Used Peugeot 308 cars for sale

Used Peugeot 308 pros and cons

Is a second hand Peugeot 308 a good car?

The Peugeot 308 is a seriously stylish hatchback that manages to look far more upmarket and handsome than the likes of the VW Golf or Ford Focus. It’s like buying those fancy chocolate-covered custard creams from Marks & Spencer, while everyone else is buying bargain digestives from Tesco. 

The cabin looks almost exciting compared to the somewhat drab cabins you get in Ford and VW equivalents. There’s a big sweep of dashboard, optionally covered in a carbon-fibre-like material and lots of nice metal-look trim too. 

There’s a set of digital instruments mounted high-up in the driver’s eyeline, and below them there’s the somewhat controversial tiny, hexagonal steering wheel. That’s become a Peugeot tradition of late, and while the wheel itself feels good to hold, the driving position — where the wheel is almost sitting in your lap — won’t suit everyone.

Space in the back seats is a bit limited, which is a disappointment if you’ve sampled the roomier Golf or Focus, or the absolutely massive Skoda Octavia. The boot is a good size though, and if you need even more space the SW estate has more than 600 litres of luggage room.

The 308 in any version has an easy-going lightness around town, and although rear visibility isn’t the best, parking sensors came as standard on all models, which really helps. Higher-spec versions had radar-guided cruise control, which really helps on long motorway runs.

What to look for when buying a used Peugeot 308

The Peugeot 308 is still quite a new car, but beware of infotainment system glitches problems with the customisable ‘iToggle’ digital shortcut buttons. A bigger issue by far is the 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine, which uses a ‘wet belt’ timing belt — one that passes through the engine’s oil reservoir as it spins. This constant contact with the oil can damage the belt, causing premature failure, which can lead to total engine failure too. If you’re buying a 308 with the 1.2, make sure you schedule regular timing belt changes well ahead of the recommended changes. 

The current Peugeot 308 didn’t appear in the most recent Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, but its closely-related sister cars, the 2008 and 208, did and scored well, finishing in 8th place (2008) and 6th place (208) with very good marks for reliability and quality. Peugeot finished 6th, out of 32, in the Driver Power survey of customer satisfaction, with 20% of owners reporting faults.