Note that this review is based on our initial drive of the Peugeot 408. Our full review and verdict (complete with the car's overall score, plus scores for safety, reliability and more) will be available to Which? members once all our extensive lab and road tests are complete.
Looking to buy a car that's been through all our tests? View our pick of theVauxhall Peugeot 408 overview
The Peugeot 408 is a five-seat family car that combines the raised driving position (but not the four-wheel drive) of an SUV with the styling of a four-door coupe. It sits above the 308 hatchback and below the 508 saloon in the Peugeot model range and shares interior design elements, including a uniquely small steering wheel, with these cars.
One petrol engine is available at launch, a 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit that produces 131hp. This is joined by two PHEV versions (the focus of this review), which both use a 1.6 litre, four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor to produce 180hp and 225hp, respectively. Both versions have a claimed EV driving range of 39 miles.
All versions of 408 are front-wheel drive and use an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Peugeot currently offers three trim levels of 408 in the UK: Allure, Allure Premium and GT. Entry-level Allure versions feature cruise control, a 10-inch infotainment touchscreen and a reversing camera with rear parking sensors.
The mid-range Allure Premium model adds keyless entry, front parking sensors and adaptive cruise control, as well as blind spot monitoring.Top-end GT cars get adaptive ‘Matrix’ LED headlights, electric tailgate, heated steering wheel, automatic lane guidance and a unique Alcantara interior trim.
‘First Edition’ models were only available to order at the model’s launch, and were the most lavishly equipped, featuring 20-inch alloy wheels, a faster 7.4kW charging system (all First Edition models are 225hp PHEVs) and electrically adjustable front seats as standard.
What’s it like to drive?
We’ve driven the PHEV in its most powerful 225hp guise. Thanks to the generous amount of power available, this 408 accelerates quickly and evenly, and it fails to let up even at motorway speeds, although there is a slight delay after depressing the accelerator under harder acceleration, as the petrol engine comes into live and the power from both sources is transmitted to the front wheels.
Engine noise is kept in check well, though, and road noise is also minimal. There is some wind noise at high speeds, although it’s not so intrusive as to become fatiguing.
Thanks to a comfortable suspension system, bumps barely register in the cabin which helps to make the 408 an excellent long-distance cruiser, despite its very large 20-inch wheels. The low-speed ride quality is also very good although there is noticeably more fidget over bumps and potholes.
The eight-speed automatic gearbox that all 408 models are fitted with is slick and unobtrusive, to the point where you’ll barely notice its operation. It’s broad range of gears also helps to keep engine revs (and subsequent noise) to a minimum.
Even though the 408 isn’t the smallest or lightest family car, it corners very well, with limited amounts of body roll. Precise and direct steering helps to instil confidence in the driver, although it can feel slightly too responsive when driving in urban areas. The brakes are sharp and reassuring, too.
Unlike many manufacturers, Peugeot has left some physical climate control buttons in the cabin (for the heated windscreen and fan speed), although a heater temperature dial and volume knob are both absent. You’ll have to use the touchscreen itself to alter these and other climate control settings.
The quality of materials in the front of the cabin is mixed, with lots of harder plastics scattered through the dashboard, although many of these are of a high quality and feel better than they look.
The 10-inch infotainment touchscreen is located centrally in the cabin but is quite low down, making it hard to use when driving. That said, it is very responsive to inputs and has high-quality graphics that are easy to read. There are also six shortcut touchpads underneath it that help to navigate through the screen functions, making it slightly easier to use than some rival touchscreen systems.
An accompanying 10-inch digital instrument cluster is standard on all 408 models, with our test car also featuring 3D graphics that are very striking to look at, but the sheer amount of information on display can be difficult to read at a glance.
How reliable is the Peugeot 408?
How comfortable and spacious is it?
Getting in and out of the 408 is easy due to the slightly raised ride height that comes with the pseudo-SUV styling, and its usefully large door apertures. Its slightly more difficult in the rear: while the doors are also quite large, it’s harder to get into the back seats due to rear wheel-arches that reduce the available space, as well as a small footwell.
The front cabin is very spacious, with lots of head and legroom for even the tallest drivers. Cabin width is also very good and contributes to the overall feeling of space. The electrically adjustable seats of our test car are easy to set into a comfortable driving position.
Headroom in the outer rear seats is decent, although tall passengers will have their heads very close to the roof. Overall rear legroom is poor with the front seats set for six-footers, and there isn’t enough headroom for tall passengers to sit in the rear centre seat.
Peugeot claims that the PHEV we drove has 471 litres of boot space with the rear seats in use and 1,545 when they are folded away. Petrol-only versions have between 536 and 1,611 litres of space – both not figures to be sniffed at. We’ll confirm just how much usable boot space there really is once we’ve lab tested the 408.
There’s only a small lip between the boot floor and the rear bumper which helps when loading large and heavy items, with the wide boot aperture makes the space very easy to access. A small storage compartment under the boot floor has enough space to carry the charging cable, although the floor itself isn’t height adjustable The rear seat backs only fold in a 60/40 configuration and don’t fold completely flat but are at least easy to operate.
How economical is it to run?
We can’t give a definitive figure on how much fuel the 408 consumes until we subject it to our full lab tests. Peugeot says that the 225hp PHEV we drove has a claimed fuel economy of 211.3-269.5mpg.
The less powerful 180 PHEV is claimed to be the most economical choice of the range, with claimed figures of 214.7-270.3mpg. As with all PHEVs, these figures are only feasible if you do most of your driving on battery power.
Both PHEVs have 12.4kW batteries that, according to Peugeot, are good for up to 40 miles of EV driving and can be charged in under 3.5 hours using the standard 3.7kW charging system at a 7.4kW wallbox. Charging from a three-pin socket should take 5.5 hours.
The 1.2 litre petrol has an official claimed average fuel economy figure of 41-48.1mpg.
How safe is the Peugeot 408?
Euro NCAP gave a four-star safety rating to the Peugeot 408 when crash tested in 2022, which is reasonable for a new car. Their chief concern was that its safety tests found the car’s autonomous emergency braking system (AEB) was slow to respond when detecting slow moving and stationary vehicles.
Plenty of safety kit, such as traffic sign recognition and lane assistance systems, is standard through the 408 range. Blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert systems are standard on Allure Premium, GT and First Edition versions of the 408.
Peugeot 408: Which? first drive verdict
Price:Pros: Cons:
The 408 PHEV covers a lot of bases effectively and holds plenty of appeal - as long as you don’t regularly carry tall passengers in the rear. The fuel economy benefits of the PHEV model will also depend on your specific driving habits – the lower powered petrol version may suit your needs better.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/peugeot-408-2023-first-drive-review-aMg2g9F7vRVW