Five reasons why considering a Peugeot 308 SW Hybrid could be a good idea

If you’re one of those who avoids the SUV craze but need a practical, versatile car, and you also want a “Zero Emissions label” and aren’t yet ready to bet everything on electric and depend on a plug, I have a proposal that will interest you: the Peugeot 308 SW Hybrid, a plug-in hybrid with a genuinely interesting estate body.

I’ve been able to live with it for a few days and test it in all kinds of situations long enough to tell you that it’s a car I’ve really enjoyed, and that I would personally buy. I’ll detail the reasons why I think considering a 308 SW Hybrid could be a good idea.

1.- For its exterior design

I won’t dwell on this section much, but we can’t overlook that a car’s design remains today among the main arguments for buying a car. Besides, and I’m sure we’ll agree on this, it’s not just you who has to like it, you know. And the Peugeot 308 SW is a car that, without drawing much attention, has a combination of elegance on one hand and sportiness on the other that appeals to almost everyone. In other words, the family won’t object, and that’s not always easy when it comes to “fitting” a vehicle with an estate body.

Personally, I think it’s one of the most beautiful vehicles in its segment, and it has some very attractive body colour and wheel combinations, such as this metallic green with graphite wheels. Its length is 4.64 metres, about 27 centimetres more than the Peugeot 308 5-door. The wheelbase also increases by 6 centimetres. That slightly sloping roofline, which reminds me of another of my favourite compact estates, the Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake, gives it a very dynamic style.

2.- For a competitive price

Sure, you’ll tell me that €37,130, which is what the entry-level 308 SW Hybrid costs with the 180 CV engine and Active trim, is a lot of money. And you’re right. But look at it another way: there’s only one other compact estate cheaper, the Kia Ceed Tourer PHEV, which starts at just over €35,000 in its basic version. Above that we have its “close cousin”, the Astra Sports Tourer PHEV 180 CV, which costs over €40,000. And a Cupra León Sportstourer PHEV with 204 CV starts at almost €44,000.

In the case of the 308 SW Hybrid, one advantage is that you can choose between two variants, with 180 CV, available in Active, Allure and GT trims; or with 225 CV, in this case only in the GT trim, for an extra €1,500… which you can save, since the 180 CV version works wonderfully. And since we’re talking about prices within its own range, a mention of the new Peugeot E-308 SW, with 100% electric drivetrain, 156 CV and 410 km of range: it costs about €2,500 more than the plug-in hybrid.

The “downside” of the 308 SW Hybrid’s price, as with all plug-in hybrids on the market, is that they are expensive compared with combustion-engined versions. In this case, if we take the 308 SW Puretech with EAT8 gearbox as a reference, the difference is over €10,000 for equal equipment; though of course that’s a 130 CV version, with a C label. In the case of the BlueHDI 130 EAT8, with the same power and the same label, the difference is still over €8,000.

3.- Because it goes more than enough and can use very little

As I said before, you don’t need to go for the 225 CV version. Basically they differ in the power delivered by the petrol engine, a 4-cylinder 1.6 Turbo, which produces 150 CV in the Hybrid 180, and 180 CV in the Hybrid 225; the electric motor in both is 110 CV. But the performance is very similar: the more powerful one accelerates just a tenth faster from 0 to 100 km/h, in 7.6 seconds, and has a top speed 10 km/h higher, at 235 km/h. In both cases the throttle response is very pleasant, and they move with great ease when running in fully electric mode.

Compared with the latest plug-in hybrid Peugeot I tested, the 3008 PHEV, which for a time led the top sellers in our market as the best-selling plug-in hybrid, I found the propulsion system to be, overall, much smoother… and clearly more efficient. Furthermore, the real-world electric range is now much more reasonable: you can easily do 50 km on a single charge. This will be one of the keys if you want low consumption, to have a plug at home to recharge the battery, which requires no complications: you can normally do it comfortably overnight with the supplied cable and the onboard charger, without having to install anything.

