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Peugeot is on a bit of roll when it comes to its high-performance models. Last year’s RCZ-R uncorked the potential we all knew the coupé had, while the 208 GTi 30th Anniversary Edition (now a main model known as the 208 GTi by Peugeot Sport) showed us a glimpse of the old 205 GTi’s legendary magic.
However, the new 308 GTi – Peugeot’s answer to the SEAT Leon Cupra, Ford Focus ST and Skoda Octavia vRS – is more important than either of them. But luckily it’s still got something in common with both. Officially badged the Peugeot 308 GTi by Peugeot Sport, like the RCZ and 208, it’s been developed by Peugeot’s motorsport arm, meaning this is much more than a power boost and a bodykit.
The suspension has also been stiffened and lowered by 11mm, the brakes have been enlarged and the car comes with new lightweight wheels wrapped in stickier rubber. There are detail changes to the interior and exterior, although this isn’t an in-your-face mega hatch like the Honda Civic Type R or Renaultsport Mégane – it prefers to go about its business quietly, but effectively.
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Two versions of Peugeot’s 1.6-litre THP engine are available: one with a Focus ST-matching 247bhp (badged 250) and the full-fat version driven here with 266bhp (called 270). It’s the same unit that worked so well in the RCZ-R, and once again it’s smooth, sharp to respond and takes on a rabid character when you hold on to gears and let it rev out. It’s clean, too, promising 47mpg economy and 139g/km CO2 emissions – better than all of its peers besides the Golf GTI. But then the VW has a rather sizeable chunk less power.
Order the Driver Sport Pack and you get a Sport button on the centre console that sharpens up the main controls and adds weight to the steering. It also turns up the noise – and it’s this you notice first.
The fact that it’s a synthesised soundtrack pumped through the speakers will be sacrilege for some, but you can’t fault Peugeot’s efforts. The sound vibrates authentically when you floor the throttle and rises and falls perfectly in line with the rev counter. Put your prejudices to one side and it unequivocally enhances the driving experience.
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The car feels fast, too. While the sprint from 0-62mph takes one-tenth longer than in the Leon Cupra (6.0 seconds vs 5.9 seconds), the 308 GTi pulls strongly and will more than hold its own in most straight-line drag races. But what about the corners? Stretch to the range-topping 270 model and it has all the tools you need. You get a Torsen limited-slip differential on the front axle, as well as bigger brakes, 19-inch alloy wheels (which weigh 2kg less each than the 18-inch rims) and Michelin Super Sport tyres. And the result is profound.
Wider tracks than on the standard 308 and increased camber on the front axle mean when you turn in, front end bite is instant. When you get hard back on the power at the apex, the differential does its thing, sending torque to the outside wheel and catapulting you out of the bend.
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It’s mightily effective, and when you combine that with the car’s ability to devour the straights, it makes the 308 GTi an obscenely fast point-to-point car.
Part of this pointiness is down to the tiny steering wheel, which gives the whole experience a go-kart like feel. The steering is a little on the light side, though, which can make the front end feel ever so slightly nervous in fast corners. But really, that’s splitting hairs. In many ways this 308 sits somewhere between the Golf GTI and Golf R – exuding the same grown-up character, but with excellent body control and a deceptive ability to cover ground briskly.
That sophisticated, rather than boy-racer, theme is carried over to the design where the changes are hilariously subtle. There are full LED headlights, a gloss-black mesh grille, larger air intakes and chunkier side skirts, plus a subtle diffuser and two large tailpipes at the rear. The badge on the boot is the biggest giveaway – although our early production car did without it so as not to draw attention to the firebreathing hatch, which hadn’t been revealed at the time.
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If you really want to turn heads, for £1,300 Peugeot will give it the Coupé Franche treatment with a two-tone matt black and red paintjob (the opposite way round to the 208 GTi by Peugeot Sport). But it’s a bold look and an acquired taste.
As with all hot hatches, the 308 GTi benefits from the standard car’s practicality, with a decent 470-litre boot that expands to 1,309 litres when the rear seats are folded flat. Yes, an Octavia vRS is bigger still, but the 308’s load area is usable and there’s more space under the boot floor. The rear seats are a little cramped, though, so if space is a priority, the Civic Type R is more accommodating, even though it’s firmer.
Up front, you’re greeted by an aluminium scuff guard and a largely black colour scheme punctuated with red stitching throughout. Bucket seats – standard on the more powerful version – are well worth the money, as they hug you in all the right places and look the business. Like the whole of the 308 GTi package, they serve a sporty purpose, but are comfortable and easy to live with every day.
- Price: £28,155
- Engine: 1.6-litre 4cyl turbo petrol
- Power/torque: 266bhp/330Nm
- Transmission: Six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: 6.0 seconds
- Top speed: 155mph
- Economy/CO2: 47mpg/139g/km
- On sale: Now