Peugeot 308 GT 2015 Review

It's been a relatively tough time for Aussie fans of peppy Peugeots. Although the latest 208 GTi represents a welcome return to form, for the past decade or so the French brand's performance hatch efforts have been at best lukewarm.

The arrival of the 308 GT Down Under to head up the local T9-series 308 range changes that. Ironically, this is despite the fact the brand is at pains to point out this new faster five-door should not be considered a hot hatch, but rather a warm one.

Peugeot points to the GT badge -- engaging performance in a car with the comfort and equipment you're looking for in a car driven daily, they suggest. But the truth is the real-world performance of the new Pug is very close to that of other 'hot' hatches on sale Down Under today.

We'll have to wait for a pukka 308 GTi for full-fat fun, say the local Peugeot burghers. There have been teasers at the last couple of European motor shows in the form of both R and GTi concepts but nothing has been set for production – at least not in terms of public confirmation.

The good news? Take it from us, after driving the GT, should the GTi ever become fact, it'll be a ripper.

In keeping with its everyday performance philosophy, the new 308 GT arrives here with a choice of 1.6-litre turbo-petrol or 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines. Unlike the cooking-model 308s, there is no Touring (wagon) version – the GT's a five-door hatch only.

Available with a manual six-speed gearbox only, the petrol GT is priced from $41,990. The turbo-diesel is auto-only (using an Aisin six-speeder complete with paddle shifters) and costs $1000 more ($42,990).

These prices are for the Solus white, non-premium paint model. Budget for another $990 if you're after any other colour -- the striking Magnetic Blue hero hue included.

The 1.6-litre direct-injected turbo-petrol engine is rated at 151kW at 5000rpm, with maximum torque of 285Nm delivered across a wide rpm band from 1750-4500rpm. Can you spell e-l-a-s-t-i-c?

Peugeot claims a 0-100km/h time of 7.5 seconds for the petrol and 8.4 for the 133kW/400Nm oiler. The turbo-diesel doesn't have the froth and bubble of the petrol powertrain, but matched to the excellent auto on the open road it is endearingly rapid – especially in terms of in-gear acceleration.

Peugeot says the 151kW turbo-petrol returns a frugal 5.6L/100km on the Euro combined cycle, a figure it won't surprise you I had no hope in hell of replicating. Real-world economy after a reasonably sporting drive was just under 10.0L/100km.

The 133kW turbo-diesel's official figure is an abstemious 4.0L/100km (double that on the test loop). Idle-stop is standard on both variants.

Both 308 GT models feature a lower ride height (-7mm at the front and -10mm rear) and revised suspension settings compared to their more sedate siblings.

The settings are firm but far from Germanic in their resulting ride. Indeed, Peugeot's suspension boffins have done a great job of retaining the new 308's excellent ride and handling balance in the GT, while at the same delivering an extra dose of responsiveness and outright ability.

Body control is very good and although there's no mention of any front drive diff trickery, even out of tight corners inside wheel spin and throttle-on understeer is well mitigated.

If you're up for a sporty punt, so is the GT.

Also commendable are noise levels. There's the ability to amplify the engine noise artificially in the GT via a Sport setting (which also usefully sharpens throttle response and changes steering – and, in the diesel auto, gearbox mapping) but given a choice we'd ditch the feature. The petrol engine (which the GT shares with MINI Cooper S variants) has a pleasantly playful soundtrack in its own right.

During my very short drive of the GT diesel the amplification simply seemed 'droney'... Pass!

Steering, not a Peugeot strong point of late, lacks feel but weighting and accuracy are close to spot on. There's also little kickback at even reasonable levels of commitment. Again the GT delivers in this regard.

As you'd expect, the GT brakes have been uprated with bigger front rotors (330mm, up from 304) and beefier front callipers. They provide good, solid stopping power for all but the most extreme (track) use.

The attractive multi-spoke alloys are 18 x 8.0-inch as standard and shod with high-spec, high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres.

The wider wheels fill out the GT's guards nicely and, combined with the lower ride height and subtle bodywork tweaks, give the car a purposeful and handsome look.

