Peugeot e-308 SW Review & Prices

The Peugeot e-308 SW is one of those rare things - a fully electric estate car. Together with the mechanically identical Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric, it joins the bargain-basement MG5 EV and the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo as the only such models on sale in the UK.

Most car companies have so far preferred to sink their investment into electric SUVs, but an electric estate car has many benefits - it’s still very practical for a family, but being lower to the ground and lighter is more efficient than a tall, heavy SUV, and can therefore eke out that extra bit of range from the battery pack. A bit like Betamax, it’s a good idea that has a bit of an uphill struggle to compete with the flavour of the month - though unlike Betamax, it doesn’t look like the e-308 SW will be a total failure.

In fact, it’s quite a likeable car, especially when you get inside. Like all current Peugeots, the e-308 SW has an interior that feels stylish, upmarket and packed with technology. A 10.0-inch touchscreen and digital instrument panel make it feel suitably up-to-date, but it’s the little features that make it feel premium - the posh-feeling toggle switches under the central screen, for example, or the big swathe of fabric running across the dashboard and the tops of the doors.

Some drivers might not get on with Peugeot’s i-Cockpit setup, which places the instrument cluster high up above a shrunken steering wheel - which you look over, rather than through. You might find you need to lower the wheel more than you’re comfortable with to see the dials properly, so it could be worth taking a test drive to make sure you can get on with it.

Peugeot e-308 SW: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 248 miles
Efficiency: 4.1 miles per kWh
Battery size: 51kWh
Max charge speed: 100kW
Charge time AC: 7hrs 30 mins, 0-100%, 7kW
Charge time DC: 30 mins, 0-80%, 100kW
Charge port location: Left rear
Power output: 156hp

Regardless of size you should have no trouble getting on with the e-308 SW’s practicality. Its 548-litre boot is huge, being long and wide with a completely flat floor when you fold the seats down. It’s ideal for big shops, trips to the flat-pack furniture store or the occasional tip run, and should be able to accommodate even a big pushchair with ease.

Rear legroom isn’t quite as generous, but it’s sufficient for a six-foot adult - and the equal of any of the compact electric SUVs you might be considering as an alternative, like a Kia Niro EV or Volkswagen ID3.

Peugeot is keen that its electric cars should feel no different to its petrol or diesel ones, so the e-308 SW is made to be as similar to the regular 308 as possible. To that end, you don’t get a particularly whizzy electric motor or bags and bags of power like some alternatives. A fairly modest power output here means excellent efficiency, allowing the e-308’s comparatively small battery to still provide a competitive range of up to 248 miles.

That does mean, though, that if you want zippy performance - or a longer range - you’ll need to look elsewhere, as Peugeot only offers the one powertrain. It might also sting that the e-308 SW’s comparatively modest performance comes at an asking price several thousand pounds more than faster and longer-range contemporaries.

If the price doesn’t put you off, why not find out more by browsing the best Peugeot e-308 SW deals right here on Carwow. Check out used Peugeot 308s, or other used Peugeots - and remember that when the time comes, you can even sell your old car on Carwow.

The entry-level e-308 SW is the Allure, which comes in at a little over £41,000. Despite an extensive equipment list, that seems like a hard sell considering a Tesla Model 3 is under £40,000, a VW ID3 starts from less than £36,000 and the MG5 - a competitive electric estate - costs less than £31,000. 

All three of these cars are quicker and have a longer driving range than the e-308 SW, too - though the Peugeot has by far the nicest interior. For a couple of extra thousand, the e-308 SW GT gets a more stylish look and some extra interior equipment, but it’s not worth the upstep in our view.

Comfortable to drive, but considerably outgunned by cheaper opposition

In town

In town you can see why so many people like the high-up driving position of a compact SUV - the e-308 SW feels a little low and vulnerable when mingling in traffic with Range Rovers, though you fairly quickly get over that. 

All-round visibility is a mixed bag, with a great view out the front but a narrow rear window and small rear-view mirrors. At least all models do get a high-res reversing camera as standard.

The e-308 is nippy up to 30mph, and Normal mode is fast enough that you won’t feel the need to switch to Sport during regular town driving. It’s comfortable, too, riding over potholes and speed bumps with good grace despite relatively large alloy wheels.

It’s a shame, though, that Peugeot doesn’t fit a one-pedal driving mode like you get in an MG4 or a Nissan Leaf. Regenerative braking is limited unless you switch the gear selector into ‘B’ mode, but even then it’s pretty modest - and annoyingly, you don’t get any regen until the battery has run down past about 95%, so the first few miles after a charge feel strangely inconsistent.

On the motorway

The e-308 SW’s performance is modest - 0-62mph takes almost ten seconds, which for a modern EV seems like an age even though by normal standards it’s plenty quick enough. What this means is that, if the e-308 SW is your first EV, it’ll probably feel quite fast - but if you’re coming to it from another electric car there’s every chance it’ll feel pretty sluggish.

You do feel a slight lack of power when it comes to a short slip-road, for example, or when trying to execute a swift overtake. It’s at these moments you might want to switch into the ‘Sport’ driving mode to get the maximum performance available.

On a twisty road

Again, the e-308 SW’s lack of grunt means you won’t be zipping from bend to bend like you would in some electric cars, but it corners surprisingly well and is rather satisfying to drive on a twisting B-road.

It doesn’t lean too much in the bends, and the small steering wheel makes executing quick changes of direction easy - even if there’s not that much communication about what the front wheels are doing. It rides bumps well here too, and isn’t upset by mid-corner bumps in the way that some heavy electric SUVs are.

