Peugeot’s 308 SW is a car with the power to surprise – in more ways than one.
And in GT Line trim it’s a car which looks as good as it performs.
Powered by a 120bhp, 1.6-litre HDi engine the 308 SW 120 is one of the most refined small diesels I have driven in a long time, ensuring the cabin is disturbingly quiet.
But despite the silent interior this is a car which packs plenty of punch when you need it.
On paper it will hit 62 miles per hour in a respectable 10.7 seconds but the real beauty of this engine is the mid range flexibility it offers.
Mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox it’s oozing with torque, and that takes the stress out of modern day motoring.
And if you want a little more zip it’s delivered instantly at the touch of the Sport button near the gearshift. Engage this and the car holds onto each gear for longer, still maintains its refinement and never feels strained.
If I have one criticism of the auto box it’s that when in Drive it didn’t always change up quickly enough for my liking. If you flick the gearshift over to Manual you can often get into a higher gear much quicker and still maintain the same speed.
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The GT Line model boasts stylish 18-inch Diamant alloy wheels, twin exhausts and trendy side skirts so it’s a really good looking estate which stands out in the crowd.
On the road the ride is comfortable if on the firm side, but that means you can enjoy some impressive road holding and plenty of feedback when you need to push on quickly.
The leather steering wheel is much smaller than in most cars but it’s a feature I liked as it adds to the car’s sporting feel and makes it easy to read the speedometer and rev counter over the top of it.
A generous five-seater with good leg room, the SW is both a stylish and practical estate car which will hold up to 660 litres of luggage with the parcel shelf in place and a hefty 1775 litres with the rear seats folded down.
And the nice thing about this car is that when you want to fold the rear seats you simply pull two handles in the boot section and they drop completely flat to make loading easy, aided by a low sill.
GT Line spec means you get some nice kit including sporting seats, a very sharp reversing camera and aluminium boot rails with sliding lugs so you can anchor down parcels of any shape or size.
Peugeot offer a host of optional extras on the car and my test vehicle was fitted with a panoramic glass roof (£500) which stretched virtually the whole length of the car, not only making the interior remarkably light but giving rear seat passengers a new outlook on motoring life.
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It also boasted Peugeot’s City Park System (£400) which parks the car for you with you just controlling the accelerator and brake.
And unlike some I have tried this one works well.
The 308 SW GT Line BlueHDi 120 is a nice package that’s really well put together.
It offers space, practicality, good performance and road holding and has a nice solid feel to it. It’s certainly a car I could live with.
Fast Facts
Model: Peugeot 308 SW GT Line BlueHDi 120
Price: £25,465
Mechanical: 1,560cc, 120 bhp diesel engine driving front wheels via 6-speed automatic gearbox.
Max speed: 117.8 mph
0-62mph: 10.7 secs
Combined mpg: 72.4
CO2 emissions: 102 g/km
Insurance: 22E
BiK: 20 %
Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles