All-new blend of executive car and coupé SUV shares much with the impressive Citroën C5 X Price from £31,050 On sale February
Doug Revolta Doug.Revolta@haymarket.com
LIFE AS A car designer must be quite repetitive these days. Most new cars are simply replacements for earlier models, and with a host of established rivals to compete with, it’s almost inevitable that new models will look a certain way. In other words, creative freedom can be in short supply.
And this is why, when Peugeot’s design team first got wind of top-secret plans for the all-new Peugeot 408, every single employee was desperate to work on it – leading to quite a few arguments and disagreements between them in Paris, we’re told.
Indeed, the 408 was the dream gig for a designer at a mainstream manufacturer. It’s an original model, with only one indirect rival: the closely related Citroën C5 X. And the end result? Well, after a lengthy seven years from the first sketches to the production-ready car, the 408 is an automotive shape-shifting combination of an executive car, a coupé and an SUV; unlike the C5 X, it doesn’t have an estate-style rear end. We’ve driven the C5 X a lot and admire its luxuriously wafty ride quality, plush interior and keen pricing.
As you’d expect, the engine line-up is similar in both cars. The 408 range starts with the Puretech 130 – a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. Then there’s a fairly hefty jump in price up to two plug-in hybrid (PHEV) options: the Hybrid 180 (which the C5 X doesn’t offer) and the Hybrid 225. Both of these combine a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and a battery, the main difference being the amount of power they produce. However, the difference in outright pace between them is barely noticeable. The Hybrid 180 covers the 0-62mph sprint in 8.1sec, while the Hybrid 225 drops that down to 7.9sec.
It’s the latter option we’re testing here. In electric mode, progress is smooth, quick and almost silent, and while there can be a slight hesitation before the petrol engine wakes up when you want a burst of acceleration, the transition from electric to petrol is smooth and performance is strong when both power sources work together. All of which is the same in the C5 X, but there is one key difference. The 408’s official electric range of 40 miles is very slightly better than the C5 X’s 39 miles, and this is hugely significant when it comes to company car tax (more on that later).
There are differences elsewhere, too, the biggest being the ride. While the C5 X has a cosseting floatiness as it goes along, the 408
