408 WORTH THE WAIT (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Peugeot's fashionable 408 could set a trend. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 40

What might the worldwide sedan of the future be like? In answer, Peugeot offers us this, the 408, part-saloon, part-coupe SUV, part-practical hatch. The brand claims its 'a new breed of car'. It'll certainly need a new breed of buyer.

Backgroundword count: 172

To hatch or to SUV? That is the question - or at least it is if you're looking for compact yet spacious and practical family or business conveyance. There needs to be a third way, a blank space in the market not really filled by compact saloons or coupe-SUVs. But possibly resolved by this car, Peugeot's 408. The 408 is an innovative, style-led Fastback with elements that could conceivably appeal to customers in all the categories just mentioned. Conventionality has characterised previous 4.0-series Peugeots, but this one is anything but. The three (rather than four) digit name designates the company's wish for this car to be seen as distinct from its range of SUVs, but there's plenty of crossover in the chunky aesthetics. Yet at the same time, it's a kind of futuristic take what the family hatch of the future might be like. Under the skin, it's based on (and was designed alongside) a family hatch very much of the present, Peugeot's third generation 308. Lots then, to talk about here.

Driving Experienceword count: 214

Arguably the most conventional part of the 408 lies with what you'll find beneath the bonnet, all of it a duplication of what's on offer in the 308 hatch. You might still marvel at the technology in the Plug-in Hybrid versions, which mate an 81kW electric motor with a 1.6-litre PureTech petrol engine that primarily contributes to total outputs of either 180hp or 225hp. The 12.4kWh battery that powers the motor should deliver about 41 miles of EV range before the engine cuts in. A full-electric e-408 model will be offered at some point, but you'll need to wait a little for that. Humbler 408 variants get the brand's usual three cylinder 1.2-litre three cylinder petrol unit in two forms. There's the base PureTech 130 variant, which like the PHEV uses EAT8 auto transmission. But we'd recommend you look at the only slightly pricier Hybrid 136 e-DSC6 derivative. It's a non-plug-in, but its 48V system (with an electric motor built into the 6-speed auto transmission's casing) runs much of the time in urban traffic on battery power alone. All the engines on offer only drive through the front wheels. Semi-autonomous drive tech is offered via a 'Drive Assist Pack' that allows stop-and-go driving in lane and semi-automatic lane changes with the indicator toggle stalk.

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