ABM_1 - Flipbook - Page 26
REVIEW
PEUGEOT 308SW
Dethroning diesel:
Is hybrid a better
choice?
Dylan Robertson compares
two Peugeots to look
beyond the sales pitch
and ask the real question:
between hybrid or diesel,
which is right for real life?
T
he 308SW is Peugeot’s
smallest estate car. It went
on sale in 2021 and competes
with the estate versions of the
Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus
and Toyota Corolla.
Four powertrain choices
are currently offered: a petrol
hybrid, a petrol plug-in hybrid, an electric
vehicle (EV) and curiously, a diesel.
Once the perennial favourite of fleets
and car buyers, diesel has all but
disappeared from most manufacturers’
price lists following what can only be
described as a colossal fall from grace.
In August 2025, diesel made up just 5.7%
of all new car registrations in the UK,
while hybrids took 13.2%.
On the company car side, some
would be quick to blame benefit-inkind (BiK) taxation for the switch, but
like diesel before it, hybrids do offer
unique benefits of their own. The hybrid
308 uses Stellantis’ ubiquitous 1.2-litre
turbocharged three-cylinder engine,
combined with a six-speed dual-clutch
automatic gearbox and a small electric
motor. It produces 145 PS, which is
The hybrid
shines [...] giving
swift and dramafree acceleration
at traffic lights”
