You may disagree, but I can't help but feel that this car has taken a stylistic step backwards since the 307 SW, and especially from the one that came before the 'big mouth' facelift. In 308 incarnation, that big mouth has been joined by an even bigger gob and a bloated body to match.

Sure, it's a practical and family oriented vehicle, but that's no excuse for skimping on the style aspect. Especially considering this car comes from the French and the fact that there are plenty of stylish estates and crossover vehicles on the market, particularly from Germany.

However, if you can live with the 308 SW’s styling, you will at least be rewarded by a highly practical and versatile people hauler that can haul up to seven occupants, if you order the optional 'child-sized' third-row seats.

This SW’s interior is actually a very pleasant environment. It's light and airy thanks to that huge panoramic roof, which can be concealed by an electrically-operated sunblind, and the finishes are classy. The dashboard has an elegant appearance and the prominent surfaces are soft to the touch and tastefully executed, while the major controls all fall easily to hand.

This car's also got most of the kit you'd expect in a luxury car, such as cruise control, dual zone climate control and audio controls on the steering wheel and even fold-out trays for rear occupants.

It's a very comfortable environment all round, and one that can be adapted to suit most needs. The middle seating row comprises three individual seats, which can slide forward or backwards by 90mm to allow you to vary the ratio between rear legroom and boot space as required.

For extra comfort, these backs seats can also be reclined and if you want to replace passengers with luggage, all three seats can be folded flat or removed altogether – giving you up to 1736 litres of load space.

You'll only be buying this car for its interior. Performance is really nothing to write home about. The recession and bad exchange rate is what must have convinced Peugeot to launch the 308 with the naturally aspirated 1.6-litre petrol engine rather than the turbo or a diesel.

88kW of power pulling nearly a tonne and half of Peugeot at altitude resulted in the kind of performance figures you’d expect from an entry-level car. That could be fine for town conditions, but the open road will be a different ball game.

The rest of the driving equation is not too bad though. Noise insulation is impeccable – it's eerily quiet inside the SW at lower speeds – and the ride and road holding characteristics are really decent.

As a comfortable family car for town conditions and relaxed freeway cruising, the Peugeot 308 SW works as well as the MPVs it's up against on price and that’s the only realm in which we can recommend it.

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