Peugeot 308 gets GTi venom

Quick off the mark, but well-behaved when she needs to be.

Besides the fact that it is quite a handsome little beast it also waltzes on to the South African scene with fairly good street cred.

Top of the list of bragging rights is the fact that it shows its bazooka-look-alike exhaust outlet to cheeky tykes such as the Renault Clio Sport, Opel Corsa OPC, all the Mazda3 Sport models except the pricier MPS, all Alfa Romeo Giuliettas and even most of the MINI Coopers.

Hot to trot

In fact, it's only marginally slower out of the starting blocks than the iconic VW Golf GTi (which costs quite a bit more than the Peugeot).

The only two boy-racer dream cars to thrash this Peugeot out of sight are the Ford Focus RS (at R487 900!) and all three Subaru WRX fighters (R379 000 to R499 000) although it is very unfair to compare these two hot hatch chowers with the Peugeot, even though the Frenchy wears a windgat GTi badge.

OK, so now that we have settled the base-ball cap on sideways pub arguments, let's be clear right from the start - the new 308 GTi is great fun to drive and it brims with door-to-door luxury and safety features, all nicely wrapped and ribboned with fancy French flair.

As the new flagship of the 308 range the new GTi is really quite a classy number, in an attractive, un-flashy, almost subdued way.

The new GTi is really quite a classy number, in an attractive, un-flashy, almost subdued way.

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It looks good toodling by on its fancy alloy rims but there is not much danger that you will do yourself a neck injury when you see one driving past - which is not necessarily a bad thing.

After all, a large portion of car owners don't go for flash and dash and although they might like performance and dynamic handling, they attach more value to comfort, space, safety features and day-to-day practicality.

Impressive enviro credentials

For this reason a lot of the Peugeot's charm is the fact that it is an easy, even gentle car to drive if you have to do the daily commuter grind and certainly doesn't lack in enthusiasm when you stomp down on the fun pedal.

It also has impressive environmental credentials, thanks to its high-tech, high-pressure turbocharged petrol engine which is Euro 5 compliant in terms of low emissions and frugal fuel sipping.

Although based on the existing five-door 308 body shell the GTI go-fast make-up kit includes a lower, sportier front bumper, restyled rear apron (complete with an integrated diffuser finished in a pearl black) and a rear roof spoiler which gives it more cling when it cracks its knuckles and gets down to rapid business.

A Penny for your thoughts? You'll like the large clear dials as well, won't you.

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The Peugeot's living quarters tastefully combine sport with elegance. I particularly liked the scattered touches of aluminium, the sporty leather steering wheel (complete with Audi-like squared off lower rim) and the fascia with its shiny black inserts.

The cabin feels airy and spacious because of the car's high roofline and visibility is good all round.

Fancy a bit of this, and a bit of that?

Other fancies and comfort items include front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, rain sensors, auto-activating headlights, leather trim seats and a multi-speaker CD sound system with tuner, USB and auxiliary ports.

The GTi feels noticeably more in tune with the road than its fellow 308 siblings because its suspension has been considerably tweaked and its ride height has been dropped by 10mm, plus it also gallops along confidently on larger 18-inchers shod with 225/40 R18 high-performance takkies.

Although Peugeot says the electro-hydraulic power steering has been recalibrated to augment the sporty set-up of the GTi it still is not as sharp and as responsive as some other sporty hatches.

But then this part of the modern carmaker's perennial problem of trying to find a golden middle-way between sharper road behaviour and comfort.

A 'clean' engine

The 308 GTi is powered by the same 1,6 litre high-pressure turbocharged engine which is already doing duty in the RCZ Coupé. The engine is "clean", yet it kicks out 147kW and 275Nm which gives it a zero to 100 squirt time of 7.7 seconds and a claimed top speed of 237km/h.

Power is delivered to the front wheels via a slick six-speed manual box.

The GTi feels noticeably more in tune with the road than its fellow 308 siblings.

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More and more car companies are finding ways of making their politically correct engines sound less sissy and more like real engines and Peugeot uses what it calls Sound Technology which activates a vibrating membrane to give the exhaust a slightly gruff, more macho voice.

Brownie Points which will appeal to the Cleaner Earth Society are 6,9 litres/100km claimed average fuel consumption in the combined cycle and a CO2 emissions rating of only 159g/km.

Passenger and driver safety features include five-star Euro NCAP safety features such as six airbags and ABS-controlled disc brakes.

An attractive option

ESP stability control is also standard, and includes dynamic stability control (CDS), electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and emergency brake assist (EBA). The CDS, ASR (traction control) and EBA functions can all be switched off simultaneously to allow spirited drivers to grow horns when they feel like stoking the fire under the hood.

Although the 308 GTi won't be my first choice in this category, it is an attractive option which offers spirited performance, good looks, comfort and safety all neatly wrapped and competitively priced.

Apart from the 'finicky' windscreen wiper controls, from a skirt-wearing perspective the living quarters earn high praise.

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Its price sticker of R293 335 includes CO2 emissions tax, a five-year/90 000 km service plan and a three-year/100 000km warranty.

My wife Penny also drove the car a number of times during its week-long sojourn in Hout Bay and she particularly liked "the easy to open, spacious boot, the sliding roof blind which can be partially or completely opened and closed, the well-rounded and the padded seating" (She is tall and suffers from a problematic back so this is an important pat on the back for the GTi.) She also liked "the sliding central console/arm-rest, the handy small storage slots and the large clear dials".

The only thing she didn't like was the "finicky" windscreen wiper controls. So many likes and so few dislikes from a skirt-wearing perspective is high praise indeed for this latest addition to the Peugeot 308 family.

Specifications

Peugeot 308 review - CarBuyer

Peugeot 308 MSN Cars test drive

Peugeot 308 GTi car review - NZ AutoTrader