Peugeot 308 CC road test

Category: Wheels

Date Added: 20 August 2009

Good looking in any environment.

Gordon Wright believes that the French, possibly for the first time ever, seem to have lost their naff attitude and are squaring up for a fight.

Despite their propensity for military avoidance and an innate willingness to wave the white flag at the first sign of trouble from the Reich , our snail eating brethren seem to have genuinely gathered a modicum of intestinal fortitude and are taking the fight to the Germans.

Queue the Peugoet 308 CC, which is dead set on taking on the likes of the Audi A4 cabriolet and the Volkswagen Eos

Despite the fact that most French cars, up until now, seem to have been stuck together with bits of plywood, spit and gaffer tape. This one seems to be right up there with the best. The doors close with a reassuring thunk that can best be described as the sound of a dead guinea fowl hitting the ground from 50 feet, panel gaps are brilliant and with the possible exception of the slightly wobbly boot hinges, the whole thing seems very well put together.

The interior, too, is pure class, with oodles of soft touch leather and brushed aluminium. On the safety front they have not shirked either, in fact, there are so many air bags that in the event of an accident you may well be forgiven for thinking that you have just been body slammed by Pamela Anderson.

Both the rivals are good lookers but compared to the Pug, they are sooo last year. If the Audi is a sophisticated and classy Richard Gere and the Eos a soave Robert De Niro then the 308cc is a seductive and voluptuous Marilyn Monroe. Its all curvatious and shapely and if any of them is going to slip its hands down my trousers and give me a squeeze, its going to be the Peugeot.

Its not all the stuff of schoolboy dreams though, because there are a few problems.

First there is the engine. A feisty little turbo charged 1.6l straight from the Mini Cooper S developing 110kW. Not bad, you say. Not bad indeed, if you have it in a Mini, which weighs about as much as a Kate Moss left breast. The Pug on the other hand weighs in at a porky 1.5 tonnes which is sort of like putting Bryan Habana in clogs and expecting him to win the race.

So no, with that weight impediment, the 308 CC is not particularly brisk. Not that its slow mind you, 0-100km/h in 10.52 seconds is not bad but hardly awe inspiring. I would suggest it is fast  rather than quick.

Take it onto the open road and it is a lovely cruiser and seems happiest in that roll. The chassis, though based on the old 307CC which was absolute crap, is vastly improved thanks to a wider track, a stiffened body and new springs, yet its not exactly sporty. Though I would imagine the average buyer would be less interested in the performance aspect and more in the poseability of the thing.

With the roof up, it has a rather large and ungainly posterior, but that goes with the territory of having a bulky hard top to hide in your nether regions. The steering does not seem to be adjustable and the rear seats are only useable if you are under the age of 5 or Oscar Pistorius.

On the pricing side, while the Audi will set you back upwards of R430k and the Eos from R340k, the porky Pug will get you cruising from a shade under R337k and with loads more standard kit too. In this day and age of fiscal strife, value for money is what its all about. In those stakes the 308 CC is right up there.

Of course, when all is said and done, this car will sell based on how it looks, and if the neck wrenching reaction of passers by and the clamour of people in the shopping centre parking lots is anything to go by its going to be a winner.

As my mate Shawn said to me the other day in the pub.  Its got Ferrari looks on a beer salary bru.

Nuff said.

The Peugeot 308CC comes standard with a 3 year/100 000km full maintenance plan & 3 year/ 100 000km warranty

Pricing R336 500.00

Gordon Wright

Algoa FM is not responsible for any of Gordon's views or outbursts.

Gordon, in fact, is not responsible...