THREE pot engines don't come sweeter than the 1.2-litre PureTech fitted to Puegoet's latest 308 hatch.

Even when mated to an auto box it's good for more than 40 to the gallon making for miles of easy driving.

It's no slouch either and performs with sufficient liveliness to justify the GT Line moniker on this particular car.

At £23,380 the GT Line EAT6 sits at the top of the current 308 line up and is a car with plenty of attributes.

It looks contemporary and lacks little with sat nav, climate and cruise control all standard.

Sporty touches includes two oval exhaust nacelles either side of the rear diffuser and a flat bottom to the minimalist size steering wheel now common on so many Peugeots.

That is part of a clutter free approach to the interior which sees a minimum amount of switchgear on the dashboard and most functions operated from the centrally mounted touchscreen.

It's a different take on modern motoring but something that is swish, stylish and typically French.

The electronic automatic transmission suits the engine to a tee and with 130bhp on tap it's lively.

Acceleration 0 to 60 takes 10.3 seconds, it tops out at 125mph and over several thousand miles returned a credible average of 41.8mpg according to the trip computer.

Officially the 308 PureTech 103 EAT6 is rated at 57.6mpg with a CO2 figure of 112g/km putting it into the 19 per cent tax bracket for business users. The manual version is slightly more economical coming in at 61.4mpg with emissions of 107g/km.

As medium sized hatchbacks go the Peugeot 308 GT Line is roomy and comfortable and the trim levels are high.

For a car of this class rear space is par for the course and it will seat four adults in a fair amount of comfort - five is a squeeze.

Boot space at 470 litres is of useful proportions and the cargo capacity extends to 1,309 litres if needed.

A Peugeot trait is mounting the cruise control and speed limiter control to the side of the steering wheel and out of sight. It takes some familiarisation but that's about the only vaguery.

The drive can be configured for sport shifts or low grip conditions and while the auto box can be used in tiptronic fashion there are no paddle shifters.

An electronic parking brake completes the technological approach to the cockpit layout and steering wheel mounted buttons operate the phone and audio systems.

Stop/start is standard and all in all the GT Line 308 makes a fine fist of eco driving.

It is a fine compact family car and one which can teach the likes of the class leading Ford Focus a few tricks, especially when it comes to style.

The PureTech engine has twice been voted the world's leading little engine in the prestigious International Engine of the Year awards for 2015 and 2016.

Using a turbocharger to boost performance Peugeot says it is 18 per cent more fuel efficient than similar output four cylinder engines and earlier in 2016 it set a new fuel economy record for an automatic, travelling 1,174 miles on a single tank - an average of 96.4mpg.