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By
EWAN KENNEDY
25 August 2008
Peugeot
seems set to benefit from the pull back from SUVs by buyers
concerned with rising fuel costs. Because the 308 Touring has a
spacious interior that offers as much versatility of a mid-sized
SUV, with none of the drawbacks of added weight and seats that can
be awkward to climb into.
Best
of all, Peugeot is a long time expert in the field of turbo-diesel
engines, having had them for many years during the period when
others were ignoring these economy units. A segment of the SUV
field that is still working nicely is that of diesel powerplants,
now Peugeot can offer both space and performance with the
introduction of the 308 wagon.
The
Touring is a seven-seater, not the five-seater you might have
anticipated from its sleek lines. While the rearmost seats aren't
the most spacious around, they should be capable of carrying
pre-teen children with a good degree of comfort. Restricted foot
height is likely to be the limiting factor, so be sure to take the
junior members of your road-test team along for that important
drive program.
Seats
in the remaining five positions are spacious and provide plenty of
comfort, though, as always, it’s best if the person in the
second-row centre position is of below average size.
The
secret to getting seven decent-sized seats into a vehicle of this
apparently small size is a clever optical illusion. Because the
Peugeot 308 Touring is neither as small nor as sleek as it
appears. The French designers are doing an exceptional job these
days and have taken a tall, wide wagon and made it look almost
sporty in appearance.
It
goes without saying that the Peugeot 308 Touring is comfortable on
the road. This has been a tradition of Peugeots in Australia for
many decades and these cars make exceptional country tourers.
At
the same time, handling is good, with noticeable improvements over
the 307 range, which slipped a little compared with previous
models from the French marque. The 308 Touring has a feel that’s
almost as good as that of a rear-drive car, with precise turn-in,
a well balanced stance mid corner and the ability to change
direction promptly if the need suddenly arises.
Peugeot
308 Touring is powered by series of engines already familiar to
Peugeot enthusiasts. In these times when engineers are striving to
achieve the best efficiency from their powerplants it comes as no
surprise that three of the four engines are turbocharged. The 308
can be had with; a 1.6-litre petrol, a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol, a
1.6 turbo-diesel and a 2.0 turbo-diesel. Note that the 2.0-litre
petrol unit used in the outgoing 307 Touring wagon has been
dropped.
Six-speed
manual and six-speed automatic transmissions are offered in each
turbo-diesel model. However, only a four-speed auto is offered
with the petrol engines.
We
have road tested all of the engines, albeit briefly, and have come
away most impressed with the 1.6-litre turbo-diesel. It really
does have all the power that almost every driver would want and is
impressively economical at the same time. Fuel figures of around
5.0 litres per hundred kilometres are there for the asking in
normal driving on level roads. Try doing that on a bulky 4WD…
If
you need the versatility of seven seats, can’t, or won’t, pay
the high fuel prices demanded by an SUV, and like the idea of
driving a European machine then the new Peugeot 308 Touring may be
just what you need.
The
complete Peugeot 308 Touring, with prices (excluding on-road
costs) is:
XS 1.6-litre petrol: $30,590 (automatic)
XS HDi 1.6-litre turbo-diesel: $32,590 (manual)
XS HDi 2.0-litre turbo-diesel: $35,990 (automatic)
XSE 1.6-litre petrol: $32,990 (automatic)
XSE Turbo 1.6-litre turbo-petrol: $35,190 (automatic)
XSE HDi 2.0-litre turbo-diesel: $36,190 (manual), $38,390
(automatic)
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Marque Publishing Company
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