The 408 is an entirely new model for Peugeot that adds an innovative fastback design to its compact car range, which currently comprises the more conventional Peugeot 308 hatchback and Peugeot 3008 SUV.
Having made its European debut at the Paris motor show last month, the fastback is intended to marry the best of SUVs, hatchbacks and saloons by combining an aerodynamic, coupé-esque silhouette with ample space and good driving dynamics in a relatively compact package.
It is now on sale in the UK, priced from £31,050, ahead of customer deliveries getting under way in the first quarter of next year, with a total of four trim levels and three powertrains available from launch.
The entry-level Allure car gets a choice of a 128bhp 1.2-litre pure-petrol engine (the cheapest powertrain option) or a 178bhp plug-in hybrid at £38,400. The more powerful 222bhp PHEV option becomes available from Allure Premium trim upwards, from £40,725.
Capping the line-up is the £45,000 First Edition car, which went on sale last month with bespoke design elements, a raft of options as standard and a limited 50-unit build run.
The petrol engine will be replaced with a mild-hybrid unit by the end of 2023 and an electric e-408 will follow, although a date for that isn’t yet confirmed.
The 408 sits on the same EMP2 modular platform as the 308. At 4690mm long and 1480mm tall, it is a significant 440mm longer and almost 40mm higher than the 308. The final product was seven years in the making, because it was considered quite radical at its inception and apparently took some convincing at board level.
Design project manager Pierre-Paul Mattei revealed that giving the car “dynamism without hiding the fact that it’s roomy” was a hurdle.
“A classical fastback – the Peugeot 508, for example – starts to drop the car’s top line at the B-pillar, but here it’s the back of the rear door, which makes rear access and space better,” explained Mattei.
The front grille is reminiscent of the current Peugeot range but modernises it, introducing a vertical body-colour pattern in which the blocks of colour get bigger towards the edges.
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Strange looking car so many creases in the styling it looks more like origami,the pricing is really strange as well for another £700 you could have the much roomier 508, It's main comptition could well come from it's Stellantis stable the top of the range C5X Sense Plus costs less than the entry level 408 and is much better equipped as well
Agree with your comment about the weirdness of the pricing.
The base 408 is over £3k more than an undiscounted base C5X with the same 1.2 litre engine. After a broker's discount on a new base C5X, the gap widens to £7k!
So lets get this right, unless you want an overpriced phev you get a 1.2 in a large'ish tall hatchback, you rock Peugeot.
It's a French BMW X6. You can see the similar styling and as the article says there is lots of part and platform sharing with other Peugeots to keep costs down. They are just looking to fill hopefully profitable niches, because the former mainstream no longer sells.
The 208 sells, but in the UK is outsold by it's relation, the Corsa and Ford has killed the Fiesta. Have you ever seen a new 308 on the road. Ford is also killing the Focus. If you have managed to spot a new 308, the how about a 408? The Insignia, Mondeo and Passat are not sold in the UK now.
Peugeot are just exploring niches within niches like everyone else. As someone else rightly said, this would have been a Citroen a few years ago.
Stellantis also have too many brands. VW struggled to make Seat work, looked at Stellantis and saw DS i.e. pimp-my-ride Citroen, and created Cupra, and now Seat sells even worse than before.