Had the chance to take the Peugeot 308 for a spin the other day.

A basic no-frills bottom-of-the-range XS Peugeot 308.

And it wasn’t bad at all.

At $26,990 list price, was it $8,000 better than a Nissan Tiida?

Well, no.

My biggest gripe was that the seat in this model doesn’t have any lumber adjustment, so it was like an S&M session, but without any of the pleasure.  A set of Recaro seats would fix that.  Or an upgrade to the XSE version, but that is $34,500 list.

My second gripe was the front screen pillar obscures your view going around right-hand bends.  It’s an annoyance when you are trying to proceed along at speed.

My final gripe is that the clutch pedal is far too close to the transmission tunnel.  And it leaves no place for your size 10-4E shoe to rest.

Things I liked were that performance and handling was good/great for a luxury shopping trolley (well that’s what it’ would be used for) and the gearbox was smooth.

On price alone, I wouldn’t buy a Peugeot 308.  And if I had $26,990 to spare, I’d probably buy a Subaru Impreza 5 door hatch (new) or a MGB V8 GT (used), instead.