These new spy pictures show a test mule of the Peugeot 308 compact hatchback's replacement being tested in Europe. While the exterior panels of the prototype are from the current 308, underneath it’s a different story as it rides on a new platform with wider front and rear tracks that's shared with the Citroen C4 and DS4 models.

The French firm's new model will likely be named 301, as Peugeot would like to skip the 309 moniker that was used on its 1980s compact hatch.

Like the smaller 208, Peugeot's Golf rival is expected to be both more compact in length and lighter than the model it replaces with obvious benefits in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions.

Peugeot usually designs beautiful cars. The mid-1980's 309 wasn’t one of them, perhaps because it was originally meant to replace the Chrysler/Simca/Talbot Horizon – until Peugeot axed the Talbot brand, and thus the 309 was born.

Almost no one really missed it when it was replaced in 1993 by the much more coherent 306 (though the 309 continued to be built in India until the late 1990s).

And the reason why we're telling you all this is because the 308's replacement, a test mule of which is featured in these scoops, will most likely be named 301, a moniker last used in the 1930s, to avoid any connection with the unloved 309.

French carmaker Peugeot has released its third new model into the Chinese market in the last eighteen months, the 308 compact sedan, which made its debut at the at the Chengdu Motor Show in mid-September this year.

Manufactured locally in cooperation with Peugeot's Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Corporation, the new 308 Sedan joins the carmaker's extended offerings in the C-segment that also include the 307 and 408 saloons.

Peugeot said that with the new launch, it intends to strengthen its presence within the very competitive category, with a full year sales target of 60,000 units.

When Sergeant Ludovic Cruchot (played by the great Louis de Funès) and the rest of the protagonists of the Le gendarme film series terrorized the French roads with their crazy antics and car chases, it was extremely fun to watch.

But something tells us that the pedestrians seen in this clip, which was shot in a crowded district of Paris, France, were far less than amused with the police man behind the steering wheel of this Peugeot 308 307. Follow the jump to see why.