Our long-term 308 continues to impress in most areas but undoes some of that good work with small irritations.
On the plus side, the French family hatch does the basics so competently you cease to think about them. It transports four in comfort – and will manage five adults for shorter journeys – with excellent knee, elbow and head room. It steers true, absorbs the vast majority of bumps and ruts of the road in a way most premium German rivals cannot match, and corners with poise but without pretensions of sportiness.
The 120hp 1.6 BlueHDi Active is unashamedly eco-focused, but the engine still feels brisk when acceleration is needed, rather than constrained like some other ‘green’ cars when the optional ‘eco’
button is either pressed or comes as standard.
But there are still things that grate and would be on our facelift request list. Here are two: the stop-start function has a funny habit of starting the engine again after cutting out when you park up, while the laudably space-saving electric handbrake can nonetheless drive you potty by not releasing automatically when reversing, or not manually engaging or disengaging quickly enough, or at all, when you thought it had. Both take a little shine off an otherwise very solid car.