Peugeot 308 GTi 250 axed

Peugeot has wiped its range clean of the 308 GTi 250.

The French brand has slimmed its 308 line-up and the 184kW Golf GTI killer has been cut along with the GT 1.6-litre turbo petrol.

This leaves the more powerful GTi 270 as the range leader and the $42,990 turbo diesel GT as the sole Golf GTI rival.

The entry-level Access and top-shelf Allure Premium trims have also been cut to show another nine variants the door. Only six remain.

Meanwhile standard spec has been upgraded across the range. All variants score reversing cameras and sat-nav, while middle-range Allure 308s are heavily upgraded on the safety front.

But what do MOTOR-folk now miss out on with no baby GTi? The GTi 250 may have packed only a turbo 1.6-litre, but it punched well beyond its litres.

With just 1205kg to hurry, its 184kW and 330Nm proved a swift ticket at BFYB 2016.

It could slash 100km/h in 6.42sec before passing the quarter mile in 14.41sec at 167.17km/h, almost two tenths and six clicks quicker than the Golf GTI we had along.

Warren Luff, V8 Supercar enduro driver, also revealed it was quite a handler, calling its chassis “useable” and its brakes “responsive” at the event.

Away from racetracks, too, the 250 was refined, classy, and comfy.

However, maybe its case didn’t stack up for Peugeot. At $6K more than a Golf GTI, it would have been hard for it to attract buyers from the VW brand.

And when you could have the GTi 270 for another $3K, with its bigger wheels, proper diff, and huge brakes, the 250 didn’t benefit from the same halo appeal.