Road Test: Peugeot 308 GT Line 2015

We do the full road test review of the Peugeot 308 GT Line in South Africa and have the pricing warranty and specs for you.

Having owned a French car once upon a time, I have a bit of an aversion to products from the land of croissants, baguettes and champagne. Specifically however, with the latest products from Peugeot revealing what appears to be a new era for the brand, my inherent apprehension appears to be dwindling – and rather quickly. Enter the new Peugeot 308 GT Line – the 2014 European Car of the Year.

The Peugeot 308 GT Line is sexy, sassy and as initial impressions went, superb. Climbing into it for the first time, I was impressed on so many levels – the design, the feel, the quality and the sensations were all very un-Peugeot. And then I drove it.

Well, dear readers, this turned out to be one very difficult car to fault. The overall experience was so enjoyable, the new 308’s design and engineering reaching unprecedented levels – some might even call it German. The new look is light-years ahead of the old 308, the contemporary design being classy and interesting without being flashy or overdone. Proportions are great and, thanks to extensive use of LED lighting technology, this car is quite a looker from the outside.

The entire front end of the Peugeot 308 GT Line features LED technology as standard, with progressive indicators which add Audi-esque class and a unique touch in the segment. The claw-like LED motifs at the rear give it a distinctive expression at night as well – this car is one you can sit and stare at for hours, just absorbing the details.

The interior is a major talking-point as well. It features a mix of stylish materials including leather and alcantara, red stitching and soft-touch surfaces. The tiered dashboard is not only very smart, featuring a large central capacitive touch screen for all major vehicle and infotainment controls, but it’s also rather odd – in a good way. Owing to the placement of the dials atop the dash (the rev counter works backwards like that of an Aston Martin), the steering wheel needs to be positioned lower than you’d normally have it in order to keep the digital speedometer visible. The wheel is smaller than usual as a result, and it provides something which I can’t stop harping on about this car – fantastic steering.

The ratio is quick, feedback is good – you get the sense that this car has been engineered to feel good rather than simply designed to look good. I have no doubt that the forthcoming 308 GTi is going to be an amazing car to pilot, if this is how good its lesser sibling is already.

Power in the Peugeot 308 GT Line comes from a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with decent credentials – 96 kW at 5 500 rpm and 230 Nm at just 1 750. The front wheels enjoy the power via a six-speed manual gearbox and, besides slightly awkward clutch feel, this car is lovely to drive. Turbo lag is minimal under normal circumstances and power is on tap right to the red line. Fuel economy is claimed to be 4.8-litres per 100 km on the combined average cycle with CO₂ emissions of 110 g/km, but my real-world average of 7.3-litres per 100 km sang a rather different tune.

Pricing of R329 900 for the Peugeot 308 GT Line isn’t cheap, I concede. However, considering the excellent level of standard specification, value-for-money is high – and it’s clearly aimed at the premium players in the compact hatch segment.

For the same sort of money (if not less) as a bog-standard Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Audi A3 or BMW 1 Series, the Pug’s price includes luxuries like LED interior lighting, cruise control with speed limiter, automatic dual-zone climate control, massaging front seats, a fully-compatible infotainment system with Bluetooth and Internet connectivity, parking sensors all-round, an automatic electronic handbrake, auto lights and wipers, 17-inch wheels with a full-size spare, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and a five-star Euro NCAP rating thanks to the likes of six airbags and the usual dollop of safety acronyms. The only available option is satellite navigation.

Niggles? Well, if I had to nit-pick, there were one or two rattles here and there, and the plastic used on the fascia hang-down section is disappointingly scratchy – notable, considering the only five buttons you’ll find in the middle of this car’s dash are located there. Other than those however, after a few hundred kilometres I sat looking at this car with a sense of bewilderment.

The fact that it comes with a 3-year/ 100 000 km warranty and a 5-year/ 60 000 km maintenance plan as standard will go a long way to instilling confidence in the product – something the entire vehicle exudes with surprising ability. That Euro COTY title makes perfect sense – both my thumbs are up for the Peugeot 308 GT Line

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