When you start with a full battery, you can do the first 50 km with zero petrol consumption. Once the battery runs out, the system starts working like a hybrid, but consumption doesn’t skyrocket: it’s not hard to get below 6 l/100 km on urban routes, and around 7.5 l/100 km on country roads or motorways if you don’t push it hard. But if you can recharge daily, as I said: 50 km with zero petrol consumption, and the first 150 or 160 km with real averages between 3 and 4 l/100 km, until the effect of those first kilometres running on electricity alone fades.

By the way, I haven’t mentioned it: the battery has a capacity of 12.4 kWh, and on a domestic socket it charges in about 7 hours, or in less than two hours with the optional 7.4 kW charger at a 32-amp charging station.

4.- Because it’s a very comfortable car for everyday use and for travelling

Without doubt, one of the 308’s strong points, not only the 5-door but also the SW, is its dynamic behaviour. It’s a car that stands out for being more agile than most of its rivals, but also more comfortable, with a magnificent steering feel that equally invites you to travel on the motorway or head out onto secondary roads to enjoy something we do less and less: really driving.

On the motorway it stands out for the ride quality conveyed by the suspension and its good sound insulation. And on winding roads the body movements are very well controlled, the brakes have good feel and work wonderfully, which makes driving a delight. Not to mention how pleasant and manageable it also feels in town. The sensible choice of tyres has a lot to do with all this, without going overboard on width or resorting to an excessively low profile: our test unit was fitted with Michelin Primacy 4 tyres in size 225/40-18.

Other factors that round out the picture are magnificent sports seats for grip and comfort, a powerful lighting system that works perfectly, and well-calibrated driver assistance systems that intervene when and how they should, without interfering too much or being annoying. Also, as is usual with plug-in hybrids, you can choose between the electric, hybrid or Sport driving modes. In the last two the paddles on the steering wheel let you change gear, while in electric mode you can only “play” with the gear selector to alternate between “D” and “B” if you want more regeneration. I would have liked to be able to use the paddles in electric mode too, to select between different energy recovery levels.

5.- For an original interior, with great quality and very versatile

With greater length and wheelbase, the rear seats of the 308 SW no longer lack those centimetres you’d miss in the 308 5-door if you’re travelling with passengers. Here, two adults can cover kilometres with a high level of comfort, although the floor is a little high and your feet don’t fit well under the front seats if you want to stretch your legs a bit.

The boot is one of the raisons d’être of an estate car, and the 308 SW Hybrid doesn’t disappoint. It loses almost 60 litres compared with the combustion-engined versions, but its almost 550 litres remain a good figure. Moreover, it has very regular shapes, the tailgate opens to a huge aperture and the loading lip is very low. Under the floor there’s space to carry the charging cable, or to use it for other items if you leave it at home. The rear seats fold down easily in 40:20:40 sections using pulls from the boot itself, which allows a certain flexibility for carrying long or bulky items while keeping one or two seats. Note, however, that unlike the petrol and diesel 308 SWs, on the hybrid the luggage cover cannot be fitted in the dedicated space under the boot floor.

I also really liked the sense of quality the interior conveys, both visually and in the feel of the materials and the way all the controls operate. The original i-Cockpit design, with a very small steering wheel and the instrumentation positioned to be seen over the top, will draw a lot of attention from those who have never sat behind the wheel of a modern Peugeot. And I recommend trying it before buying, because not everyone likes it. To be honest, I prefer a traditional driving position, where you see the instruments through the steering wheel rather than over it. I don’t dislike the very small steering wheel, in the end it has its advantages and the handling is very pleasant. But if I adopt the driving position I prefer -I’m 1.78 metres tall- the steering wheel partially blocks the instrumentation. And if I lower it so that doesn’t happen, getting in and out of the car is harder than it should be.

The multimedia system screen stands out for its high-resolution images and how well and quickly it responds to touch, although navigating the menus isn’t very intuitive at first. The advantage is that a second screen below, which includes what Peugeot calls i-Toggle, lets you configure shortcuts to the most-used functions, so you don’t have to “navigate” when operating, for example, the audio system, the navigation, the climate control or the propulsion system menu.

Peugeot 308 SW – Image gallery

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackPeugeot 30824 versions · from 31,770 €