The automatic gearbox is in no hurry, the suspension is ruthless to our roads, and the price bites... But look into those daring, expressive eyes — can you resist forgiving it almost everything?CommentsPeugeot 308 became the first model of the French brand whose index ends with the digit 8. In essence, it opened a new tradition. At first glance, the design of the popular 307 has not yet become outdated and is still attractive — so what does the newcomer offer besides a fresh badge and a grown price tag?
The new Peugeot from the "300" family is easily recognized by its elegant style. But it is impossible to confuse it with its predecessor: the emblem has become more massive and received chrome, and with each generation it grows (it is even scary to imagine what this badge will turn into on hypothetical 310 or 212), incredibly attractive and seemingly alive slanted headlights running far onto the fenders, sharp body edges, a wide "lion's mouth" of the concave radiator grille and vertical fog lights, and most importantly — an elongated hood. By the way, the 308 looks more like a younger relative — the 207.
The design of the Peugeot 308 is unmistakably recognizable..
...although not without fresh elementsFor more than a decade, the symbol of Peugeot has been a lion standing on its hind legs with a lush mane, so fans of the brand do not rack their brains over a nickname for their pet — it is always either "lion cub" or "lion", depending on the size. Outside, the 308 is undoubtedly a lion, but how will it behave in action? Here it is already waiting for us, carefully examining us with narrow predatory eyes...
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| The French hatchback is distinguished by elegance and swiftness |
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Having greeted us with repeated blinking of the turn signals, the "lion" invites the driver into the cabin. True, the tight door hinges are not so friendly and tend to pinch the poor fellow. Having overcome their resistance, you get into an interior that stands out for its style and impeccable quality — the plastic here is very soft, pleasant both to the touch and to the eye, light pillars and ceiling (a pity there is no panoramic roof as in the top version), appetizing red-orange backlighting, seats with excellent lateral support, a leather armrest, a center console with a noticeable tilt... Charming! At first, the white instrument scales confused me, but when the parking lights are turned on, they are flooded with a gentle light-lilac light, and the needles flash with a blurred red — beautiful!
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| The "stern" has acquired a somewhat loose look |
The new 308 attracts not only with its spectacular appearance and French charm inside, but also with engines created jointly with BMW, as well as a transmission with the loud name Tiptronic system Porsche. Well then, Lion, are you really the master of the road, as the advertisement promises?
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| The plastic in the cabin is of excellent quality |
To master the zigzag pattern of the lever of the four-speed "automatic", it will take time, but coming to terms with the Baltic slowness of the transmission paired with a decent and torquey 1.6-liter 120-horsepower engine seems impossible! The gas pedal to the floor, the strained roar of the engine, the tachometer needle jumps to 6000 rpm, but... nothing happens. The old Volkswagen van disappears in clouds of Euro-0 level smoke, never having waited for an overtake from the beautiful stately hatchback, and the phlegmatic Peugeot continues to roar and, under desperate cries of "Come on! Come on!" just cannot gain speed. The S button, which, apparently, should activate sport mode, does not turn our lion into a cheetah. Having understood its cunning nature, you now change lanes much more carefully or ask to give way, flashing your cat-like "eyes"...
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| The travel of the automatic transmission lever requires getting used to |
A kind of trainer's whip is manual mode. The "automatic" gladly yields to the driver the right to shift gears, although it does back up if one suddenly forgets to shift up or down. Manual mode slightly speeds up the process, but does not radically change the situation. How much one wants the excellent Peugeot manual with its precise throws at such moments! In defense of the "automatic", one can only say that it shifts through its four gears smoothly and imperceptibly.
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| The instrument lighting looks magnificent at dusk |
However, the stiff suspension has a flip side: the "308th" behaves excellently and predictably in corners, and on a straight line it holds superbly—pure pleasure! The suspension is echoed by a pleasant, Peugeot-style plump steering wheel, which fills with reactive force as speed increases. The main thing is not to get carried away, because thanks to good sound insulation and excellent aerodynamics (drag coefficient—a class-record 0.29), you might not notice how the "Lion" accelerates to a speed for which you could lose your license.
