06 Jun 07
Rear seat space is reckoned by Peugeot to be class-leading, helped by relatively thin backrests for the front seats. Sportier versions get extra shoulder pads to bolster lateral support for front-seat occupants.
A neat touch is a deep rear shelf with a lid over the built-in compartment, a lid which can be opened either from inside the car or from the boot. And as in the 207CC and the 407 Coupe, there's the upmarket option of a full stitched-leather interior, including the fascia.
At first glance, the 308 looks much like a modernised version of the 307, itself recently facelifted with the giant front 'mouth' of the 407 and 207. But the more you look, the more new design details you see.
The 308's basis is still Peugeot-Citroen's platform Two, which underpinned the 307 and is found under the C4, but it's wider by 8cm both to increase interior space and to improve the look. The 308 is longer than the 307, too, by 4.5cm at the front and 2.5 cm at the tail, and - unusually in a new car - it's lower by a centimetre. The wider track, a lower centre of gravity and a stiffer body structure (thanks to higher-strength steels) should all be good news for handling and ride.
'The 308 looks wide and stable,' says Keith Ryder, the British designer behind the 308, the 307 and other past Peugeots. 'The ridge across the tailgate adds to the impression of width, and the rear end is very sculpted with broad shoulders.'
