Written by CJ Hubbard Published: 19 November 2023 Updated: 19 November 2023

Overview

The Peugeot E-308 SW is the estate version of the Peugeot E-308 electric car. It uses the same 156hp electric motor and 54kWh battery pack but features a more practical body shape that’s 270mm longer than the E-308 hatchback.

This increases boot space but does very little damage to the E-308’s general appeal – the SW is an attractive-looking car that’s good to drive. Peugeot’s by now notorious i-Cockpit interior design won’t be for everyone, but if you can cope with that you’ll find this is a refined and comfortable load lugger.

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It’s also one of very few electric estate cars on the market – in fact, at launch, its only direct competitor was the MG 5 EV, with the electric version of the Vauxhall Astra ST joining shortly afterwards. This last is essentially the same car underneath as the E-308 SW.

With a starting price well over £40,000, the Peugeot is not cheap. But can a generous amount of standard equipment and a decent driving experience deliver reasonable value? Keep reading for our expert review.

What’s it like inside?

The interior of the E-308 SW is modern and sleek, combining some interesting features with some awkward touches.

The i-Cockpit layout means you get a smaller-than-average steering wheel that’s designed to be used in a low-down location so you can easily see the high-set dials above. This is not a driving position that will suit everyone, and though you get used to it, at a time when head-up displays are becoming more common-place it seems unnecessarily restrictive.

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Another oddity is the way the dashboard sticks out over the glovebox. This not only reduces front passenger space, it makes the glovebox difficult to see into.

However, we do like the ‘i-Toggle’ controls beneath the central 10.0-inch touchscreen. This is a control panel with illuminated short-cut icons that can be customised based on your own priorities. It’s a neat feature, even if we would still prefer more physical controls for items such as the climate control.

Rear legroom is reasonably good, but the rear-door aperture is narrow and taller passengers may find the way the roof curves down at each side slightly claustrophobic.

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Boot space is 548 litres with the seats up and 1,574 litres with the rear seats folded. Matching the 308 SW plug-in hybrid, that’s a big gain over the 361-1,367 litres available in the E-308 hatch and usefully better than the 479-1367 litres offered by the MG 5.

Peugeot E-308 SW electric motors and batteries

The single electric motor powering the E-308 SW provides a maximum of 156hp and 270Nm of torque (pulling power) – though you only get this amount in Sport mode or whenever you fully flatten the accelerator.

The benchmark 0-62mph time is 9.9 seconds and top speed is 106mph. If anything, it actually feels slightly slower, as Peugeot has unusually engineered a slight pause into the accelerator response, making the E-308 feel more like a conventional automatic than many electric cars.

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The default Normal driving mode reduces you to 136hp and 250Nm, while Eco caps things further to 108hp and 220Nm. You will certainly notice the difference when driving, and the less powerful modes can help extend the driving range – Eco also restricts the climate control to optimise this.

Peugeot E-308 SW driving range and charging

Maximum driving range according to WLTP figures is 267 miles per charge – but this varies with trim level (higher specification models won’t go so far) and how you drive. In cold weather, with a heavy right foot, we doubt you’ll see more than 200 miles from a full battery.

Irritatingly, Peugeot only quotes 20-80% charging times. On a 7.4kW wallbox – the most common home charger type in the UK – this takes 4 hours 25 minutes. The E-308 SW can also do 100kW DC rapid charging, and on a suitable public charger the same 20-80% charge should take 25 minutes or less.

These are reasonable but not outstanding figures, especially considering the Peugeot’s price.

What’s it like to drive?

As a family estate car, we’d have been content with comfortable and composed here, but Peugeot’s given us something better than that. The E-308 SW is really rather nice to drive, delivering keen handling without resorting to harsh suspension and a bouncy ride.

The steering is surprisingly heavy. But once you get your head around that you’ll find the front end is eager to get stuck into bends and the chassis serves up a lot of grip. It leans over a lot less in hard cornering than you might expect, yet still retains enough fluidity in the damping to absorb bumps with little drama.

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As such, it’s an easy car to drive quickly, even on challenging roads, while retaining a degree of comfort that seems at odds with this capability. Cleverly done, Peugeot – we very much approve.

It’s not especially fast, as we highlighted above. But the electric motor’s constant torque means that hills won’t slow you down as they might in a similarly powerful petrol car. It’s also very refined, with little in the way of wind or road noise disturbing the cabin – though you will still hear the tyres being worked hard if you’re especially enthusiastic.

What models and trims are there?

Peugeot sells the E-308 SW in two standard specifications, Allure and GT, with a limited First Edition available to the earliest buyers. This comes with some bespoke interior trimming but is otherwise little different to the GT model.

All versions are well equipped, with highlights for the cheaper Allure model including 18-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, 10.0-inch infotainment system with sat-nav, parking camera and i-Toggles, LED lighting and automatic air-conditioning.

The extra £2,200 it cost to upgrade to the GT model nets you a digital instrument cluster with 3D effect display, specific GT styling elements – including sportier side sills, dark chrome front grille and Adamite green interior stitching – Matrix LED headlights, and LED rear lights with sequential welcome sequence that activated whenever you unlock the car.

What else should I know?

It’s worth putting the cost of the E-308 SW into context. Not only is it substantially more its main MG 5 rival, you can currently buy a Tesla Model 3 for less. The Model 3 is by no means an estate car, so isn’t anywhere near as practical, but it offers far more cutting edge electric mobility, making the limited degree of technical performance you get from the Peugeot seem rather expensive.