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If you're looking for a stylish car that won't attract too many visits from your breakdown cover provider, then the winner of the European Car of the Year 2014 might be a good choice.

The Peugeot 308 beat off stiff competition to bag the coveted accolade. The small family hatchback was designed to add a little more prestige to the French carmaker's line-up.

58 motoring journalists formed the jury, who together awarded 307 points to the 308, with 22 writers giving the car top marks.

The winner was well ahead of the competition. The second placed BMW i3 garnered 223 points, the Tesla S 216 points and the Citroen Picasso 182 points.

The Mazda3 was awarded 180 and the Skoda Octavia 170.

While the 308 has only been available in the UK since January, it has been on mainland European forecourts since September. Over 4,000 people have ordered 308s in Britain, for prices that range from £14,495 to £23,345.

The 308 is manufactured in Peugeot's historic home of Socheux, Eastern France. However, Chinese buyers will be able to buy a Chinese-made 308 from 2015.

Like many European manufacturers – including UK-based Jaguar – Peugeot aims to take advantage of the world's biggest car market by manufacturing closer to the target audience, sidestepping import taxes and taking advantage of lower wages.

Over 55,000 orders for the 308 have been taken since the car's launch, and as winner of the European Car of the Year 2014, this figure is likely to rise even further.