2012 & 2013 Peugeot Hatchback Reviews & Ratings

The first Peugeot Hatchback was produced in 1982 as the Peugeot VERA plus and had a slightly unusual hatchback design in that it looked like it had a regular trunk. In fact, it was a tilted hatchback rear panel. Peugeot Hatchbacks have always been very popular cars particularly in Europe with smaller cars always being more practical in the narrow and winding streets. Across the globe, the Hatchback continues to grow in popularity, however, with the continuing rise in fuel prices more and mo... (full review continues below)

The first Peugeot Hatchback was produced in 1982 as the Peugeot VERA plus and had a slightly unusual hatchback design in that it looked like it had a regular trunk. In fact, it was a tilted hatchback rear panel. Peugeot Hatchbacks have always been very popular cars particularly in Europe with smaller cars always being more practical in the narrow and winding streets. Across the globe, the Hatchback continues to grow in popularity, however, with the continuing rise in fuel prices more and more people are appreciating the great mileage that can be obtained from the smaller and generally more environmentally friendly engines.

Peugeot Hatchbacks have always been very competitive and in general have been one of the market leaders in Hatchback design with many of their competitors copying aspects of Peugeot designs in their own. Prices for Hatchbacks can range from as low as about $10,000 up to about $80,000 and the competition at the lower and mid ranges is fierce. Popular models in 2012 include the Ford Fiesta, Nissan Versa, Hyundai Veloster, Citroen C3 and the Honda Jazz.

Peugeot has two main hatchbacks currently on offer in 2012, one, the Peugeot 207 aimed at the lower end of the market and the Peugeot 308 which is aimed at the mid range. The Peugeot 207 has three different gas trims and one diesel trim. The lowest range of the Peugeot 207 XR A7 starts at $19,000, has a 1.4 liter 93 horsepower engine with 100 foot pound of torque. It has a manual transmission and can accelerate from 0-60mph in 7.5 seconds with a top speed of 112mph. Fuel consumption is decent at 30mpg in cities and 47mpg on highways. At the top end of the spectrum is the Peugeot XT HDi which is the diesel model with a 6 speed manual transmission. Starting at $26,000 its 1.6 liter engine can develop 109 horsepower with 200 foot pound of torque and can do 0-60mph in 6.6 seconds with a top speed of 114 mph, only 6 mph slower than its gas 1.6 liter counterpart.

The mid range Peugeot Hatchback is the Peugeot 308 with the lower end popular model being the Peugeot 308 which has 6 different trims of which two are diesel models. Included in the Peugeot 308 line-up is also a gas powered turbo or hot hatch. The standard 6 speed automatic Peugeot 308 is the XSE starting at $39,000 with a 1.6 liter engine developing 154 horsepower and 177 foot pound of torque and can accelerate from 0-60mph in 8 seconds with a top speed of 116 mph. The fuel economy is average at 23mpg in cities and 49mpg on highways. At the top of the range is the Peugeot XSE HDi Diesel starting at $43,000 with a 2 liter engine developing 160 horsepower and 250 foot pound of torque. It accelerates from 0-60 in 6 seconds with a top speed of 125mph. Fuel economy on the diesel is slightly better than the gas version.