Peugeot 308 1.6THP Review: Performance Car Or....?

What is a Performance Car? According to some it is a car that is fast and handles well. Some would expand this by saying that a performance car must look its part too, a swoopy body like what a Ferrari has or something with 'GTI' badging, large exhaust tips, big fat arches and tires to go with it. They could be right as even a hot hatch like a Volkswagen Golf GTI is considered a performance car with its turbocharged 2.0liter engine, large alloys, sports suspension and some semblance of a bodykit that differs it from the normal Golf. The car is fast and it also handles well due to a sporty suspension setup as well as those large grippy tires.

But maybe the answer is even simpler. A performance car brings a smile to your face when you're attacking corners down a windy road or enjoying the rush of speed it gives while powering down a long straight. It may not be the fastest car around, but if the performance of the car can give you that certain high, I would assume that the car does fulfill the performance car criteria in a certain sort of way.

This brings me to the Peugeot 308 1.6 THP Turbo Automatic I drove recently. It has almost the same ingredients as a Golf GTI with the exception that it has a smaller engine. Something like a Golf GT with its smaller engine but with the uprated suspension. The 308 has the badging – 'turbo' on its rear, large alloys, a stiff suspension and a curvy bulbous body. It looks its part, but is it a performance car OR a car that can give you that smile on your face because of its performance?

In order to answer that question, we start with dull bits first. The 308 has got pedestrian safety covered with the long overhang up front as well as a bulbous JLo styled butt. Some argue that the 308 is over styled and I have to agree with it. It is a 307 that had been elongated up front and at the rear. It does look pretty cutting edge, but I do feel that it is slightly over styled because of certain things like that ridiculous overhang upfront. It finishes its looks by sporting 225/45/17 sized tires on 17 inch five spoke rims that bring out the sporty pretensions of this Pug even more.

The 308 1.6 THP has the usualy slew of features like ABS, EBD, a 5 star NCAP rating and the clean Euro 4 -5 engine covered as the engine is a collaboration between PSA and BMW. So it is economical, reliable and powerful. But all the safety features stated above as well as modern day soundproofing has made this purportedly sporty hatchback into something disappointing. As for those who think that a hatchback with a turbo can make anything into a 'performance car' or a hot hatch, think again. This 308 made 140bhp, 240Nm of torque made from a turbocharged 1.6 that is also used in the smaller 207GT and the current BMW Mini.

The power delivery of this engine is pretty good as you can find that the engine picks up steam at an early 1800rpm in the 308. While it feels strong even with the archaic four speed automatic (with manual tiptronic + and - function) transmission that the car had. The torque the turbocharged engine makes fills up the gaps in the gearing that a four speed autobox usually has. It takes a pedestrian 9.2 seconds to reach 100km/h but this does not reflect on the somewhat ample mid-range performance that the 308 has when you shift down a gear manually either to overtake or to pull yourself out of a bend. I practically used the car in manual mode throughout the duration of the time I drove the 308. I prefer the control it gives.

However, if you compared the acceleration with the BMW Mini, which shares the same engine, this engine makes the Mini reach 60 at least two seconds sooner than the 308. Two seconds could be a lifetime to some single-celled organisms. This is because the Mini weighs nearly 200kgs less than the 308. Therefore the 308 is a warm hatch because of the weight.

Now the other thing that the extra weight does is affect handling. The torquey engine cannot mask all of the problems brought up by the weight. The 308 feels heavy handed when taking corners at higher than usual speeds. Take a tight corner at around 90km/h it will show understeer quite early into a corner. You can tell that it is somewhat porky when you're wrestling with the steering wheel mid corner. Its like a boxer with some flab around his waist, jumping up and down, trying to jab and punch but its responses are slightly out of sync with his real intentions.

Another thing wrong with the 308 is that even with its slightly firm ride it is not able to handle mid corner bumps and undulations well. A mid-corner bump taken in this car would make the car feel unsettled where you have to adjust and make extra corrections with the steering. The steering feel on this Pug is only average and when you add all the extra work you have to do trying to wrestle it all into shape it adds up to something less fulfilling to do.

Furthermore, the car rides on the firm side for a 5 door hatch. Cars that ride as firm as the 308 should be able to handle well. But give the 308 a road with more than one pothole, rut, or bump and it'll bounce and lurch uncontrollably like the French Army admitting defeat right after being Blitzkrieged by the Germans. The dampers seem to have decent bounce and truly rubbish rebound settings.

I have to also add the fact that Peugeot has lost its touch to make cars ride comfortably as well as handle. It s ride is nothing like the 405s or 406s people I knew had. The 308 does not have the magic carpet ride like Peugeots of old. It is not sports car firm but it isn't all that comfortable too.

The thing is, this was the 2010 version of the 308 and this car has been around since end-2007 in most markets. Peugeot have not changed any aspect of the handling to this date as I remember reading about this flawed handling characteristic in magazines before.

I think if you drive it as a means of transport the 308 is fine, but asking this car to be a performance car is asking too much from it even though it has a good engine and nice fat tires on 17 inch alloys that look its part. This is a French hot hatch that basically ate too much Hors D'oeuvers, lots of Foie Gras, croissants, and then washed it all down with lots of Chardonnay thereby turning something hot into something warm. Writing this has suddenly made me hungry.

Disclaimer: This test vehicle was provided to CarThrottle by the manufacturer for purposes of evaluation

Peugeot 308 1.6THP Picture Gallery

Peugeot 308 1.6THP Specifications

Base Price: £18,000 (approx)– 308 THP 1.6 150bhp 6sp manual (THP auto may not be available in the UK but is very available in Malaysia)

Body: 5-door HatchMechanical Orientation: Front Wheel Drive

Engine: 4 cylinder 1.6 TurbochargedPower: 140 bhp (down 10bhp from the manual)Torque: 240 NmTransmission: 4 Speed Automatic Transmission (with + and - "manual" function)

Weight: 1440 kgWheelbase: 2610 mmLength: 4276 mmWidth: 1821 mm0-62 mph: 9.2 secondsTop Speed: 203 km/h

For: Looks, high speed refinement, decent interiorAgainst: Looks, weight, weight, handling, weightConclusion: A warm porky hatch