Published: Wednesday, 5th August, 2009 12:00pm

Recession busting economy from 308 Ecomatic

We are now familiar with the popular 308 range from Peugeot. Since its original incarnation as the 307 it has been a great seller for Peugeot on a worldwide basis, yet never really managing to upstage and outsell the Ford Focus or Toyota Auris, for example.

That said, Peugeot continually refine and evolve their products and the vast 308 range is no different, with the result that this week we have a road test of an innovative addition to the 308 line-up, the new 308 SE Ecomatic.

Across the 308 range there's a huge range of engine and trim options allowing buyers a superb and almost unrivalled choice. Of late and since the new C02 based motor tax regime came in, Peugeot's highly efficient and economical diesel engines are proving even more popular.

The 308 Ecomatic is powered by one such engine - the 1.6 Hdi diesel - mated to a revolutionary new Ecomatic gearbox. This gearbox is in essence a six-speed manual gearbox that has no clutch pedal.

The real benefit here is that as a manual gearbox it is much lighter, less complicated and does not soak up power as does a regular automatic. Thus it is more economical than an automatic gearbox, hence the name Ecomatic. Gear selection can be left to the electronics or the driver can manually select gears via a rather snazzy paddle shifts mounted on the steering column.

First Impressions

The 308 SE is larger than the majority of its competition - the Honda Civic, Opel Astra, Toyota Auris and Ford Focus... The overall style is well balanced and attractive. There are some exciting new colours in the range, which also goes to create a fresh new image for this good-looking newcomer.

The first impression on hopping inside the 308 SE Ecomatic is the vast size of the cabin. Headroom is cavernous, while leg and elbow room both front and rear are exceptional for a car in this class.

The dashboard, which houses a full complement of instruments, is clearly and logically laid out. The driving position and visibility are generally good too. Standard goodies are comprehensive and include air conditioning, electric windows all round, remote entry, immobiliser, alloy wheels, remote audio controls, computer and heated mirrors. On the safety front the list of standard equipment is excellent, and includes, front airbags, side curtain airbags, lateral airbags, ABS with EBFD/Brake assist, all round head restraints and seat belt pretensioners.

Performance

Power is supplied by Peugeot's well-tried and tested 1.6 litre, four-cylinder Hdi diesel. Power output is a healthy 110bhp but with as much as 12% lower fuel consumption than its 'normal' 1.6 Hdi five-speed manual 308 diesel sibling. As a result the new 308 Ecomatic boasts a lower price and falls into the lowest band A road tax of just €104.

Over the test of some 500km the 308 Ecomatic burned just 5.7 litres of diesel per 100km and at times averaged as low as 5.4 litres per 100km, which is superb.

The six-speed Ecomatic gearbox works well except for one thing: up-changes are often associated with a slight lurch as the car shifts gear. You don't get the feeling that it is a truly seamless shift. Interestingly when you use the paddle shift this is less pronounced.

This gearbox also learns your driving style, adapting its gear changing to your fast, or relaxed driving situation. Otherwise it is pretty much like an automatic without the aforementioned downsides.

Road Behaviour

Peugeot always made a good handling car and the 308 model is no different. It rides and handles well. Levels of refinement are high with wind, road and engine noise well suppressed. The aforementioned cabin is huge, roomy and well finished; the car just feels good around you.

One small gripe. We got a puncture during the test and had to make use of the spacesaver tyre. You can't use them for any great length of time and you are restricted to 80kmh - there is no excuse for not supplying a car with a full sized spare.

These are not spacesavers, as some manufacturers claim. If you fill your boot to capacity with holiday luggage (as you could with the spacesaver in place), where is the full size wheel you just took off the car supposed to go?

Verdict

The new 308 SE Ecomatic pretty much delivers what it promises: good performance, low road tax costs and a lower price than its 1.6 Hdi manual sibling. Therefore it scores in all areas and Peugeot deserve great praise for coming up with an innovative technological solution to achieving lower emissions and lower running and purchasing costs.

The 308 1.6 Hdi SE Ecomatic costs €24,256. For comparison the 308 1.6 Hdi SX six-speed manual costs €26,256 and €156 annually to road tax. That's a no brainer as they say these days...

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