ARCADE FIRE
The new Peugeot 408 is a thing of beauty
NO mainstream company has matched Peugeot in the design department over the past five years or thereabouts. From the 3008 crossover to the 308 hatchback to the 508 saloon, every reveal has been a delight, and the new 408 is no exception.
Like its Citroën C5 X cousin in the Stellantis family, it doesn’t immediately tell you what exactly it is — a flattened out crossover, a coupé, or bordering on an estate… Who knows?
Certainly, as a former Saab 900 owner, I love a big car with a big hatchback-style tailgate, and buckets of space inside. Here, with the rear seats up, you get 536 litres; drop them, and you open up 1,611 litres. That’s massive.
The long length, at 4,687 millimetres, also allows from great cabin space, front and rear, with no issues in the back for taller passengers, and there’s plenty of room too for lateral movement.
No matter what you call it, though, there’s no doubt that the 408 is a beautiful car. Sinuous and slinky, it delivers much more in the metal than you might think from photographs. I certainly wasn’t fully prepared for the visual impact it delivers, especially in the blue you see in the photograph on this page, which is carried into the flecks on the grille. The new lion shield also looks very at home in the centre of the grille, while the vertical ‘fang’ daytime running lights emphatically frame it.
Far too often, designers get so carried away by the face and silhouette of a car, the rear seem a bit of an afterthought, but here the fastback-style descending roofline melds effortlessly into the wide derrière. A lovely cut under the tailgate gives a nice 3D effect, while the mesh at exhaust level adds a touch of sportiness. Honestly, it looks fantastic.
Allure is the entry level trim in Ireland, with prices starting from €39,995 for the standard 130hp petrol model, and €44,995 for the 180hp plug-in hybrid. Moving up a grade, to Allure Pack trim, with more driver assistance features and bigger wheels (19-inch compared to the standard 17), costs €41,995 and €46,995 respectively. The top-of-therange model, the 408 GT, costs €44,995 for the standard petrol engine version, €49,995 for the 180hp plug-in hybrid, and €52,495 for the more powerful 225hp PHEV.
A full battery electric version of the car is due, most likely for early 2024 registration here, when it would appear to be a strong rival to Volkswagen’s very visible ID.4.
As far as the cabin goes, you get the now familiar and brilliantly unfussy i-Cockpit, as well as customisable function options on the fascia. There’s a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and four USB sockets. Not that it matters much in Ireland, there’s a ski hatch through the rear seats, but I’ve found those handy from time to time coming home from IKEA.
As an option, you can add a FOCAL sound system, which really is beltingly good, but the subwoofers marginally reduce cargo space in the boot. Thanks to the battery, cargo space also is reduced in the PHEV, by 65 litres with the rear bench up or down.
As for the drive, I took it on a mix of country roads, city streets and motorways. It’s very comfortable on the cruise, and surprisingly responsive and agile on back roads. Unlike the C5 X, it has slightly stiffer suspension, which suited me, because I found the Citroën occasionally just a little too spongy for comfort, which often leaves you disengaged from the driving pleasure. Each to his or her own and all that.
The car comes only with eight-speed automatic transmission, no matter which variant you buy, and it’s fluid and eager, no matter what you ask of it. PSA always was good at this, and that expertise has spread now throughout the entire Stellantis family of brands that includes Opel and Fiat. The only niggle is 0-100kph acceleration of over ten seconds.
Best of all is the also now familiar steering wheel, which is brilliantly compact and again adds a very sporty feel; it’s more like driving a car in an arcade game than actually on the road.
All in all, the 408 is a very tasty proposition. It offers D-segment space in a Csegment package, and performance has not been sacrificed on the altar of style.
Cars in general have got dearer in recent times, and the €39,995 price might cause a few to blink, but it’s pretty much par for the course, and when it buys a thing of beauty, well, you’re worth it.