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| Master of the road? |
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Speaking of limits and licenses. During the two weeks we spent with the "Peugeot", traffic police stopped us four times, and most often—just to check documents. Coincidence? Or does the bright, stylish design of the car subconsciously attract the attention of even such serious people? There is nothing to be surprised about: the cunning "Lion" increasingly envelops with its charm every day. You already smile back at its wide "mouth" and mocking slanting headlights, notice how neighboring drivers glance at the swift "nose" that, with a roar and strain, still overtakes the "308th". And although the 308 cannot be called a "blondemobile", in some ways it still remains a car for "peugeotists". (Men, close your eyes and read from the next paragraph: for us girls, we immediately want to pick a lipstick or mascara to match the color of our "Lion", put on stilettos and a light dress, to coquettishly click towards the "Frenchman" waiting at the beauty salon and catch admiring glances—and this unisex-308 cannot be taken away from us!)
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| The chrome Lion on the hood grows bigger with each generation... |
Passengers on the rear sofa of the "308th" will not be left offended: they are greeted by comfortable seats, plenty of legroom (the length and width of the 308 compared to the 307 have grown to 4276 and 1815 mm respectively), separate climate control vents, and their own armrest. The transformation of the trunk has been sacrificed for passengers—due to the profile of the comfortable seats, the rear sofa cannot be folded into a flat floor. However, 508 liters with folded seats and 1398 liters with them unfolded—quite enough for average needs. Moreover, the trunk is full of compartments and convenient pockets where you can stash small items so they don't roll around the floor.
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| The glove box is hard to call spacious, but it has a cooled compartment |
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| Peugeot did not skimp on a full-size spare tire |
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| The rear seats do not fold into a flat floor |
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| Rear passengers can place drinks and even cutlery in the armrest |
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The turning radius compared to the 307 has decreased—from 11.1 to 10.7 m. Overall, the 308 does not cause trouble when parking: visibility is good, dimensions are felt clearly. Only the long "nose", which is completely invisible from the cabin, and the low front bumper let you down. The mirrors can also be added to the visibility drawbacks: they are convenient in themselves, but shifted back.
The armrest between the frontseats is adjustable in
height
Putting emotions aside, let's sum up. The Peugeot 308 is offered on the Russian market in three trim levels with two engines: both with a volume of 1.6 liters. The naturally aspirated one develops 120 hp, the turbocharged one—150 hp with a manual transmission and 140 hp with an automatic Tiptronic system Porsche. If you are not going to "light up", but see the car as a comfortable family means of transportation, then the "automatic" will be quite enough. For more dynamic driving, it is better to choose the "manual", especially since the convenient shifting mechanism and informative clutch will not tire you too much even in traffic jams. Especially the manual transmission, one must assume, is good paired with the 1.6-liter Turbo.
As for prices, the starting cost of the refined French hatchback in the Confort Pack trim is 498,000 rubles with a "manual" and 535,000 rubles with an "automatic". The price for the Premium trim starts from 524,000 rubles, and there the turbocharged engine is already available (from 628,000 rubles). And finally, the most expensive Premium Pack costing from 578,000 to 705,000 rubles in standard can boast six airbags, ABS, ESP, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, heated seats, etc. If you get carried away with additional equipment, you can pay so much that the price of a golf-class hatchback jumps to 900,000 rubles.
If we talk about the most sought-after option, it is, of course, the middle trim with a 120-horsepower engine, where you can choose between automatic and manual gearboxes. It seems that this car will appeal to those who value aesthetics, young couples, and also, without a doubt, representatives of the fair sex. Yes, it has drawbacks: the automatic gearbox works sluggishly, the suspension is tuned stiffly and is not too friendly to our roads, and the price bites... But just look into these daring and expressive headlights—and you will understand that you are ready to forget about all these little things.
Svetlana Aleeva
Seat belts... 
...adjustablein height
Seat belt reminder