A huge, practical boot, but only average space in the rear seats

The e-308 SW’s stylish cabin conceals a good amount of space for odds and ends. There are two large cupholders, a shelf for a smartphone (with a wireless charging pad on some variants) and a useful spot for keys or other pocket contents. 

There’s also space under the central armrest, plus USB-C and USB-A charging points to compliment the 12V socket. This makes up for a rather piddly half-sized glovebox. The door bins are a good size, though, and are fabric-lined so the contents don’t rattle.

The front seats are comfortable and adjust for drivers of all sizes, but one point for taller people to note is that they sit quite far back - if you have the seat at its farthest reach, you might find your shoulder is actually behind the door pillar, which can make it a bit more awkward to get into and out of.

Space in the back seats

The rear seats are comfortable enough for adults, and provided the front seat passengers aren’t over six feet tall there’s enough room back there for a pair of similar-sized occupants. A third passenger doesn’t have quite as much luck - the central seat is narrow, and unlike most electric cars the e-308 doesn’t have a flat floor in the back so there’s a central hump to straddle your feet across.

Rear passengers do get a pair of USB-C ports for device charging, which is useful, as well as pockets on the seat backs and pretty large door bins. Isofix points are present in both outer rear seats, with their fittings hidden behind zips - a bit fiddly, but quite tidy.

Boot space

The e-308 SW’s boot is slightly smaller than that on the regular 308 SW, with 548 litres of space versus the 608 litres you get in petrol and diesel models. It’s the same size as the plug-in hybrid 308 SW, though.

It’s also a really useful size - much larger than the 479 litres you get in an MG5 EV, and easily beating out the Volkswagen ID3’s 385 litres. Unlike the MG5, there’s no load lip to hoick items over, and the space is totally flat and unobstructed when the seats are down.

There’s a small area under the floor where you can store your charging cable, but no ‘frunk’ like you get in a Tesla Model 3.

Upmarket feel and great material quality, but a lack of physical switchgear irritates

Peugeot’s positioning itself as a bit of a Marks and Spencers of late - not quite fully premium, but definitely posher than the average Tesco. This is most obvious on the inside, where the e-308 SW’s interior - shared with the rest of the 308 range - is nicely designed, uses high-quality materials and feels built to last.

It’s stylish, too. The dashboard has interesting swoops and lines running across it, which form the centre console and the storage areas. There are also different textures used, like a squidgy plastic that looks like woven carbon fibre (it’s not) and fabric panels. Compared with the snooze-fest that is the MG5 EV’s interior, or even the smart-but-dull Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, the e-308 SW feels really upmarket.

Most of the car’s functions are controlled through a 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen. It’s a very wide screen and makes the most of this with an interface that’s often divided into two separate panels, but it’s still not the easiest system to navigate around. Neither is the driver information display, which looks really cool with its 3D effect but can be a pain if you want a specific piece of information to be showing.

You do get a secondary touchscreen which holds customisable shortcuts - Peugeot calls them ‘i-Toggles’. It’s a useful way to put functions that you use regularly front and centre.

Smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard, and these make the most of the touchscreen’s width - though it’s annoying that you need to come out of them to make any adjustments to the climate controls.

The e-308 SW uses a modestly-sized 51kWh battery, which is smaller than most alternatives. However, an official range figure of 248 miles is pretty competitive - which shows that Peugeot’s doing a good job of eking out every bit of juice in an efficient manner.

During our time with the car, we managed around 4 miles per kWh over mixed mileage, which means a real-world range of around 200 miles - dropping to around 170 during pure motorway driving. That’s a better efficiency figure than we managed from a Volkswagen ID3 or MG5 EV, though the Tesla Model 3 is even more miserly - and has a bigger battery in the first place.

Peugeot doesn’t fit a very powerful charger either, which means the e-308 SW can only top up at a maximum rate of 100kW. That’s faster than the MG5, but not as quick as a VW ID3 or an MG4.

Running costs will be low, thanks to that efficiency - even by electric car standards, though this is unlikely to make up for the car’s high purchase price unless you’re an extremely high-mileage driver. Compared to petrol or even plug-in hybrid cars, though, company car buyers will see their running costs drop significantly, and like all EVs the e-308 SW is exempt from road tax until 2025.

The e-308 SW gets its Euro NCAP crash test safety score from the regular 308 hatchback, which means it inherits a four-star rating. That’s not up there with the five stars awarded to the Volkswagen ID3 or the MG4, mainly due to the score for the protection of vulnerable road users. Adult and child occupant scores were higher, but not the best.

Standard safety equipment is good, though, including autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and cruise control. Peugeot’s systems aren’t as obtrusive as some alternatives, but you do need to fiddle about in the touchscreen to turn most of them off which can be a pain to do on the move.

Peugeot offers the e-308 SW with a pretty standard warranty of three years and 60,000 miles. There’s also an eight-year/100,000 mile battery warranty, based on it retaining at least 70% of its original capacity.

Compared with the seven years of warranty cover you get on an MG5 or a Kia Niro EV, that’s a bit rubbish, but it’s in line with what Volkswagen offers on the ID3.

Peugeot’s reliability has been a mixed bag over the years, but it’s improving. The brand ranked 9th in the 2023 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, suggesting an upward trend - and the e-308 SW has very few mechanical components to go wrong, in common with most EVs.