• Small steering wheel and i-Cockpit layout of GTi can take some getting used to
• Cabin quality as good as German rivals, while minimalist layout is pleasing to the eye
• Bucket seats, standard in 308 GTi 270, are a real highlight for comfort and support

As divisive as the Coupe Franche half-and-half paint job, Peugeot’s i-Cockpit cabin layout will please some drivers and frustrate others.

The small steering wheel feels fine to hold but those looking to retain their standard driving position will often find their view of the instruments (set above the steering wheel rim) partially obscured by the top of the wheel.

Adjust the steering wheel so it sits lower – there is generous reach and rake movement available – and you’ll solve the issue. It just feels a little alien on first acquaintance. At least the instruments are clear and easy to read, the reverse sweep of the rev-counter a neat detail.

Otherwise the cabin is a lesson in clean, minimalist and high-quality design. The central touchscreen operates almost everything and there are shortcut menus within it to save pressing multiple buttons to adjust the temperature on the fly, for example.

We haven’t tried the standard sports seats in this car but the GTi bucket seats – finished in a mixture of Alcantara and leather-effect material – are superb. Soft and supple enough to be perfectly comfortable on longer trips but with just enough support to hold you tightly in place when the pace is increased, they also offer plenty of adjustment in your quest for the perfect driving position.

• No adaptive suspension or steering system but chassis fettled by Peugeot Sport
• Bucket seats especially impressive for balance between support and comfort
• Sport button increases in-cabin engine noise

Despite the stiffer springs and huge 19-inch alloy wheels Peugeot 308 GTi comfort is surprisingly good, with supple suspension that is far more cosseting than that found in the SEAT Leon Cupra or Skoda Octavia vRS. It’s not an adaptive system either, using fixed-rate dampers that have simply been recalibrated by Peugeot Sport.

In fact, it conspires to make the Peugeot 308 GTi a rather good all-rounder that you’d be happy to travel many miles in. As long as you don’t activate Sport mode, which increases in-cabin engine noise, it’s quiet, refined and, with the excellent GTi bucket seats trimmed in leather-effect and Alcantara materials, particularly comfortable.