… Peugeot 308 SW GT …
Don’t confuse the ‘GT’ badge with ‘GTi’ or ‘Sports’ or ‘RS’. It’s more subtle than that. Apparently, the Italians are credited with the origins of the GT badge on the rumps of cars. Originally, it stood for ‘Gran Tourismo’ or ‘Grand Touring’ machines with pace, space and grace as opposed to exotically beautiful, and pricey, performance sports cars.
Admittedly over the years the term has been used, abused and diluted. On some cars these days, it’s no more than a bit of added chrome bling with no real meaning, in the hope that it will extract a few more quid from the willing punter besotted with such neighbour envying detail.
Fortunately, the French have restored the correct use of the term on one of their most recent offerings. And no, I haven’t lost it. The Peugeot 308 SW GT is worthy of the badge.
For a start it is sleekly good looking and underneath that sloping tail is all the room needed for a honeymooning couple heading off on the grand tour of European hotspots or the adventurous family which wants to reach the south coast of France quickly – having been delayed for hours by the antics of tyre-burning, road blocking, protesting customs officials, border guards, sailors, students or farmers around Calais and the ‘Paris Peripherique’.
After interminable delays, the patience of even the most loving parents kept awake by incessant wails of “are we there yet?” or “when will we get going?” will have been sorely tested. When finally the way ahead is clear it’s nice to get on to an autoroute in something quiet, comfortable and relaxing and set the cruise control. Saint Tropez here we come.
And that’s where the Peugeot 308 SW GT excels, because the SW is Peugeot’s idea of an estate car and the GT refers to the 178bhp diesel lump under the bonnet. There’s enough room in the back for your own tent, sleeping bags, folding chairs and emergency rations of baked beans and there’s enough poke up the other end for effortless cruising and the occasional burst to get out and past slower traffic.
On the other hand, if you want to avoid the autoroute, take the back roads. The 308 won’t disappoint. It’s no tyre shredder but it is reasonably quick while the 2 litre capacity motor delivers a decent amount of torque for those alpine passes and vineyard hairpins. The 0 – 60 time won’t frighten the opposition, but the 5.5 seconds it takes to hit 70mph from 50 in fifth gear is much more relevant.
The leather seats are really comfy and the small, perforated leather trimmed, flat-bottomed steering wheel is a treat to grasp. This was the 6 spd automatic version (with paddles) and it had a ‘Dynamic’ mode which firms up the power steering, and sharpens the gearchanges and throttle response. It also changes the dashboard display to give the driver a bit more info on what is happening under the bonnet. Gimmicky, but fun. It also changes the colouring from white on back to red on black.
This being a French car (vive la difference, eh?) it had one little quirk with which to annoy the British traditionalist. Although the speedometer needle flicks round the dial clockwise, the rev counter operates anti-clockwise. That took a bit of getting used to.
The ‘GT’ version also rides a bit lower than the standard 308 SW. It’s 7mm lower up front and 10mm lower at the back while the 18 inch rims shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 3 ensure that the car grips well and corners with minimal roll.
In fact the car was ideal transport for the annual run down to the Costa del Solway weekend, travelling the A74 to Moffat then down to Dumfries on the A701 and on to Dundrennan via the A711 through Dalbeattie, in the early hours of Saturday morning. The trip was faultless, especially early doors when the roads were quiet and the ‘safety cameras’ were heading out of Police HQ towards the motorway bridges to catch tourists instead of hiding in hedges on the country roads. And I was getting 45 mpg.
In fact, I enjoyed the drive so much I was looking forward to the return trip home on Sunday evening.
The only other niggle was the lack of switches. The Peugeot had one of these new-fangled touch-screen jobs with more functions than Jermain Defoe’s PA. I suppose if you have to live with a car you will soon get used to it, but when switching cars every week, it can be a pain in the butt at times. Whatever, I still prefer the tactile touch of a switch.
And that’s it. I’d have one like a shot, even over some of the more popular brands of executive express.