There's almost an Audi RS quality to the way the French car looks in action on the road. This is an impression that I reckon is pumped up by the blue/white glints from the LED headlights and sharper optics of the 'three-claw' high-intensity tail-lights.

Sitting atop the local 308 range, the GT lacks for little in terms of equipment. Even the entry-level 308s show an impressive level of cabin fit and finish and the GT simply raises the bar. Sporty contrasting stitching highlights and real metal touches lift this cabin above the norm

For this tester (165cm), the driving position is not great. I can't get the steering wheel high enough and when positioned anywhere near the top of its range, the rim of the almost cartoonishly small wheel obscures much of the 'head-up' style gauges and digital readout. This glitch is frustrating given the general quality of the rest of the GT's cabin.

For the record my 178cm co-driver for the day had no such issues. You should check if it's an issue for you.

My other instrument-related gripe is the 'reversed' anticlockwise tachometer... What a crock! And doubly so in a quasi-performance car in which you want to be able to instinctively understand where you're at in terms of engine revs. Please ditch this for the GTi, Peugeot.

Of only modest value is the GT's info mode that includes "read-outs from the car's ECU, including levels of power and torque being delivered, turbo boost pressure, plus longitudinal and transverse acceleration". This is activated as part of the 'Sport' setting.

The well shaped and supportive GT front seats feature a mix of Alcantara and technical cloth trim and arrive complete with a massage function and electric lumbar adjustment. Height, rake and positioning are all manual. Heating comes only with leather when you tick the option box and fork over a substantial $2500. I'd save the dollars.

A 240mm touch-screen incorporating reversing camera and sat-nav outputs is standard equipment in Aussie-spec GTs. This central screen incorporates climate and other key controls and presents well with sharp graphics and impressive levels of readability – sometimes an issue given our summer light levels.

There's a significant amount of information on the screen, however, and some aspects of the HMI (human machine interface) will take some learning. I'll be interested to see how we fare with this when we drive the car for a longer period. Often such concerns disappear within a very short period of 'ownership'. It's hard to judge in a single day's drive.

Safety levels for the 308 range have generally been commended. The vehicle scored five stars in Euro NCAP testing with 92 per cent for (adult) occupant protection. Standard in local GTs is Peugeot's 'Driver Assistance' pack that includes blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise, park assist and a collision mitigation braking system that will reduce the vehicle's speed to 20km/h when an emergency situation is sensed. This is not full Autonomous Emergency Braking but rather is a function of the adaptive cruise control technology.

The launch drive for the GT included some of our favourite pinches and passes in a loop out from the border city of Albury-Wodonga. With all of my open road time in a petrol GT, impressions on the diesel variant were limited to a quick couple of laps of the Wodonga TAFE test track.

Motoring.com.au is very familiar with the track, which helps, but we'd be more confident in passing judgement on the diesel after a proper road drive. That said, it's immediately clear where the extra 120kg the turbo-diesel carries (compared to the petrol) is located.

With a 10 per cent increase in mass (the petrol GT weighs in at very respectable 1200kg) at the pointy end, it's little wonder the turbo-diesel lacks the balance of its petrol counterpart. Steering itself is noticeably heavier, the car is less stable under hard braking and on the track at least understeer is more pronounced.

The petrol in contrast is as at home at the track as some other supposedly hot hatches. The front-end gets a pretty tough workout at the TAFE track and yet the GT retained its poise and didn't dissolve in tyre-spinning histrionics. Braking is very good and fade-free after five quick laps – usually enough to generate some degradation in street cars.

The real test of the GT is on the road though and despite a potential technical handicap when compared to the likes of the Golf GTI and even Audi A3/S3 in a torsion-beam rather than full independent rear-end, its overall behaviour is hard to fault. Keen drivers will comment on the brisk turn-in and corner carving ability.

Those who are looking for a daily driver with brio will enjoy the 308 GT's civility and verve. It's far from damning the 308GT with faint praise when I suggest it has something for everyone.

And, best of all, it makes the prospect of a full-house 308 GTi almost mouth-watering...