The Peugeot 308 is one of the stars of the Peugeot range. It won European Car of the Year in 2014 and now this latest iteration has been crowned best urban car in the Women's World Car of the Year Awards 2022.

One of the first changes you notice from the outside is that this 308 is the first Peugeot to sport the new-look lion's head logo, after many years when we got the full lion, mostly rampant.

It's a throwback to the logo of the 1960s, but also looking forward as the brand increasingly turns to electrification, with most of its models now available with at least some sort of battery and electric motor assistance, if not as full EVs (for that in the 308, we're looking at autumn next year).

What we have here in the meantime is the plug-in hybrid version, featuring the 1.2 PureTech petrol engine and an 80kW electric motor, generating a combined 180 horsepower.

In electric-only drive mode, mainly suitable for those with shorter urban commutes, you'll get a claimed 60km range on a full charge (7hr 5mins on a standard socket, 1hr 40mins on a domestic wallbox). In real-world driving you probably can expect a little less, but if you use the car properly, the claimed WLTP fuel consumption is 1.1-1.2 litres per 100km.

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Again, take it with a grain of salt. On the motorway, once your battery charge is depleted, far more realistic fuel consumption figures enter the equation. For comparison, the ICE-only versions of the car return 5.4-6.5 litres per 100km in petrol, and 4.3-5.1 in the diesel.

Unusually, all models come with eight-speed automatic transmission as standard; Peugeot has decided not to offer manual transmission in right-hand-drive versions.

That bumps up what might have been a lower entry-level price, which means the cheapest 308 checks in at €31,765, placing it at a slight disadvantage compared to its rivals.

One other innovation, and delighted I was to see it, is that the cruise controls have migrated to the steering wheel. Peugeot has long had fiddly controls tucked away behind the left-hand side of the wheel, where they couldn't be seen. Yes, they became more intuitive to use over time, but this new arrangement makes a great deal more sense.

What remains familiar, thankfully, is the terrific i-Cockpit layout for all the instrumentation and infotainment, with fully customisable buttons depending on your preferences. When you engage

Apple CarPlay, for instance, that appears on the button row as an option, making for seamless toggling between, say, listening to Spotify and the radio, not always the case with other systems.

Voice control comes courtesy of i-Connect, which means you only have to say "OK, Peugeot" to ask the system to find you the nearest filling station, restaurant or hotel. Enhanced safety features include night function on the active safety brake system, with pedestrian and cyclist detection.

I first drove the hybrid version of the car, in which the battery has a small impact on boot space, which is reduced to 361 litres from the 412 available in the petrol and diesel versions (1,271 litres compared to 1,323 with the rear seats down). Later, I drove the diesel and while I found little difference in performance, there obviously was marginally more noise from the diesel.

The suspension is very well set up in both though, and the car feels lean and responsive in all road conditions, including midlands roads that provided lots of lovely humpy airtime, and plenty of sharp corners too.

Like most recent Peugeots, it's the looks that thrill. This is a really beautiful car, and never more so than in the Olivine Green, unique to the hatchback (the forthcoming SW estate gets its own personal Avatar Blue). It's an absolute knockout, rich and classy, and I can think of no valid reason why it wouldn't be any potential buyer's first choice, the old wives' tale about green bringing bad luck notwithstanding (what is wrong with you people?!).

Everything about this new Peugeot 308 feels solid and appealing, from its obvious driveway attractiveness to its very planted handling and the terrific feel of the compact flat-bottomed steering wheel.

There are, no doubt, some who would prefer to wait for the full EV version - and pricing on that is a long way off — but for those who like the idea of the half-way house, the plug-in hybrid might be the ticket.

PEUGEOT 308 PHEV ENTRY-LEVEL PRICE €31,765 (1.2 petrol Active trim 130hp) MODEL DRIVEN €44,325 ENGINE 1.2l PureTech petrol MOTOR 80kW TRANSMISSION Eight-speed automatic 0-100KM/H 7.6 seconds TOP SPEED 225kph ELECTRIC-ONLY RANGE (WLTP) Up to 60km FUEL CONSUMPTION 1.1-1.2l/100km CO2 25g/km €140 tax DIMENSIONS 4367mm (L); 2062mm (W, incl mirrors); 1441mm (H)