The current-generation Peugeot 308 has been around for quite a long time, but the carmaker only started selling a pure electric version a few months ago. And I was quite looking forward to the SW version (i.e. wagon). For it promised very low power consumption and a traditionally large boot that lost almost none of its volume thanks to the EMP2 platform. So how does the electric E-308 drive and what is its fuel consumption?!
Peugeot’s design language is known for elegance and innovation, and the new E-308 is no exception. However, design-wise, you can only tell it apart from the combustion version up close. It has been given a new front grille and a blue letter E, in front of the model designation. Worth a special mention may be the interesting 19″ wheels, which Peugeot developed specifically for the electric version with the lowest possible air resistance in mind.
The bodywork of the new-generation 308 features various creases and sharply cut front and rear LED lighting. The fake silver exhaust tips, on the other hand, don’t look good on an electric car in my opinion, and something Peugeot could have forgiven itself for such a green-oriented vehicle. There could have been some better shaped diffuser. But a hundred people, a hundred tastes and even in SW guise the rear end looks very elegant. Peugeot has always known how to make station wagons…
The front lights with lion’s tooth graphics are simple but elegant and function as both daytime running lights and turn signal indicators when needed. The grille is large, distinctive and the headlights flow into the upper corners. When you approach the car, especially at night, the 308 greets you with a 3D boarding logo and spectacular kinetic headlight graphics both front and rear. In every trim, the car comes with Full LED headlights, and then for an extra cost you can have Matrix LED headlights with automatic high beam switching and glare elimination for oncoming vehicles, which work perfectly.
The designers at Peugeot are no longer bothering about not pleasing everyone. In a way, that’s a good thing, because the last thing one could say about new Peugeots is that they’re boring or uninteresting in design. Another thing Peugeot doesn’t bother with is that not everyone behind its steering wheels can see the dashboard very well. The i-Cockpit concept, which moves the instrument panel up under the windscreen so that you have to look at it over the steering wheel, has been minted by previous generations. Some people like it, others have to look elsewhere…
What the automaker has really done well in the interior, on the other hand, is that other thing starting with the letter i – the i-Toggles system. It’s basically a thin touchscreen below the main, ten-inch infotainment display, and the shortcuts on this smaller display are almost arbitrarily customizable. In general, Peugeot’s new infotainment is finally more intuitive, and it’s the i-Toggles that give it that extra touch of uniqueness.
Unfortunately, the responses of both displays are still not fast enough for me to call them comfortable. It’s noticeable, and even fancy animations don’t hide it. For example, when you want to change the temperature set in the car, after clicking + or -, you have to wait through a half-second animation before clicking again to change the temperature by another half degree. If you do not do this, the system will not register the next click. After all these years since the 308 was introduced, it would be nice to have this handled by software…
Space in the back is decent, even with the seat set up for a taller driver, and the hybrid 308SW has been blessed with a 548-litre boot (even with the space needed for batteries), which easily expands to a spectacular 1574 litres if you fold the rear seats down. There’s no shortage of handles, nets and various compartments for storing items, or a 12V socket. It’s just a shame there’s nowhere proper to hide those charging cables. No “frunk” in the front, and you probably can’t put them under the cover in the back either.
The coming electrification, exemplified by the Peugeot 308, shows how widely the range of engines on a single platform can be increased. Until recently, only petrol and diesel were actually available. However, the Peugeot 308 is now offered not only with the PureTech 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol, the BlueHDI 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel and plug-in hybrids with 133 or 165 kW, but also newly with a 100 kW mild hybrid powertrain and, finally, in a fully electric variant.
Such a wide range of powertrains is possible thanks to the use of the advanced EMP2 platform, which, incidentally, Peugeot 308 was the first to introduce within the group. And since different engines were taken into account in its design, the utility characteristics of the individual models do not differ much, only the mild hybrids have a slightly smaller boot volume due to the battery pack located behind the rear axle. The fully electric versions, however, have the batteries located under the seats and in the centre tunnel, where they do not restrict the amount of space for the crew or their luggage.
So let’s move on to that propulsion and battery tech. There is the second generation of electric drive that Stellantis has been offering lately. This is an electric motor that has stepped up to 115kW (155k) from the original 100kW (136k) and a battery that has improved by 4 kWh to a final 54 kWh (50kWh usable). On paper these are minor improvements, but in real-world use they are a big leap forward, even if the original version never made it into the 308…
You have three driving modes to choose from, which are really very different from each other. The car “starts” in the basic Normal mode, which provides 100kW of power and is suitable for normal driving. Below that is Eco mode, which reduces the electric motor output to 80kW and also limits the power of the air conditioning, for example. As a result, while you won’t be the quickest and throttle command responses are really at their limit here, you’ll get the best fuel economy and therefore range. My favourite mode though is Sport, which gives you full power, plus it also changes the throttle pedal mapping and stiffens the power steering.
Where this upgraded platform excels the most is fuel economy. With a bit of forethought, I’ve managed to drive around town for a cool 10kWh/100km. Without trying, it’ll go for something like 12-13kWh/100km, and out of town it’s perfectly fine with 15kWh/100km. Over thousands of kilometres, with quite a lot of motorways, I finished with 15.6kWh/100km. These are great numbers considering the concept of the E-308, but it’s worth remembering that the conditions were almost ideal and the temperature was still around 20 degrees, and there was no need for much heating (although the E-308 does have a heat pump) or interior cooling. The 409km on the WLTP cycle is only realistic in really ideal conditions, but in any case you can pretty much count on that 300km on a single charge.
Peugeot E-308 allows charging the battery with a maximum power of 100kW, which is not much nowadays, but if you look at the map of charging stations in Slovakia, you don’t have to worry so much about this limitation, because powerful stands above 100kW could still be counted on your fingers. At home, you can then charge from the Wallbox with a maximum of 11kW of power, which gives you about 4-5 hours to a full charge, depending on the initial capacity of the battery. It’s a bit of a bummer that Peugeot didn’t put any proper charging settings in the e-308’s infotainment, where I can’t even choose what capacity I want to charge to. I can only set the charging start time and that’s about it. Here it would be necessary to work a bit and offer the user more possibilities of individualization and settings.
Our roads, with their potholed canals, rutted ruts and potholes of all sorts of “quality and quantity” can test any chassis severely. Aboard the E-308, the ride is admittedly not quite perfect, due to the low profile tyres, but it’s comfortable enough that I’m not complaining. Outside of town, I find that the chassis is tuned well enough to keep the relatively large wheels as in contact with the road as possible even on really rutted tarmac, so it’s possible to drive really nimbly, without any unpleasant bounces or bumps from the chassis.
And finally, let’s get to the pricing. You won’t get an electric version of the Active in base trim. You can order an electric 308 wagon (i.e. SW) in either the mid-range Allure trim for a (now bargain) €40,990 or as the range-topping GT trim for €44,990. Throw in a few bits and bobs like a panoramic roof or Alcantara seats with AGR and we’re attacking the €50k mark.
Whether that’s a high price for a mid-range wagon I’ll leave up to each potential buyer, but I think it’s probably the main weakness of the whole E-308. Plus, the competition is increasing every day, and not only the one from China, but also from European brands, so an electric wagon from Peugeot won’t have it easy here…
The electric 308 is a seriously capable and enjoyable car with a finely tuned chassis and good driveability. Even in this version, I find it to be the best option of the entire range of this model, thanks to its smooth and flowing ride. It may not be one of the biggest powerhouses among electric cars, but it makes up for its performance with pleasant consumption, good cabin materials, design and a number of clever details…
