Peugeot 308

Diesel mid-size for the Podgorica to Dubrovnik and Podgorica to Durmitor runs

Mid-Size

Long-legged BlueHDi plus auto box built for the 3-hour push up to Žabljak or the cross-border drive to Trebinje and Mostar.

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Overview

Seats

Transmission

Automatic

Fuel

Diesel

Luggage

3 bags

Boot size

412 L (1,309 L seats folded)

Consumption

64 mpg

Who it suits

The mid-size diesel pick for anyone pairing a Podgorica base with multi-day drives inland, auto gearbox and cruise control earn their keep on the Podgorica motorway.

Cross-border road-trippers
Durmitor weekenders
Four adults with full luggage

On Montenegro roads

Cruises the Smokovac to Mateševo motorway section effortlessly, swallows a week of hiking kit bound for Žabljak, and covers the Podgorica to Dubrovnik via Debeli Brijeg run on half a tank.

About this car

Behind the wheel

The 308 Mk3 is a more grown-up proposition than anything in the B-segment here, a larger car, a quieter cabin, and a different set of priorities for the long inland legs that define a Podgorica rental. The 1.5 BlueHDi 130 diesel paired with the 8-speed EAT automatic is the common Montenegro rental spec and the combination every multi-day capital renter should look at first. Torque arrives at 1,750 rpm, which matters on the long climb up the Smokovac–Mateševo motorway out of the Morača valley; the auto box shuffles ratios invisibly across the city's wide boulevards, and the small i-Cockpit wheel makes the run up the M-9 to Ostrog less work than a conventional layout.

On Montenegro roads

Montenegro's interior motorway, the Smokovac–Mateševo section opened this decade, is where the 308 pays back its rental premium. A Podgorica-to-Žabljak run that used to punish small cars with three hours of gear-changing on the canyon road now covers most of its 145 km on modern tarmac, and the 308's diesel settles at 1,800 rpm with the cruise on at 120 km/h. Closer to base the 308 is equally happy on the 75 km hop to Kolašin in an hour flat, the 90 km push to Biogradska Gora, or the 50 km dash south through the Sozina tunnel to Bar when a sea swim is the day's brief.

Space and load

The 412-litre boot is the deciding spec for multi-day Podgorica renters. Four adults' hard cases plus a weekly shop from Voli or Idea on Cetinjski Put fit without moving anything onto the rear seats; a set of hiking poles, two 50-litre packs and walking boots for a Durmitor weekend travel alongside a toddler's pushchair and the family laundry bag. Fold the 60/40 bench and you have 1,309 litres for awkward cargo: a stand-up paddleboard in its inflatable bag fits, as does a folded patio umbrella for a hot summer terrace at a rented Podgorica townhouse.

Smokovac to Mateševo motorway inland from Kotor — The Smokovac motorway toward Podgorica, the 308’s BlueHDi settles into a steady 1,800 rpm cruise here.

Best for

The 308 suits the family of four making Podgorica their base for ten to fourteen days. The brief is usually the same: three or four nights doing city days at the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection, Stara Varoš and the Millennium Bridge, then a two-night push north to Žabljak via the new motorway, then back to the capital for the final stretch. The 308 is also the correct car for older couples planning a wider Balkan road-trip that uses Podgorica as a hub; the quieter cabin and firmer seats are kinder on long motorway legs than a hatchback.

Practical notes

Real-world diesel consumption is 4.5 L/100 km in mixed Montenegrin driving and closer to 4.2 on the motorway; a 52-litre tank delivers over 1,000 km between fills, easily covering a Skadar morning, an Ostrog noon and a Plantaže winery stop on the same day. The length of 4.37 m is the one caveat for a Podgorica rental: it parks freely in the outer-block streets above Hercegovačka and at the open lot beside the bus station, but the tightest Stara Varoš bays around the clock tower ask for a three-point turn that a Clio avoids. Diesel is widely available at Jugopetrol and INA stations along Cetinjski Put.

Verdict

Choose the 308 when the itinerary mixes Podgorica base-nights with serious distance legs: the Smokovac motorway run inland to Kolašin or Žabljak, the cross-border push to BiH via Nikšić, the Durmitor weekend with four adults and full luggage on board. The auto box and the diesel torque do most of the work for you on those days. Skip it if you are only moving inside the M-2 corridor between Podgorica and Skadar Lake or staying inside the inner capital grid, where a smaller hatch parks easier in Stara Varoš and costs a third less per week to keep fuelled.