PEUGEOT WARMS TO A NEW GENRE
An entertaining drive, the 308 GT packs extra performance — at a premium
The “warm” hatch is becoming a thing. A hot-hatch power struggle over the past few years has pushed outputs towards 200kW, sometimes beyond. That’s left a gap in some makers’ line-ups between their hard-edge performance heroes and their more genteel, garden variety versions.
Hyundai has filled the gap in its i30 range with the N-Line, while Kia and Renault have GT versions of their respective Cerato and Megane hatches and Holden has the Astra RS.
The formula is the same; a slightly more powerful turbo, stiffer suspension, sticky rubber and racy styling cues.
Peugeot is the latest to put its foot in the water, slotting the special edition 308 GT in between its $31,990 Allure and $45,990 GTi. It will cost $39,990 plus on-roads, about the same money as a Subaru WRX or Hyundai i30N.
On sale this month, the GT will be a limited run of 140. No great need to hurry, though, as Peugeot has sold fewer than 250 308s in the first seven months of the year.
The extra cash over the Allure buys you a lot more performance. The Allure makes do with a three-cylinder turbo with just 96kW while the GT has a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo with 165kW/285Nm.
The new engine is matched to a new eightspeed conventional automatic that can be operated via paddle-shifters mounted on the steering wheel.
Other changes include a lower ride height, stiffer springs and dampers, sharper steering and throttle response and quicker gear changes.
A sport button on the centre console turns the needles and dials from white to red — a neat trick — and dials up the responsiveness of the throttle and transmission even further. It also introduces a sportier exhaust note.
Sports mode also brings up readouts in between the speedo and tacho giving you information on power and torque delivery, turbo boost pressure and g-forces.
It may sound like a neat trick but it’s probably not advisable to be looking at how many g’s you are pulling while negotiating a corner — there’s a risk you could pull a whole lot more than you anticipated via an excursion into the scenery.
External cues include dual chrome exhausts, 18-inch alloys, GT badges on the front, rear and sides, darker rear glass, black side mirrors and rear diffuser, daytime running lights and indicator lights that scroll in the direction you’re turning.
Inside, there are sporty Alcantara seats with the obligatory red stitching, alloy pedals, mood lighting and a distinctive colour scheme for the dash readout.
Apart from that, there are no more goodies than the Allure, a grade that’s already well equipped with satnav, smartphone mirroring, front and rear parking sensors, semi-automatic parking, electric park brake and keyless entry and start.
The safety package extends to active cruise control, lane keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking and headlights that dim for oncoming traffic.
ON THE ROAD
There’s a school of thought that power alone doesn’t make for an engaging hot hatch experience. Volkswagen’s Golf GTI has been the benchmark for decades, despite often giving away a power advantage to most of the competition.
Given its light weight — just 1200kg — the GT has more than enough grunt to make for an entertaining drive.
And the other elements for driving joy are all there. The steering is sharp and communicative and the suspension irons out the bumps while keeping the car well planted though corners.
The transmission can bit a little indecisive in normal mode, taking a while to react to a prod on the accelerator, but it’s more responsive in sports mode, holding on to lower gears to keep the power on tap out of corners.
The engine itself is strong low down but still happy to explore the upper reaches of the rev range.
For this type of car, the exhaust note is pretty spot-on. There’s no crackling and popping but it lets out a purposeful growl when pushed. Fuel use was impressive when cruising.