Why the new Peugeot 308 'Feline' is a cracking way to accelerate into the New Year

New Peugeot 308 ‘Feline’                                             Price: £21,346

GOOD

New Peugeot 308 'Feline': Handsome, sober styling with a nose and grille that looks a little like a Mercedes-Benz. That fits with Peugeot's intention to go more upmarket

• A cracking way to accelerate into the New Year, Peugeot’s new family hatchback arrives in the first few days of January. It purrs along nicely without being too tame — a French cat that’s got the cream.

• Easy to live with. I drove it more than 300 miles in all weathers, on most types of road. It’s a lively, engaging and intuitive drive.

• Handsome, sober styling with a nose and grille that looks a little like a Mercedes-Benz. That fits with Peugeot’s intention to go more upmarket.

• Inside, most buttons, knobs and dials have been swept away in favour of clean lines. Instead, many non-driving controls, such as satnav, audio, air-con and settings, have been consigned to a 9.7in tablet-style display in the centre of the dashboard console.
• Stylish interior bordering on minimalist with black trim and brushed metal highlights on door handles, air vents, speed dials, gearknob and dashboard. Comfortable and supportive sports seats. A small, sporty steering wheel ensures a clear view of all dials. Plenty of luggage space in a bigenough boot.
• Lively performance and a responsive throttle with plenty of punchy power on tap when you need it.
• Nifty, nimble and willing 1.6-litre 156 bhp petrol engine linked to a smooth six-speed manual gearbox, which helped propel the car from rest to 62 mph in just 8.2 seconds, with a top speed of 132 mph. On motorways and dual carriageways the power was handy when overtaking. Lively on country roads, too.
• The new 308 has just been shortlisted as a finalist for European Car Of The Year.
• A beautiful panoramic glass roof that stretches almost the full length of the car is standard, as are 18in wheels, tinted rear-side windows, keyless entry, a driver assistance pack with dynamic cruise control, emergency collision alert and braking system. Higher trim levels include a reversing camera, all-round parking sensors and electric folding door mirrors.
• Lower and wider than the outgoing model, prices start from £14,495 for the 1.2-litre 82 bhp VTi five-speed manual in base-level trim, rising to £24,045 for the top-of-the-range two-litre BlueHDi sixspeed automatic diesel with stop-start. The trimlevels are: Access, Active, Allure and range-topping Feline.
• A maximum five-star safety rating. Warnings tell you if you’re too close to the vehicle in front for your speed. Get closer still and it will slam on the brakes.
• Pretty frugal. I managed 300 miles on a full tank with 40 miles left. And I wasn’t going easy. Peugeot claims it will do a combined 48.7 mpg; 61.4 mpg when cruising and 35.8 mpg around town. This is partly down to a 140 kg weight saving through lightweight materials. CO2 emissions are 135g/km.
• Turbo-charged three-cylinder engines, arriving in spring, promise 91.1mpg with CO2 emissions down to 82g/km, plus a new automatic six-speed gearbox.
• There's a choice of male or female satnav voice.

BAD

• Headroom is tight in the back if you’re tall, as is rear legroom if the driver pushes the front seat back.
• Skittish in the wet with some body roll on tighter corners.
• Metallic paintwork will add another £525.
• Navigating around the touch screen was not all that intuitive. Fine with simple stuff; trickier with something more complicated.
• Some corners have been cut in the lower trim levels.
• Faces tough competition from the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, VW Golf, Ford Focus and Audi A3.

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