![The Peugeot 300 series saga: from the 308 to the 308 [épisode 4/4]](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/saga-peugeot-3004.jpg?width=612&quality=80 "The Peugeot 300 series saga: from the 308 to the 308 [épisode 4/4]")
The final opus of our saga deals with the case of the Peugeot 308, which has kept its name over three generations. However, the silhouettes and proportions have never stopped changing.
With the eighth generation, the numbering is now fixed. However, nothing is more different in terms of silhouette than the three versions of the Peugeot 308: high sedan with short hood for the first, classic anti-Golf silhouette for the second and long hood with premium aspirations for the third. Here, formal continuity is not in order.
TO READ.
- Saga of the Peugeot 300 series: from the 301 to the 303 [épisode 1/4]
- Saga of the Peugeot 300 series: from the 304 to the 309 [épisode 2/4]
- Saga of the Peugeot 300 series: the 306 and 307 [épisode 3/4]
Peugeot 308 Mk1: we do not change the recipe for the 307
The Peugeot 308 first of the name, internal code T7, appears in 2007. It continues the momentum of the 307 by retaining a high-roofed architecture, a guarantee of good habitability. Like its predecessor, the car is therefore offered in three doors (it will be the last of its kind), five doors, SW station wagon and 308 CC coupé-cabriolet.
The novelty – and not least – comes from the Peugeot RCZ coupe, which openly attacks the Audi TT. But its generous curves at the level of the rear wings also refer to the Peugeot 203 coupe. The 308 also revived the GTi name in 2011 but with a small i, a 1.6 turbo engine of 200 hp and a five-door body. A versatile and family GTi in short, the verve and ardor being reserved for the RCZ-R, strong of 270 hp. At the other end of the spectrum, a diesel hybridization study was tested in 2008, combining a 1.6 HDi engine with an electromotor. But, in the end, it will be the Peugeot 3008 SUV that will benefit from it in series. In addition, in China, a trunk 308 made a career from 2011 to 2017.
- Peugeot 308: from 2006 to 2012
- Production: 1,307,251 units
Peugeot 308 Mk2: targeting the Golf
The Peugeot 308, second of the name, internal code T9, is at the tip of its hood in 2013. Voted Car of the Year in 2014, it has a leitmotif: to compete with the Golf by reverting to a classic compact sedan silhouette. The range undergoes a straightforward cut by keeping in the catalog only a proposal for a five-door sedan and a SW station wagon. Straightforward cut, it is also the name of the privilege two-tone paintwork of the GTi version, whose power reaches 270 hp. In 2015, a concept car named R HYbrid and 500 hp strong announces the hybrid technology which will arrive… on the next generation. At the end of 2020, the 308 closes another saga at Peugeot, that of the GTi.
The so-called i-Cockpit architecture was invited aboard the Peugeot 308.
Inside, the concept of the i-Cockpit (small steering wheel, remote instrumentation towards the front and touch screen) makes its appearance. In China, the Peugeot 308 range also has two silhouettes: the five-door named Peugeot 308 S and a variant with a trunk called the 308 Sedan. This four-door version was marketed from 2016 to 2020.
- Peugeot 308: from 2013 to 2021
- Production: 1,310,405 units
TO READ. Race test: Peugeot 308 Racing Cup, the GTi XXL!
Peugeot 308 Mk3: premium objective and electrification
The third generation Peugeot 308 (code P51) has just arrived on the market. Only the sedan is currently available; the 308 SW station wagon (P52) completes the offer at the end of January. The car inaugurates a plug-in hybrid technology offered in versions of 180 and 225 hp. Pure sport and duotone are no longer the order of the day, as is the idea of thwarting the plans of the Volkswagen Golf. With its long bonnet, the 308 now has in its sights more luxury sedans such as the Audi A3 Sportback, the BMW 1 Series or the Mercedes Class A. It is also the ambassador of the new emblem of the brand, a logo that it displays roughly on its grille and on the front fenders of GT versions.
The family will be complete at the end of 2022 with the appearance of a new crossover variant (project P54) probably called Peugeot 4008. Failure to conquer America, as initially planned, this variation will strengthen the manufacturer’s offer in China, where the trunk sedan like the Peugeot 408 is no longer successful. Another first for the 300 family, the latest will convert to electric in 2023.
TO READ. Peugeot 4008 (2022). First info and photo of the P54 Crossover
