Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: £11,995 to £20,045
Smooth punchy sweet-spinning lag-free engine, good ride/handling balance.
Expensive, not particularly sporting.
The sportiest 308 yet is not really that hot, but it's usable and cheap to run.
Despite a few disappointments in recent years, Peugeot is still a force to be reckoned when it comes to making hot hatches, so it's easy to get a little bit excited at the prospect of driving the new 173bhp turbocharged hatch that's set to spearhead the 308 range.
Until now, enthusiasts have had to settle for the punchy, but not very sporty, 134bhp diesel 2.0-litre. Not anymore.
The high power GT THP 175 makes itself noticed against the rest of the 308 range with a subtle rear boot spoiler, new 18" alloys, lower suspension and a larger deeper front air intake.
Packing the same twin-scroll turbocharged 1.6 in the GT and GTi 207, the 308 gains a remapped ECU that boosts power over the 148bhp version to 173bhp developed at 6,000rpm.
The firm says it could have tweaked the engine for more power but wanted to focus instead on torque for punchier mid-range performance.
With an impressive 180lb-ft of torque (195lb-ft for short periods of time on overboost) from just 1,600rpm it seems the French brand has succeeded.
It also says economy and emissions were also priorities - perhaps not music to enthusiasts' ears, but useful for those who will be using the Peugeot for business every day.
Peugeot is pitching its GT against similarly 'warm' alternatives like the turbo and supercharged Golf 1.4 as well as the 1.6 Vauxhall Astra Turbo, but will it leave drivers as equally cool on the road?
Price ranges from £18,995 to £19,595.
