Peugeot has taken an impressive leap towards rationality in a short time. There are more models created outside France, they’re starting to use modular platforms in order to cut costs, and since they’ve started to be offered in more markets than ever, they’ve dropped those love-it-or-hate-it looks used until the last decade. Such evolution intends to make the French automaker accomplish its new role in PSA’s latest corporate strategy: Peugeot will leave the cheaper categories for Citroën’s “C” line and the luxury ones for the DS line, in order to concentrate on what’s between them. In other words, everything from upscale compacts (such as 208) to conservative luxury sedans (like 508). With a highly competitive category right in the middle.
Mid-size cars are interesting for the automakers because they’re expensive enough to repay large investments in not too much time, but also cheap enough to still have expressive sales. However, competing among them got so hard because there are lots of strong rivals: Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf are only some of them. So since Citroën C4 is expected to turn into C4 Cactus in a few years, and therefore to reach a different public, Peugeot took the opportunity to invest on making 308 as important as those other lines. This is why PSA chose the hatchback to be the first Peugeot to use the EMP2 platform some months ago, at the same time as the new Citroën C4 Picasso.
Therefore, if you already knew the hatchback, 308 SW won’t surprise you. Like what most competitors do, both cars start to differ only at the rear doors. And if talking about competitors made you start to wonder, 308 will have a great fight with VW Golf Variant and its Spanish cousin Seat León ST – which turns to be that “realistic goal” mentioned at the beginning of this text. The French station wagon’s third section looks attractive for being both discreet and stylish, following the automaker’s latest design language in a very elegant way. But if you think there was too much concern with design, the 610-liter trunk with the five seats up outtakes both Seat and VW’s. Peugeot also claims the rear bench can be folded completely flat.
Looking to the other side of the cabin will take you to the hatchback once again. There’s the same minimalistic console controlled by a great touchscreen, side-by-side with the reduced-diameter steering wheel placed below the instrument cluster, but repeating those is as good as repeating the excellent material quality. Another shared part concerns the powertrain, composed by gasoline and diesel engines. The latter ones will include a BlueHDI option, whose focus on reduced consumption and emissions makes it a perfect competitor to VW’s BlueMotion and Ford’s Econetic similars. Peugeot 308 SW will make its official debut at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show, and will hit the European streets on the second trimester.