While police agencies in North America have always favored large, high-powered sedans for use as patrol cars, the rest of the world sees things differently. The fact that most of the rest of the world has always had much higher fuel prices has certainly played a part in this. Police officers in Europe seem to get along fine with compact or mid-sized cars like the Opel Vectra and the Peugeot 307. Peugeot's latest entry in the segment is the 308 HDi 90. The 308s are being prepared by Peugeot's Special Vehicle Operation for police duty with light bars, sirens, radios, police markings and other modifications. With fuel prices at $8-9 a gallon in much of Europe, operating costs of police vehicles are a major concern. The 1.6L diesel 308 manages 52.2mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined cycle and emits 120g/km of carbon dioxide.


[Source: Peugeot UK]

Here in the U.S., hypermiling has largely been the province of hybrid drivers. That doesn't mean that only hybrid drivers can take advantage of those driving strategies. When last we heard from Helen and John Taylor, the British couple had just completed a run from Britain to Poland in a pair of diesel-powered Jeeps at 55-56mpg. After that jaunt they headed to Australia for another hypermiling adventure. This time around they used a Peugeot 308 HDi 110. The pair drove the C-class sized hatchback 9,000 miles around the coast of Australia over 25 days. On one stretch, they traveled 1,192 mile on a single 60L tank of diesel and they averaged 75.6mpg (U.S.) over the whole journey. That was enough to gain two slots in the Guinness book of World records for longest distance on a single tank and highest mileage for a journey. The 308 was completely stock with nothing added or removed and also carried the couple's luggage for the 25 day trip.

[Source: Peugeot UK]

The frugal 1.6-liter diesel Peugeot 308 (and the very frugal diesel hybrid version) get some of their low numbers to Michelin's new low-rolling resistance tires, called Energy Saver. According to AN Europe, the tires themselves don't subtract too many grams of CO2 emitted for each kilometer driven (just four grams) or liters of fuel required to move the car (just 0.2 per 100 kilometers), but take the four rubber circles in context with other fuel economy measures in the 308 line (weight reduction, using a diesel or diesel-hybrid powertrain) and you can see where some of the vehicle's low numbers come from. Continental, Goodyear and Bridgestone also offer low-rolling resistance tires.

[Source: Dale Jewett / Automotive News Europe (subs req'd)]

It doesn't yet have a hybrid powertrain that will give it 70+mpg (but that option is coming), but Peugot's new 308 does have a lot of options in the engine bay. The new 308, coming to the UK in September, has ten powerplant choices, with the lightest emitter sending out just 120 g/km of CO2. This aerodynamic little hatchback has got a below-average drag coefficient of just 0.29.

Aside from the talk of the diesel hybrid drive in one of these things, the best upcoming change is this: Peugeot says the 308 will evolve into a few different body shapes over the coming months and years, and there will be a "BioFlex" petrol model introduced at some point. Should be able to knock that 120 number down to double-digits one of these days.

You can peep the full list of powerplant options in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Peugeot]

The new C-Class Peugeot 308 will go on sale in early 2008 and AutoExpress is reporting that a diesel hybrid version will be available about six months later. The Focus sized 308 will have a 1.6L turbodiesel mated up to an electric motor and battery pack. There's no word on what kind of battery will be used, but start-stop capability and regenerative braking will be in place.

The four door, five seat 308 is expected to get a combined rating of 69.1 mpg and CO2 emissions of 90g/km, putting it almost on par with the much smaller Smart ForTwo CDi. That would make it by the cleanest, most efficient car in it's class, and drivers in London wouldn't have to pay the congestion tax. The hybrid 308 will be able on run on battery alone up to 30 mph and would be the first diesel hybrid car to go into production.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Diesel engines dominate the European mass market, in large part because of the high cost of fuel. Gasoline engine hybrids haven't sold as well on the continent, so now Peugeot is planning to introduce the first diesel hybrid passenger car. The lower mid-sized 308 will unveiled as a replacement for the current 307, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and a diesel-hybrid variant is expected to see the light of day by the end of 2007. Although this is a more expensive option, it should be more effective overall than gas hybrids. The hybrid gets the benefit of regenerative braking in the the urban environment, while the cruising efficiency of the diesel picks up the slack on the highway, where the hybrid is just dead weight.

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[Source: Just-Auto.com - subscription required]