Plug-in hybrid power gives Peugeot’s new family hatch extra company car appeal. With two versions available, we get behind the wheel of the lower-powered model to see if it can pull its weight…
Price from £33,035 On sale May
The days when company car drivers’ main concern was getting the most miles out of a single tank of diesel are long gone. Now, it’s all about maximising the distance you can go without burning any fossil fuel at all.
This is the Peugeot 308 Hybrid’s key mission. You see, the further you can go without using fuel, the smaller the dent made in your pay packet by company car tax, and the 308’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) system allows it to do many commutes on battery power.
Joining the peppy 128bhp 1.2-litre petrol and economical 1.5-litre diesel (also 128bhp) in the 308 line-up, the 1.6-litre PHEV is offered as the 225bhp 225 and the cheaper 178bhp 180. But which of the two is the best to go for? Let’s find out.
What’s it like to drive?
Frankly, it’s hard to see why you’d pay more for the 225. For starters, it’s only 0.1sec slower than the 225 in the 0-62mph dash, getting there in 7.6sec.
More relevantly, its official electric-only range of up to 44 miles beats the 225’s 40. We managed around 26 miles of petrol-free motoring on a bitterly cold winter’s day, but we’d expect to see something in the mid-30s in warmer weather.
You need to be gentle with the accelerator to keep the engine from kicking in, but you can coax the Hybrid up to motorway speeds without using any petrol. When you plant your foot in the carpet, the combined efforts of engine and electric motor get the 308 up to speed briskly.
On a twisty road, the 308 has enough grip in reserve that you can take corners at pace with confidence, and body lean is minimal. The steering is a bit on the light side, though, and doesn’t have the progressive weighting you find in the Seat Leon so it’s not the most engaging family car to drive.
Taut suspension controls body movements well but doesn’t soak up bumps as effectively as in the Audi A3 40 TFSIe. The A3 is quieter too, but the 308 is still a quiet cruiser, with a hushed engine and suspension that makes little noise over bumps.
What’s it like inside?
The dashboard in the 308 differs from those in most rivals because you view the standard 10.0in digital instrument panel over – rather than through – a small steering wheel. The wheel has a flat top to help, but short drivers might still find the instruments obscured unless they have the wheel set in an unnatural position.
Neither the instrument panel nor the 10.0in central touchscreen is as intuitive to use as the A3’s, but the large, handy shortcuts below the 308’s touchscreen are welcome.
If you find too much tech off-putting, there’s always the closely related (and cheaper) Vauxhall Astra to consider because it has a more conventional lay-out. The Astra’s gloomier innards and acres of shiny black plastic mean the 308 comes across as classier inside, with materials that are much closer to the A3 in terms of quality.
Space in the front of the 308 is good, but rear leg and head room are at a premium for those over six feet tall. The Hybrid’s boot is smaller than the regular 308’s – the battery reduces boot space from 412 to 361 litres.
Other than that, the rest of the 308’s interior is unchanged over what we’ve already written about in our dedicated Peugeot 308 review.
Keyword: 2022 Peugeot 308 Hybrid review: price, specs and release date