It's a long way from the Type 1, the Peugeot 3-wheeler with steam power which catapulted (well, chugged, maybe?) the Lion brand from bicycle maker to car builder in 1889, writes Brian Byrne.
There's no chugging in the latest Peugeot, the new generation 308 in which we drove yesterday to the Peugeot plant at Sochaux in the Alsace, aptly the birthplace of the engineering company that has become Europe's second largest carmaker.
Smart, smooth, refined and a challenger in the most competitive segment in the European car market, Peugeot is hoping the latest 308 (it's the first model from the maker that hasn't changed its numbering with a brand new version) will put it up on the podium with the likes of Golf and Focus.
It's maybe not a false hope. It has the looks, the powertrains, and comes from designers with a growing confidence in how to make mass-market cars with a premium feel.
On an international launch, carmakers will always showcase their best offer, so the 308 1.6 diesel we drove yesterday was all leathered up and preened in the finest of the available trims. A first date out to make the best possible impression.
And on any first date, we barely get to know the other personality involved so I'm not going to go either gaga or ugh about the new car or anything about it. Suffice that it has made enough impression to want to meet it again.
There are distinctive details. The front style is strong, eyebrowed in LEDs and sparkled in a quite elegant chrome. A quick glance as it passes and one could figure it a Golf with a better figure. The very short overhangs plant it steady-looking on the road.
The inside is a further upgrade of Peugeot's overall upshift in quality, already in place in the 408, 3008, 208 and other recent models. The above-the-steering-wheel position of the main instruments we first saw in the 208 is repeated here, and again is one of the best instruments design features I have seen for years.
In the interests of trimming out the buttons and switches from the dashboard, Peugeot has a big iPad-like touchscreen to handle everything from entertainment to navigation to temperature and aircon control. I have had words already with them about delegating EVERY function here, and we'll agree to differ ... it's the way we're going, but sometimes just because it's new and shiny and sexy-looking doesn't make it necessary or better (case in point, the fancy taps you often find in new hotels, often hard to find your way around, and which don't do anything better in the delivery of water).
And in fairness, you do get used to using the screen quite quickly. It's also one of the better such units in the class.
Back to the engines, and the other ones I got a good chance with were the 125hp and 155hp versions of the 1.6 turbocharged petrol. Both immensely satisfying power units to have up front, and very well served by a new 6-speed manual gearbox that puts it up to anyone to beat.
There's no faulting the interior finish of this new car. If you compare it to that in its predecessor, and even more so in the earlier 307, they've upped the game a quantum here.
However, Peugeot has always been about the drive. And while the traditional softer ride of French cars might not to be to everybody's taste, it was always fun if you pushed it to that in most models.
I ran a significant race of kilometres under the wheels of various flavours of 308 in the couple of days away. Lots of fast motorway, a good share of uphill and downhill twists in the Vosges, and some padding through really pretty and narrow-streeted Alsace villages. Turns out that I could have my head easily turned by this car.
It might have happened already. This first date left me with a number to call when this lady gets to Ireland. Who knows what a second date might bring?
It'll be Christmas. I'm hanging up the mistletoe.
