Generally, a car produced in 2008 will be cleaner than a similar car produced in 2000. This is due to advances in all sorts of areas (exhaust emissions control, weight savings, powertrains, etc.). A car rental company called Auto Europe is really stretching the environmental value of a new car with its latest campaign to rent Peugeot 308s for 45 days. I mean, the announcement is titled, "Go Green and Save on Fuel and Rental Costs with Auto Europe's Peugeot Open Europe Lease Program." Sure, the technology in a new 308 means it's cleaner than older Peugeots, but renting a car for a month and a half - in Europe where it's often not hard to find good public transportation - doesn't seem like the best way to "Go Green and Save on Fuel." Especially not for $39 a day ($1,755 over the 45 days), plus ~$7 a gallon fuel costs. You can ride a lot of buses and trains for that kind of dough.

The 308, one of the toughest competitors in the European compact hatchback market, is getting some improvements that increase efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.

First of all, the Peugeot 308 will be fitted to a new 6-speed manual transmission which allows lower rpm at cruising speed and increases mileage. If you add Michelin's Fuel Saver tires to this transmission mated to the highly praised 110 HP 1.6 HDi, the 308 gets about 52 mpg U. S. and produces 129 g/km CO₂. However, there's also a second transmission option: a 6-speed Electronic Gearbox Control which removes the need for a clutch pedal and changes speeds in 0.4 seconds. This also creates greater fuel efficiency, which means that, when mated to the 90 HP version of the 1.6 HDi, the mileage stays at 52 mpg, but CO₂ emissions go down to 120 g/km. And, last but not least, there's a third transmission that Peugeot is installing in the 308: a 6-speed automatic with tiptronic-like controls for the most powerful diesel available, the 136 HP 2.0-liter HDi. Finally, a new base-entry low-polluting gasoline engine model has been added to the line up: a 1.4 liter VTi good for 95 HP.

Currently, Peugeot is selling up to 7 versions of the 308 which produce 120 g/km CO₂. All PSA models are guaranteed to work with biodiesel mixtures up to 30 percent (B30).


[Source: Carpages]

When you hear about a "3-liter car," what do you think of? For this story, think not of a car with a 3-liter engine but one that uses 3.13 liters of fuel per 100 km. That's 75 miles per gallon (U.S.) we're talking about a simple Peugeot 308.

John and Helen Taylor traveled 14,580 km in Australia (9,100 miles) using a Peugeot 308 with a standard 1.6 HDI 110 HP diesel engine. The Taylor's 308 was a standard model, just like the ones you can buy it from the showroom (at least in Europe and Australia), including Michelin Energy XM1+ tires. They used 453.94 liters of Shell diesel for the trip, which broke a previous record (with a 307) of 3.49 l/100 km (67 mpg U.S.). The CO₂ figures (which Peugeot states include the supply chain) were a mere 90.3 g/km.

This makes it almost unnecessary to wait for the hybrid! But, please, Peugeot mate this powertrain to a hybrid system and treat the exhaust gases.

[Source: Peugeot Australia via Moteur Nature]

Peugeot has added a third diesel engine option to their 807 minivan lineup in Europe. A new 170hp 2.2L unit is being added to the existing 120hp and 136hp 2.0L engines. The 2.2L is available with either an automatic or manual transmission both with 6 forward speeds. With a manual, the new engine is rated at an ample 273lb-ft of torque, a number that jumps to the 300lb-ft with the automatic. Peugeot hasn't published the mileage figures yet for the new engine but the existing 136hp diesel gets 33mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined cycle so the new engine will likely be in the high 20s at least. If Chrysler adds the new Mercedes 2.2L diesel to their U.S. minivan lineup, it would give them a real leg up on their competition in that segment if they could achieve numbers near 30mpg.

[Source: Peugeot]

While Volkswagen and other carmakers have been complaining bitterly about the new European CO₂ emissions limits and the penalties for not meeting them, at least one company is saying "Bring it on!". Peugeot is reminding people that their 308 HDi 90 emits only 120g/km of CO₂. The 308 is a C-class hatchback similar in size to a Ford Focus equipped with a 90hp 1.6L turbodiesel. On the EU highway cycle it achieves 61.9mpg (U.S.) which is far better than any similarly-sized car in the US market. Peugeot is well on its way to meeting the new rules and their German competitors better get with the program or it's going to cost them a bundle.

[Source: Peugeot]

This past week's MPG Marathon proved once again that, with a few technical improvements and careful driving, average vehicles can get some pretty impressive mileage figures. We saw a Chevy Captiva 1.6-litre HDi 110hp SE 308 bested its own published figures by almost 20 percent to reach 71.92 mpg. Before the race, Peugeot was saying the 308 would get upwards of 60 mpg, but didn't hype it further than that.

For it's performance, the Peugeot 308 was named the most economical family-sized car in the 2007 MPG Marathon. With a wink, Peugeot says, "The car finished sixth overall, only just behind other smaller and less powerful cars." So take that, you little winners.

Full press release after the jump.

Related:

• Low-rolling resistance tires reduce fuel consumption for the Peugeot 308
• Frankfurt Preview: Peugeot 308 Hybrid HDi gets 69 mpg with only 90 g/km of CO2
• Peugeot launches "Blue lion" environmental signature

[Source: Peugeot]

Each year, the AA/ALD Automotive MPG Marathon takes a selection of vehicles through some real-world roads to see just how many miles the drivers can squeeze out of the gas tanks. Last year, for example, a Cadillac 1.9 Turbo Diesel hit 55.6 mpg at the UK event. This year, one of the competitors will be the new Peugeot 308 HDi, which should get somewhere over 60 mpg (Imperial). John Dalton and David Adams will drive the car along the 350-mile route from Basingstoke to Torquay and back.

Aside from high MPGs, the 308 HDi uses Michelin Energy Saver tires and a Diesel Particulate Filter System (DPFS) to reduce CO2 emissions to 129 g/km. A Peugeot 207 HDi 90 took second last year.

The two-day 2007 MPG Marathon begins October 3rd.

Related:

• Low-rolling resistance tires reduce fuel consumption for the Peugeot 308
• Frankfurt Preview: Peugeot 308 Hybrid HDi gets 69 mpg with only 90 g/km of CO2
• Peugeot launches "Blue lion" environmental signature

[Source: Peugeot]