What's the best French car at the moment? The autoevolution office is split on that question, between the Megane RS 275 Trophy and the RCZ R (no, Bugatti doesn't count). However, the international jury which voted the 2014 car of the year says the Peugeot 308 is the hot tomalley of the moment.
It's based on an all-new platform, making it lighter than its predecessor. The new 5-door is selling really well, with clients telling us they like the soft ride and the unique interior. This model also marks a clear move upmarket for the French automaker, offering plenty of standard features.
The Renault Megane, with its outdated interior, is certainly no match for the Volkswagen Golf 7, while the Citroen C4 has never been that popular to begin with and is uses old tech. So if a vanilla-flavored French hatch is what you want, the Peugeot is pretty much your best bet right now. But what's the best engine to buy on the 308? And how does it stack up against the competition?
One small three-cylinder turbo engines has just been launched with the 308, but we'll let you in on a little secret: downsizing isn't all that great. Getting the claimed mileage is very hard and takes all the joy out of driving. Instead, we propose the 1.6 turbo base mode, which makes 125 hp and 200 Nm (150 lb-ft). Below, you will find a couple of videos from Youtuber blackgangsta, who tested the 1.6 THP on a German autobahn.
The pros:
The 125 hp version is much cheaper to buy than the 156 hp version of the same 1.6-liter engine.
Performance is better than both diesels and downsized petrol engines, plus it sounds good. It's good for 0 to 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds and a top speed of 203 km/h (126 mph).
Peugeot's 6-speed manual is much better than the 5-speed (don't expect perfection though)
The cons:
We're not fans of Peugeot's weird dashboards; they're tricky to read and for some taller people, the steering wheel obstructs the view
A bigger engine is more expensive to tax and, of course, fuel consumption is not as good as with a diesel
For younger buyers, the SEAT Leon 1.4 TSI might be better because of its sporty design and cheaper base price
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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