Peugeot e-308 SW 2024 long-term test

It looks good on the inside too, in particular the attractive brushed-metal band that wraps around the top of the dashboard and incorporates the air vents. It appears modern without being uncomfortably angular, like some of sibling brand Vauxhall’s interiors. There are appealing flashes of colour and I really like the touch-sensitive shortcuts beneath the infotainment screen, which you can set up to give rapid access to the functions you use most often.

I am still trying to get my head around Peugeot’s contentious (but very much here to stay) i-Cockpit set-up. I’m either comfortably reclined and thus completely unable to see the dashboard, or I can get a good view of the dash over the tiny wheel and find myself uncomfortably close to the ceiling. I suspect I just need to spend a bit more time playing with the relationship between the seat and wheel to find a good compromise.

If I want to put my kids in the rear seats then I can’t push my chair as far back as I’d like anyway, because rear leg room is surprisingly restricted. The SW has a 55mm-longer wheelbase than the 308 hatchback, but rear leg room is unchanged.

As a result, it’s not a car I’d recommend using to carry four adults for any length of time, but on the plus side there’s a very useful boot – at 548 litres, it’s not too far behind the ICE version’s 608 litres.

I’ve ignored our road testers’ sage advice and gone for the plusher GT trim level rather than the perfectly adequate (and around £2k cheaper) Allure spec, and have picked a few choice options in addition to that swish metallic paint.

The 360deg Vision and Drive Assist Plus Pack plus Smart Electric Pack adds a very useful 360deg camera system, an electric tailgate with foot sensor, front parking sensors and a host of driver aids including adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, long-range blindspot detection and lane position assist.

I’ve also added a wireless smartphone charger (which works well once you find its sweet spot, but that isn’t always easy) and the Driver and Passenger Seat Pack. The latter is a real luxury, with a relaxing massage function for both front seats that offers all manner of soothing effects (including one that replicates a cat walking up your spine), plus an electrically adjustable driver’s seat and electric lumbar adjustment for the front passenger. Pretty much the only option box left unticked was the glass roof – which I was pleased about in the recent heatwave. Combine that little lot with the GT trim’s huge standard kit list and it leaves you wanting for very little.

As for that all-important switch from ICE to electricity, this car has probably the most conventional-feeling EV powertrain I’ve experienced. You still get that lovely surge of performance from 199lb ft of instant torque mated to a single-speed transmission, but it’s delivered without the usual scrabbling front wheels or accelerative punch to the gut.