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Car hacks aren’t supposed to pay any attention to what colour the vehicle being assessed is painted, but sometimes you have to make an exception. Like when everyone remarks on it. Casual conversations with friends and neighbours about the new Peugeot E-308 started with a compliment about the lovely deep foresty green it came in.
Sometimes that was where the conversation ended as well, because the second question focused on money and a reference to the list price. I usually warned folk to sit down when I vouchsafed the cost of this mainstream-brand, mid-size five-door, five-seat, all-electric hatchback; £43,020 as it stood before them in all its verdant gorgeousness. But as I shall explain, you don’t need to pay that at the moment…
Officially “Olivine Green” on the Peugeot colour chart, the shade really is very fetching and complements the car’s curves perfectly. It is not, as noted, necessarily a cheap car, but it at least looks classy. It has just the right amount of muscly curves sculpted into its flanks and bits of gloss black body kit to avoid looking too sportingly pretentious, while maintaining a resemblance to past, blander, iterations of the 308, and a family look it shares with the smaller 208 and e-208.
As with the latest facelift on the Nissan Qashqai, for example, the current generation of Peugeot models are endowed with fashionable full-width grinning grilles, with details picked out in matt silver and slim arrangements of LED lights adding to the sophisticated, up-to-date look.
As a package, it works very well, and Peugeot, the lead brand in the now vast Stellantis empire, is enjoying a little bit of a renaissance. They have made a real effort with the looks; and the interior is equally impressive.
The E-308 comes very well equipped as standard, and the cabin is a model of good taste. I don’t suppose the stitching on the dash is done by hand, but the green threads add a nice touch of quality.
Underneath all that is standard Stellantis electric hatch kit, and the controls for the automatic transmission, electric brake and driving modes – which will be very familiar to anyone who’s driven a recent model Citroen, smaller Jeep, Vauxhall, Fiat or DS.
Personally, I’d prefer a proper additional heads-up display, where the essentials for speed and satnav directions are projected on the windscreen (as if onto the road ahead), but Peugeot’s trademark “i-Cockpit”, which plonks the main dials in a high binnacle, slightly obscured by the steering wheel.
The 308 can also be had as a plug-in hybrid and a petrol model, but the battery electric version is the one that offers the near-silent environment that complements the car’s supple ride. Performance is brisk rather than scorching, but, again, that suits the car’s cosseting feel-good character. It verges on smug, to be honest, but it’s got a lot to be smug about.
THE SPEC
Peugeot E-308 GT
Price: £43,020 (as tested; electric range starts at £42,120)
Engine capacity: Single electric motor, front drive powered by 54kWh battery
Power: 153bhp
Top speed: 106mph
0-60mph: 9.8secs
Fuel economy: 3.8m/kWh
CO2 emissions: 0
The downside is the boot, smaller than the hybrid and petrol versions, some of which is occupied by the battery pack. I should mention range too, which I’d judge as a realistic 180 to 200 miles, depending on the weather and driving style (EVs are sensitive to these).
It’ll take about eight hours to completely charge at home, but only half an hour to top up and get you to 80 per cent capacity on a fast commercial charger. It’s not quite as good as its VW Group rivals such as the Cupra Born, Kia Niro, BYD Dolphin or MG4, but still competitive.
So, it’s all quite appealing… but the price? Well, there are bargains to be had, because there’s a certain amount of politically-driven disarray in the new EV market right now. I notice, for example, that Carwow are offering these E-308s for about £29,000, and what must be very lightly used ones for £24,000. These prices won’t last forever though. Just make sure you find one in Olivine Green.