► Peugeot’s 408 now includes electric model
► Slots between 308 SW and 508
► Mild and plug-in hybrid versions available, too
Peugeot’s striking 408 crossover now benefits from an electric version: the e-408. The new e-408 has joined the range in 2024, with Peugeot saying its arrival ‘completes the EV line-up’ for the brand.
Need a reminder as to what the 408 is? Read our handy guide here.
Even two years on, this thing still looks wild…
Right? It’s also designed to be segment-busting. Is it a hatchback? Is it a coupe? Is it a crossover? Technically all three.
‘The 408 is an inventive, dynamic fastback: it blends sedan [saloon] and SUV cues such as a high driving position. And it has a strong presence on the road,’ says Peugeot product director Jerome Micheron. Peugeot is reluctant to pigeonhole the 408, preferring to cite the ‘active couples’ who will supposedly be drawn to it (though there’s a heap of rear space for when they have to forego base-jumping for changing nappy-wearers).
The dimensions put it in context however. It rides almost 4cm higher than a 308 hatchback, but about 1.5cm lower than BMW’s X4 coupe-SUV. The roofline is comparatively lower too: the 408 stands 1480mm high, the X4 1621mm tall.
‘Our intention is to reinvent the [midsize] sedan,’ says design director Pierre-Paul Mattei. ‘We want to create a new worldwide model, more modern, exciting and bold.
‘It’s an empty space, and we are convinced Peugeot has something new to fill this space. New 408 is closer to a sedan than an SUV, but it’s not a typical sedan design.’
Glance at the rear three-quarter, and you’re struck by how unusual, how aggressive the design is. A bulbous black plastic diffuser juts out rearwards, and sharp lines fan out from the rear wheelarch, breaking the fender into facets. The thin rear lamps are crowned with a Porsche-style ducktail spoiler, fed air by the ‘cats ears’ either side of the tailgate.
‘The imposing black rear bumper absorb shocks when parking the car,’ says Mattei. ‘We use this to give dynamism: we cut the body colour, creating an inverted effect. It gives a very strong personality to the car.
What kind of specs does the 408 offer?
As of October 2024, quite a few.
The range starts with the now-quite-old-school 1.2-litre PureTech petrol, which comes with 128bhp, front-wheel drive and an eight-speed auto.
A short step up is Peugeot’s new ‘Hybrid’ (it’s pretty mild, in reality) model with 134bhp and a new six-speed dual-clutch transmission. This powertrain launched in the all-new 3008 SUV, but has since been ported across to other models in the range.
Next up is the plug-in hybrid model available with two states of tune: 178 or 222bhp. Both use a 1.6-litre petrol engine, 81kW electric motor and eight-speed auto and claim up to 34 miles of e-range.
Topping the list is the new arrival: the e-408 electric model (pictured in white). The e-408 uses a 58.2kWh battery pack and a 208bhp electric motor driving the front wheels, and Peugeot claims a 281-mile range.
Big butt equals big boot
‘The rear of the car is unusually high, higher than the front hood: that’s where we use the cut of colour to absorb this extra volume,’ continues Mattei. The high rear gives strength: it’s very muscular, nothing is neutral.’
The rear overhang is sizeable, intentionally to free up cargo space. The boot stores 536 litres, or 1611 with the rear seats folded. That’s slightly more than either the Peugeot 3008 or BMW X4 SUVs offer.
Mattei admits the two-tone effect is to help disguise the overhang; the 20inch alloys’ counter-intuitive squared-off design has the same effect (which suggests the base 17inch rims may be somewhat overwhelmed). When this GT model in Obsession Blue is manoeuvring at low speeds, the wheels’ square graphic really stands out – Mattei calls it ‘disruptive’.
What’s it like inside?
The interior will be instantly familiar to anyone who’s pored over the new 308’s: they’re the same.
‘When we asked our creative team to design the dashboard, we didn’t ask them to design the dashboard of the 308 but the 408’s,’ reveals Mattei. ‘And during development, we kept checking that what we were doing was still compatible with the 308.’
Peugeot didn’t have the design capacity nor budget to work up divergent cockpits, so the 308 hatch, SW estate and now the 408 share the design. That may explain why some of the dashboard’s angular planes feel more at home in the crossover than the hatch.
Naturally the 408 gets Peugeot’s trademark compact steering wheel, and a 10inch digital driver’s display with 3D effect on GT models. The 10inch central touchscreen has six customisable, digital shortcut keys underneath to access your most-used functions. The 408 is embedded with Peugeot’s new voice control system, and comes with optional Night Vision.
In the rear seats there’s plenty of kneeroom, but only a couple of inches of headroom for a six-footer. The front and rear screens are thickened to soften external noise, and the Allure option pack complements this with thicker side glass.
New 408: originated in 2015
Peugeot took the unusual step of showing the 408’s origin design, a yellow crossover bearing the project’s codename P54 (below).
‘Every day we have exchanges with the brand, asking what will be next in the Peugeot range, how will the market change?’ explains Pierre-Paul Mattei. ‘Here we asked what could be the next worldwide sedan.
‘We worked on several different concepts. At the end we were convinced that this could be a solution for something worldwide. Then we had to convince everybody in the company that this was the way.’
And this yellow concept served as inspiration – despite it being completely unfeasible.
‘Nothing works technically, it would be impossible to do that car,’ says Mattei. ‘Because when you make a car, you have to integrate the door stiffener, you couldn’t even open this trunk, the aerodynamics don’t work at all and this kind of shape for a [rear screen] would cost the same as all the windows of the real car. And we don’t respect the suspension.
‘But it gives the vision. We try if we can. And that’s why there is such a difference between this car which was created in 2015 and the new 408.’