Let’s take a moment and have a closer look at what the 2024 Peugeot 308 Hatch is all about.  It’s great to be able to review this car, as it’s been some time since Peugeot updated the model.  I think the last time I reviewed the 308 Hatch was back in 2018, and what a lot has changed in six years!  There is plenty of new stuff inside the latest 308 Hatch, and, yes, it’s a hatchback, which means it’ll be practical and reasonably priced and should be pretty efficient.  But there is also a plug-in hybrid version that is super exciting.

Peugeot is no pretender.  They have been around a very long time.  In fact, few cars can boast of having their roots go back as far as 1891.  They have definitely lasted the test of time and know just what it takes to make successful cars that appeal to the masses.  Peugeot have always been great at making a good, solid hatchback, so the addition of the 2024 Peugeot 308 Hatch is a continuation of the legacy of hatchbacks which trace well back into the early 1970s, when it all started with Peugeot’s fantastic little 104 Hatch. 

The 2024 Peugeot 308 Hatch is cutting-edge and modern, yet still has all the practical appeal of the solidly built 104. You can easily seat a small family inside it with decent levels of occupant space in the rear seats.  And there is plenty of space to put your luggage in the boot behind the rear seats.  Now, the rear seats have a 60:40 split folding function that allows its owners to fit even more luggage into the car, obviously at the expense of passenger space.  With 412 litres of cargo room behind the rear seats in their upright position, this is a really useful area for putting any type of gear, bags, and shopping.  I mean, you can even take a little dog on the family outing to the beach, and it will be very happy little dog back there.  With the rear seats fully folded down, there are 1323 litres to fill.  As a comparison, Toyota’s Hybrid Corolla Hatchback has 333 litres of space behind its upright rear seats; and if it isn’t a hybrid, then it’s only 313 litres. 

The 2024 Peugeot Hatch is also very comfy.  The seats are comfortable enough to venture on longer trips away from the urban jungle.  Backing up the plush feel of the Peugeot 308 GT’s Alcantara leather seats, the car also rides really nicely over the road’s undulations.  Features like voice control, cruise control, 2-zone climate control, a decent sound system, crash avoidance technology, and lane keeping assist are the sort of stuff that the drivers who will be doing longer distances will enjoy. 

Those features are found on the 308 GT Hatch model, considered the base model here in Australia.  However, you can get the GT Premium model, which boasts some extra nice stuff like an upgraded 10-speaker sound system, wireless charging for compatible devices, complete 360-degree camera coverage, Nappa leather seats, fully electric front seats with a massage function and heating, an electric sunroof, and even a glass roof with a powered blind. 

Peugeot’s very first hatchback, the Peugeot 104, offered the driver a little 1.0-litre engine, a four-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel-drive (FWD), a maximum of 33 kW of power and a maximum torque of 63 Nm at 3000 RPM.  This was quite an eager little motor that could happily offer a top speed of around 140 km/h.  This valiant effort was backed up by a fuel efficiency of between 6 and 8 litres/100 km.  However, in 2024, the Peugeot 308 GT and Premium GT Hatch have you feeling inspired by their velvety motor that is not much larger but boasts a maximum of 96 kW of power and a rather lusty peak of 230 Nm of torque from as low as 1750 rpm.  This performance comes from a three-cylinder engine that is 1.2 litres in capacity and also combines with turbo enhancement to put the power down on the road through the FWD set-up.  The new 308 Hatch can see off the 0–100 km/h sprint in 9.7 seconds and offers a combined fuel consumption of around 5.5 litres/100 km.  It has a top speed of 209 km/h and is equipped with a smooth 8-speed automatic that feels at home in the city as much as in the open country lanes.

Running on a set of 18-inch alloys that are wrapped in 225 mm of rubber, the 308 Hatch is grippy and quiet.  The car sits sweetly on the road in a composed, comforting manner, and both road and wind noise are kept well-muted.  You can easily run along at open road speed limits and beyond, and in this form of travel the fuel consumption is quite remarkable (potentially less than 5 litres/100 km).  The practicality of the new Peugeot 308 Hatch is enhanced by Peugeot rating it good for towing a braked trailer of up to 1400 kg, and its warranty is a healthy 5 years/unlimited km from new. 

However, in my books, the model that gets really exciting, and the one you should probably stretch yourself to buying if you can, is the brand-new Peugeot 308 GT Sport Plug-In Hybrid Hatch.  Wow, what an efficient and swift car to drive!  This is one of the sexiest new hatchbacks on the market, and with its potential for a combined fuel consumption of 1.4 litres/100 km (if you spend most of the time in the city, topping it up at home on the mains), it is magnificent.

Head out to stretch its legs on the motorway, and the 308 Plug-In Hybrid gets close to being a true performance hatch, with a 0–100 km/h time of 7.5 seconds and a top speed of 234 km/h.  The combined electric and petrol power combine to give the car a maximum power of 132 kW, and a peak torque figure of a very useful 250 Nm.  This is a sweet driver’s car that has all the nice comfort that both the other versions have.

ANCAP tested the new 308 Hatch in 2022, when they gave it a healthy 4 out of 5 stars.  It comes with features that include six airbags, lap sash seatbelts with pre-tensioners, crash avoidance and collision mitigation technology, vulnerable road user collision detection and warning systems, antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability control, rollover stability protection, a hill holder assist feature, electronic brake force distribution, lane departure warning, driver fatigue detection and alert, blind spot sensors, front and rear park distance assistance, and a built-in rear camera with display on selection of the reverse gear. 

So what are you waiting for?  Get yourself down to Peugeot and test drive one for yourself!

The 2024 Peugeot 308 Hatch models include the:

• Peugeot 308 GT Hatch
• Peugeot 308 GT Premium Hatch
• Peugeot 308 GT Sport Plug-In Hybrid Hatch

For any more information on the new Peugeot 308 Hatch, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Peugeot dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. 

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