Peugeot
is being very reasonable these days sticking to what they do best –
which is making fast, small cars – rather than wasting time and energy
competing in segments they know they can’t possibly win in. And so they
are now launching a new hot hatch in form of the 270 PS, five-door
Peugeot 308 GTi.
Set for debut at this year’s Goodwood
Festival of Speed, the new Peugeot 308 GTi is pretty much in the sweet
spot as far as European hot hatch buyers are concerned. It is powerful,
it is frugal, it is fashionable – what with a two-tone livery instead of
a normal paint job – and above all, it is practical, offering four big
doors for getting in and out the car and a large fifth one for loading
up the luggage.
The engine powering the Peugeot 308 GTi is the same 1.6-litre THP petrol you find in the 208 GTi and the RCZ-R.
Here it develops 270 horsepower and 243 lb-ft of torque and comes with a
standard manual six-speed gearbox connected to the front wheels. You
can opt for a weaker 250 PS version, but we don’t see why would anybody
want to do that.
Other highlights of the Peugeot 308
GTi include a fine-tuned chassis that sits 11mm closer to the ground
compared to the standard version thanks to new springs and dampers,
19-inch wheels with high-performance rubber, large brake discs, and
revised ESP system that works in tandem with a trick front differential.