simply car design

Peugeot and the rediscovery of French elegance

Peugeot seems to have its mojo back, or at least its sense of history. After almost a decade of ever more awkward design, the French firm with the lion as its logo seems to have understood that 'feline' need not mean 'roaring beast'. The new 308 is instead a piece of restrained poise not seen since at least the 406 and in particular the Pininfarina designed coupe of that series. The 508 (despite the sagging boot, maybe a failed reference to the 504) and the 208 already pointed in the right direction. But the 308 got it pretty much right. It might seem a bit derivative from certain angles - there's a hint of Kia in the front and something reminds me of the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback from three-quarters in the way that the rear-lights and the sides meet - but then most Peugeots of the 70s and 80s had a very quiet design.

In general, I don't quite understand the whole overt sportiness thing. not from a design stand point (Mercedes used to be timeless, very similar to Peugeot here; and Audi used to be clean. now you can order all these fake add-on air vents which certainly help the bottom line, but not the looks) nor from a driving point of view: I certainly enjoy a well-handling car, but for 95% of the time it doesn't matter, while a compliant suspension dealing well with expansion joints and potholes does. In a round about way this brings me back to the new Peugeot: together with the small steering wheel and the so-called 'head-up' positioning of the instrument binnacle, Peugeot seems to have taken inspiration from Aston Martin: the rev counter runs counter-clockwise to form a perfect symmetry with the speedometer. This source of inspiration also prevents me from hailing it as a piece of French idiosyncrasy. Charming nonetheless, though.

posted by car design @ 5:18 AM