Peugeot Warms Up The 308 For Winter With A GT Version
2014-10-15 05:05:16
Peugeot has released details of its new 308 GT model – a warm hatch variant of its best-selling 5-door small family hatchback and SW estate models which the company says blends comfort and performance.
Under the bonnet is a choice of one petrol and one diesel engine. The oil-burner is a 177bhp version of its 2.0-litre HDi turbocharged diesel whilst the petrol is a 202bhp version of the company’s 1.6-litre THP turbocharged petrol.
The diesel unit offers a muscular 295lb ft of torque at 2,000rpm. In fifth gear, that means it is capable of performing an overtaking manoeuvre from 50-70mph in just 5.5 seconds. Its power-to-weight ratio is enticing too, at 134bhp per tonne. Not too shabby for a car that emits 103g/km of CO2 and is capable of returning 70.6mpg on the combined cycle. Unusually though, the French company has decided to mate the engine exclusively with a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Even though it comes with paddle-shifters, the lack of a manual gearboxed alternative only serves to emphasise the ‘warm’ hatch pretensions.
The petrol-engined version is likely to be the keen driver’s choice, since it comes matched to a 6-speed manual gearbox and has a higher power-to-weight ratio of 169bhp per tonne. Its 202bhp is supported by the capability of delivering 210lb ft of torque at anywhere between 1,750rpm and 4,500rpm. Peugeot claim that courtesy of variable valve timing, a twin-scroll turbocharger and stop-start facility, it is also impressively efficient, emitting just 130g/km of CO2 whilst still managing to return 50.4mpg.
So, as the figures show, the Peugeot is a warm alternative to Skoda’s Octavia vRS and the Focus ST.
A new colour option marks the arrival of the 308 GT. Labelled ‘Magnetic Blue’, the attractive hew hints at the French racing colours of old. Further sporty intent has been inferred by lowering the suspension by 7mm at the front and 10mm at the rear and fitting it with 18-inch alloy wheels. The suspension has also been stiffened by between 10% and 20%, depending on the version you opt for whilst uprated dampers and hydraulic bump stops have been employed to help reduce noise. The Peugeot badge has been relocated from the bonnet to the grille and uniquely to the GT, is flanked by 62-diode full-LED headlights with sequential indicators.
Other visual clues separating the GT from lesser models are the larger air intakes, sill ‘finishers’ and a lacquered black rear diffuser. At the front, the discs use floating calipers to grip 330mm discs, whilst at the rear the hatchback version gets 268mm rear discs whilst the SW estate employs larger 290mm variants.
Open the door and you are met by an anthracite-trimmed interior which is brightened by red-stitching. The effect is suitably sporting, emphasised by a GT-spec steering wheel which maintains its unusually small dimensions, above which seat a set of high-mounted chequered-backed dials with a “GT message” on start-up. For the GT, Peugeot has also decided to give the graphics on the touchscreen a red and black finish. The pedals have been finished in alloy too.
The ‘Driver Sport Pack’ means that the GT can be set to ‘sport’ mode. Select it and you should be able to hear the amplified sound of the engine noise, be swathed in red illumination and view data on power, torque, turbo pressure and g-forces via the instrument panel. The steering and accelerator mapping is also changed, and the automatic models have this extended to the gearbox.
The Peugeot 308 GT will be available to order from November. It will arrive in UK dealerships in January 2015 with prices expected to start from around £23,000.
This is an abridged article especially prepared by First4Auto for EcoCars4Sale.
Reported By
Andrew Merritt-Morling
Chief Editor
