Peugeot e-308 Review: Stylish Electric Hatchback

Electric family hatchback is at the more affordable end of EV pricing

Stylish design

i-Cockpit features small steering wheel and 3D display

Fun driving experience, but don’t expect ‘electric GT’ performance

Design & Powertrain

The Peugeot e-308 looks stylish, with interesting design details on the car’s exterior (and a large new Peugeot badge on the front grille) and a creative approach to the interior. The main visual feature in the cabin is the small steering wheel, which the driver looks over, rather than through, to the ‘3D’ instrument display. The rest of the dashboard is comprised of a variety of different angles, surfaces and materials.

The e-308 is a small family hatchback so the interior space is sized accordingly; there’s a 361-litre boot (1,271 litres with the rear seats down), and rear legroom is best described as adequate rather than extravagant.

The e-308 has Stellantis’ new 54 kWh battery (which is slightly larger than the previous 50 kWh unit), and a 156 hp motor providing front-wheel drive.

Driving Experience

The Peugeot e-308 is fun to drive, with the small steering wheel being a key reason for this; you just need to turn the wheel slightly to get the car to change direction. Of course the fact that the e-308 is a low-riding hatchback rather than a tall SUV helps with the way the front-wheel drive chassis goes around corners, and its 1,684 kg weight is relatively light compared to many EVs.

Ride quality is good on most roads, however secondary ride quality isn’t as well damped as some; you’ll feel potholes and speed bumps transmit into the cabin. Some road noise can also creep into the interior.

The e-308 is an EV, so you get refinement and instant torque. You’d also expect responsive acceleration, especially with the car having a GT badge, so the relatively slow 0-62 mph acceleration time of 9.8 seconds is a bit of a surprise. Drive modes are Eco, Normal and Sport – and even Sport mode doesn’t set the acceleration alight.

The e-308’s gear selector is found in many Stellantis models; to select drive or reverse you pull a small switch forwards or backwards. To select park or B (‘brake’), for increased brake regeneration, you don’t move the switch, instead you press small buttons. In the dark it’s hard to see the gear selector switch, as it’s not illuminated.

The central touchscreen features six helpful large shortcut buttons underneath it, for mirror screen, phone, nav, energy, media and home. Below these sit another row of buttons, for heating and ventilation – except for the left-hand button, which is for car functions, and this is where you can initiate the button-pressing process to switch off the lane departure warning system.

Cabin temperature controls are displayed on the left and right of the central touchscreen, but only when in home screen mode; if you select another screen such as navigation, these controls disappear and you lose the ability to change the cabin temperature. The e-308 has front heated seats and heated steering wheel as standard, with the controls accessed through the touchscreen.

Range & Charging

The Peugeot e-308 has an official WLTP combined electric driving range of 236 – 267 miles. You should be able to expect a real-world range of around 200 miles.

The e-308 has a maximum rapid charging rate of 100 kW, which should allow the battery to be charged from 20% to 80% in around 30 minutes. It can also be charged at up to 11 kW AC to take advantage of a workplace three-phase electric power supply. A full charge at a 7.4kW AC home wall box should take 7 hours 20 minutes.

The e-308 features a heat pump as standard, which aims to minimise any loss to driving range from heating the cabin in cold weather, and 18-inch aluminium wheels are specially designed to maximise aerodynamic efficiency.

New to EVs? Elevate your charging know-how by taking a look at our charging guides: How much does it cost to charge an electric vehicle? and How long does it take to charge an electric car?

Price and Model Range

The Peugeot e-308 Hatchback is available in Allure trim from £40,050, or in GT trim from £42,120. The Peugeot e-308 SW estate is coming very soon and will be one of the few all-electric estates available.

Conclusion

The Peugeot e-308 is a welcome addition to the choice of electric cars at the more affordable end of the market. It’s fit for purpose as a family hatchback, and it adds extra sparkle thanks to some interesting design details and features such as the small steering wheel and 3D instrument display. The new, slightly larger battery giving a longer driving range should make it a more practical proposition, but don’t expect the sort of push in the back acceleration that thoughts about an ‘electric GT’ might conjure up.