Conservative attitudes orbit around the idea of sticking to the products which have proven themselves successful and keeping their changes to nothing but what turns necessary. Bolder trains of thought give huge support to innovate on whatever it’s possible even though dealing with chances of big loses, because if the novelty manages to meet what the public wants the profits tend to be even bigger. So how about starting to introduce Peugeot’s latest release by mentioning that it manages to join the best of both those worlds?
When a vehicle approaches the ideal time to be replaced, the most common speculations that begin to blossom around public and press concern structural issues or subjectivities such as which styling would be used. Peugeot 308’s aging, however, generated bigger doubts about how would its successor be named. There weren’t big expectations to use the 309 badge because it was already used on a Talbot-inherited project, whose reputation didn’t end well due to corrosion problems. The speculations didn’t get to 301 because at that time Peugeot revealed the naming strategy change which is now responsible for the “first second generation” of a same number. Another 30x series’ juggling with tradition and novelty comes from the new car’s inspiration: do you remember which car 307 resembled so much? The ‘2001 hatch arrived with a large-scaled interpretation of 206, attempting to repeat the smaller sibling’s enormous success, but didn’t take too long to be succeeded because the first 308 wasn’t too much beyond a heavy restyling over the same platform, bringing Peugeot’s following design language. This article’s car performed a modern version of that story by becoming a luxury version of the also very successful 208, but it has so many advantages of its own that preserving the old name sometimes seems unfair.
How about starting with the fact of being the very first Peugeot to feature EMP2? The modular underpinning allowed the automaker to optimize the entire car, using improved high-resistance materials to lose 140 kg and using a complete new project to have slight dimension reductions actually paired with increased cabin space. But you should worry with these facts after contemplating the exterior. Peugeot once again dropped the big shapes and strong cuts which made it famous through the 2000s in favor of much more elegant styling. The lines are still strong but now in an imponent way, whose creases help to create a solidness impression that looks even better than VW Golf’s, for instance. 308 stopped to look sporty in favor of looking classy, but there isn’t one single element taking it away from the other contemporary Peugeots: the two-element front grille divides attention with 2008-inspired headlights design. The windows manage to resemble 508, while the lion claw-like tail lights don’t deny the 208’s genetics. Peugeot contained its typical sportiness to a much more subtle interpretation this time, making the car look good as an overall impression, rather than applying several flashy items. Conservative styling also brings the advantage of taking much longer to look old, by the way.
Opening the doors may give a huge 208 déjà vu, but they’re actually revealing how future Peugeots’ interiors will look like from now on (another past-and-future game, how about that?). Using horizontalized elements highlights the car’s width, but another strong sensation is of a high-tech car: the elevated dashboard makes the driver consult it over the steering wheel rather than through it, while that wheel’s size reduction is said to improve the car’s agility feeling. Other major difference from 308’s predecessors is Peugeot’s bigger concern with using “premium materials and exceptional build quality”. Besides that, the big central touchscreen came on really handy to simplify the console design: there are so few physical buttons because you can use is 9.7 inches to control almost every car’s function – if you don’t think it’s easier to operate only one screen, click here to remember the first 307’s console. The new 308’s official release is planned to happen during the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, which will make most of the technical information stay unknown until then. However, the powertrain expectations are pointed to take advantage of the lighter weight through sharing 208 and 2008’s engines, with three-cylinder and turbocharged units and certainly an e-HDI option. The sports fans will have to wait some more, but it wouldn’t be a nonsense to expect a GT or GTi variation for next year.