I drove the Peugeot 308 SW – it’s DIESEL but here’s why that makes it brilliant

POLITICIANS have made diesel as attractive as genital warts – and everyone wants an SUV.

So, the French give us a brand-new diesel estate. Brilliant.

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A car that’ll do proper long distances and has lots of usable space. It might catch on.

Peugeot deserves credit for continuing to offer family-friendly cars in all shapes and sizes, and in all flavours.

You can have a 308 hatchback as a petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid right now, with a pure EV to follow next year.

Want to sit a little higher?

Go for the 3008 SUV. It is a 308 underneath. Want to sit a little higher in a trendy SUV-coupe?

Wait for the 408 coming soon. Also a 308 underneath. ,Actually, you’d like a regular 308 but need a bigger boot?

Try the 308SW (Station Wagon) you see here. We tested the diesel because it suits the car perfectly.

It’ll do 60mpg and 600 miles on a tank. Dodging a pit stop is crucial with fuel prices getting silly.

It’s also smooth and relaxed. Not clattery. And it’ll run forever.

Also, ignore the political claptrap because the latest diesels are far cleaner than they’d have you believe.

The plug-in hybrid is a good company car.

It’ll do 40 miles as an EV, so the benefit-in-kind tax is eight per cent. But you lose a chunk of space in the boot floor.

The diesel estate swallows 608 litres of stuff with the rear seats up, whereas the plug-in hybrid is 548 litres.

While we’re doing numbers, the 308 hatch is 412 litres. All versions have 40/20/40 split rear seats.

Fold them flat and you’ve almost got as much room as a hearse.

The 308 hatch starts a smidge under £25k for the 1.2-litre petrol. The estate at £26k.

Up front they are identical. Well-styled, tech-rich and super comfy.

Not quite Audi levels but very nice all the same.

There’s an extra row of toggles for shortcuts under the 10in touchscreen.

Two phones can be connected by Bluetooth at once.

Adaptive cruise control is your friend for long motorway slogs.

But I dislike Peugeot’s obsession with small steering wheels.

They don’t work for taller drivers who like to sit low — like moi — because you have to set the steering wheel stupidly low to see the dials.

You can’t knock the designers in other areas though, as this mid-spec Allure Premium looks great inside and out.

It is the first Peugeot to wear the new Lion badge and has those distinctive “tooth” daytime running lights and “three-claw” rear clusters.

Peugeot also claim the 308SW will hold its value better than a VW Golf, Seat Leon or Kia Ceed estate.

I reckon the diesel even more so as 2030 gets closer.

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