summary
Another competent and excellent value family hatchback from Peugeot. Lots of examples on the market in a variety of conditions, specs and at a price for all budgets.
By: Matthew Tumbridge