Registered – 29/06/2018

The Peugeot 308 GTI….It’s a hot hatch with a very senior spec. Its 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine produces 258bhp, and drives the front wheels through a proper mechanical limited-slip differential. That means very entertaining acceleration.

When the turbo comes in all hell breaks loose and you soar quickly and aggressively to 7,000rpm, almost certainly giggling! The 308 breaks 35mpg without a sweat and you’ll likely top 40mpg if you’re being sensible. Those are crazy numbers in the hot hatch world, where high 20s is usually as good as you can hope for.

It feels like a premium item, too. While operating the air con through a touchscreen isn’t ideal in practice, the decluttered dashboard lends it a classier feel than every one of its rivals, as does the Aston Martin-inspired anti-clockwise rev counter and perhaps the best bucket seat in its class. When every other hot hatch fits a wonderfully grappling seat too, that’s high praise indeed. Peugeot’s even has a massage function…

The GTI sits quietly at 70mph streaming whatever you want to listen to via CarPlay. There’s loads of room and kids’ seats slot easily into the back.

This is a very underrated  hot hatch.