The new Peugeot e-308, the French firm’s crucial new entry into the electric family hatch segment, is now available to order in the UK, with prices starting from £40,050.
Set to challenge the recently facelifted Volkswagen ID 3, the new e-308 is initially available as a hatchback, with the estate planned for sale later this year.
It's offered with a choice of three specification levels: Allure, GT and a limited-run First Edition variant.
Entry-level Allure models, priced from £40,050, are equipped with chrome exterior trim, 19in alloy wheels, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. Other standard equipment includes a reversing camera, voice recognition and sat-nav, plus safety systems such as adaptive cruise control.
Next-step GT trim starts from £42,250 and gives the cars a more aggressive look, with a bespoke grille pattern and widened side sills. Other kit includes more powerful LED headlights, Alcantara seats, front parking sensors and a digital instrument cluster. The interior also gains aluminium trim.
A limited First Edition variant, which starts from £42,080, gets special seats with cloth, leather effect and Alcantara materials, plus three unique paint colours – Okenite White, Olivine Green, and Selenium Grey.
Peugeot says the e-308 is the first EV estate from a European manufacturer. It sits on the familiar Stellantis group EMP2 architecture but introduces a new electric powertrain not yet used on any other model in the multi-brand manufacturer’s portfolio.
A front-mounted motor endows the hatchback with 156bhp, 22bhp more than the technically similar Peugeot e-208 supermini and e-2008 crossover, and 192lb ft. The firm hasn’t yet revealed performance details, but a 0-62mph time of around 8.0sec is expected.
Power is supplied by a 51kWh (usable) battery, which is only slightly larger than that used by smaller Stellantis EVs but which uses a new chemical composition comprising 80% nickel, 10% manganese and 10% cobalt for improved efficiency. It can be charged at up to 100kW, giving a 20-80% top-up time of less than 25 minutes.
Together with low-friction tyres, aero-focused wheel designs and a subtle aero-themed, EV-specific makeover, this means the e-308 runs at a claimed 12.7kWh per 62 miles, which Peugeot calls "a benchmark among 100% electric vehicles in the C-segment".
The e-308 joins pure-combustion petrol and diesel options and a pair of plug-in hybrids in the 308 line-up - with which it shares the bulk of its exterior design cues and its i-Cockpit interior layout.
