The next-generation Peugeot 308 estate will get more rakish looks and a fresh plug-in hybrid powertrain taken from the 3008 SUV.
Peugeot will pull the wraps off the third-generation 308 SW estate later this month, with these new, wintry spy shots are our best look yet at the new car’s styling.
It’ll join the revamped Peugeot 308 hatchback mid-2021, providing renewed competition for the latest Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf rivals.
The new 308 SW will adopt Peugeot’s latest design language, which originated with the 208 supermini and was refined with the facelifted 3008 SUV. The estate’s nose will sit lower to the ground and will flow into a new grille with integrated headlamps, which will carry the French brand’s recently updated badge.
Like the new 308 hatchback, the 308 SW will also feature fang-like daytime running lights reaching down towards the lower valance. At the rear, the 308 SW incorporates elements of the 508 SW’s design, sharing the same sloping roofline and tailgate spoiler. A new full-width LED light bar is also expected.
We haven’t yet seen inside the new 308 hatchback or 308 SW, but we expect both cars will share the same dashboard design as the latest version of the 3008.
Peugeot’s old minimalist centre console will be replaced by more intricate piano-key style switchgear, while the infotainment system will move to a new floating 10-inch touchscreen. The gauge cluster will also be fully digital for the first time in the 308’s history.
Previous comments from Peugeot executives have sent mixed messages over the 308’s planned platform. Peugeot’s new CMP architecture would give the new 308 pure-electric power, while an updated version of the current car’s EMP2 platform, which would enable plug-in hybrid power.
Currently, it’s looking more likely that Peugeot will update the 308’s existing EMP2 platform, as its larger dimensions are better suited to the estate’s more practical brief. That means Peugeot’s familiar three and four-cylinder PureTech petrol and diesel units will make up the majority of the 308 SW’s engine line-up.
Plug-in hybrid power will still be an option, though, being based around the same 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol unit found in the 3008. In the SUV, the engine is mated to an electric motor and an 11.8kWh battery, which provides a maximum pure-electric range of 50km.
As for the 308 hatchback, a hot plug-in model is on the cards, which could use the same 265kW powertrain found in the 508 Sport Engineered. Both cars share the same underpinnings, so the engine should be relatively easy to drop into the 308. A 221kW version of this powertrain is already in wide use across the various EMP2 platformed vehicles across the Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall and DS brands.
James Brodie