New high-riding executive car follows in the wheel tracks of Citroën’s C5 X and majors on plug-in hybrid power On sale Early 2023 Price from £28,000 (est)
Darren Moss Darren.Moss@haymarket.com
ON THEIR OWN, flour, eggs, milk, butter and sugar would be pretty unappealing, but mix them together and you can create a magnificent cake.The new Peugeot 408 is taking the same approach, because by mixing together elements from the executive car, estate and SUV worlds, it’s aiming to appeal to more buyers than any of those single markets would normally attract.
The 408 shares its underpinnings with the 308 family hatchback and 3008 SUV, as well as the Citroën C5 X. It adopts the same swept-back stance as the latter, with the higher ride height of an SUV and rugged-looking body cladding around its lower edges. Striking features include slim LED daytime running lights that look like fangs in the dark, plus a bold front grille and bespoke 20in alloy wheels.
The 408 borrows the 308’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) engine options.The 180 and 225 models combine a 1.6-litre petrol engine with an electric motor, with the former producing 178bhp in total and the latter 222bhp.
Both variants get their electric power from a 12.4kWh battery.While Peugeot has yet to reveal how far these versions can take you on electric power alone, the smaller 308 PHEV’s official range is 37 miles. Charging these versions should take less than two hours if you use a typical 7kW home wallbox. A full charge using a regular three-pin household plug will take around seven and a half hours.
The only other engine option is a conventional 1.2-litre petrol with 129bhp. No matter which version you go for, an eight-speed automatic gearbox is standard.
If you really want to go green, a fully electric version of the 408 – called the e-408 – will arrive within the next year. It’s likely to offer a range of at least 200 miles and will go up against rivals that include the new Kia Niro EV and the Skoda Enyaq iV.
Inside, the 408 features Peugeot’s unconventional i-Cockpit design, with a high-set digital instrument panel that the driver looks at over the top of a small steering wheel, rather than through it. In the 3008 SUV, this set-up works quite well, but we’d recommend going for a test drive to make sure the steering wheel doesn’t block your view of the display.
The instrument cluster can put a variety of information, including the sat-nav map, right in front of you, while there’s also a separate 10.0in touchscreen for infotainment. In the 308, we like the crisp graphics of this system, but
