Introduction

This 308 is the closest Peugeot has yet come to building a car that's genuinely good enough to compete with the likes of the Honda Civic and ever-popular Ford Focus.

Compared to its ugly predecessor, the latest 308 is a huge step forward in every regard, particularly design and quality. It's off to a good start too being crowned, albeit somewhat surprisingly, European Car of the Year for 2014.

In terms of looks the 308 has a neat if unadventurous design but it is much better proportioned than the old model and loses the ugly front end. But it's inside where you notice the biggest change.

There's a completely new layout that's far more stylish than before with an innovative cabin and a minimalist design. The decluttered look is a welcome change at a time when cars are laden with buttons and controls. Instead, the majority of functions are controlled through a large colour touch screen.

Like the smaller 208, the 308 also adopts Peugeot's small steering wheel which isn't to everyone's taste but does have a quality feel to it. In fact that quality feel is prevalent throughout the interior with a solid finish and tactile materials. It's a practical hatchback too with good rear passenger space and a useful 470-litre boot

The new 308 is considerably lighter than its predecessor thanks to a new chassis and this aids the handing which is far better. The steering has a nice weight to it and it's assured in corners. The ride is another highlight with the 308 very smooth even on rough roads with little wind noise. Only a clunky manual gear shift lets it down.

There's a wide choice of engines in the 308 with impressively efficient HDi diesels - the 1.6 BlueHDi emits just 82g/km of CO2 yet still develops 120PS. But it's the new 1.2-litre THP petrol engine that really stands out. Despite its small size the three-cylinder engine is a real gem and gives strong performance with the top version producing 130PS yet with official economy of more than 60mpg.

Peugeot 308 SW 2014 Road Test

Peugeot 308 1.2 Puretech 130 Active Long Term Test

Peugeot 308 2017 Revamp Rnage Road Test