Japanese cars may be too boring and functional for some - but in terms of longevity and durability, they have been occupying top rankings for many years in relevant tests and quality reviews. German models are sometimes certified to have a fairly good long-term quality. French brands like Peugeot could not score in this discipline for a long time, problem models like the compact class vehicle 307 are still not well remembered by their owners. For around two years now, customers have been able to buy the second generation of its successor, 308, and this is where the French approached the quality problem for the first time.
Peugeot's compact made a pretty decent impression when it was introduced. But the team around quality director Philippe Pelletier wanted more. With the help of a dedicated analysis that includes intensive and regular customer surveys - 1,7 millions per year - the fathers of the series wanted to find out how to give the car the longest possible value on the way. The claims of the developers are high: Peugeot, for example, wants the car to feel like new even after three years. Nobody can say how realistic it really is after two years of construction. And individual care should also play a decisive role here. Pelletier at least wants to know that the 308 is somewhere between Golf VI and the current Golf VII. Which may well be the case with a new car.
Ultimately, the assessment of a quality impression is always subject to a subjective component. In addition to a handful of new vehicles, the 308 with different mileage performances is available for the experiment taking place here as a reference. For example, one copy counts around 50.000 kilometers, while another representative with 120.000 kilometers already has something on the clock.
Now, a modern car should not let its occupants feel any significant use effects at 50.000 km. This is also the case with the 308 HDI 92, which can still be driven over rough asphalt without any rattling or creaking. The turbo gasoline engine with three cylinders and 120.000 kilometers makes a similarly good figure, but here sits the gear lever not quite so tight. The typical suspicious characteristics of a kilometer-eater - such as a tapped steering wheel and worn pedals - are not yet evident in either. After all, that would be a little early. An 308 with 120.000 kilometers is a very respectable used car. However, this does not answer the question of how long his buyer can then enjoy the French.
After all, the current Peugeot 308 convinces as a new car significantly more than its predecessor, whose material appearance was significantly further away from the Volkswagen quality so valued in this country. However, one of the many long-term test rankings will have to show how the durability of the 308 really is.