Peugeot 308 review, prices and specs - Interior and tech
The 308 is a polished and competitive family hatch, but could irritate buyers with iffy ergonomics
Interior and tech
One of the more contentious parts of the Peugeot 308, the mid-sized hatch utilises Peugeot’s now trademark miniaturised steering wheel. First introduced on the 208, thanks to redesigned dials the wheel is less likely to obstruct the drivers’ vision of them, but can still cause issues for some drivers. That said it still feels distinctly like version 1.0 now the all-new 3008 SUV has been released with it’s fancy i-cockpit.
In conjunction with the odd steering wheel is Peugeot’s touchscreen infotainment system that controls most of the car's functions. Without any physical buttons to aim for, it can be a pain to complete even simple tasks, but it does at least maintain a volume knob (unlike the latest VW set-up). The system itself is a bit slow to navigate and the graphics are looking a little dated, again made to seem worse by the 3008 which utilises the next generation system.
The overall interior design is very good though, most plastics feel robust and although it is not hard to find cheaper materials. The detailing is well thought out and features like the glass roof and nicely trimmed seats do well to make the interior feel relatively special.
Thanks to the blocky profile the 308 does well in the rear for headroom, although rear space can be a little pinched. The boot space is on par with the class on paper, yet thanks to an odd shape, is not as versatile as rivals like the Golf and new Civic.