Simply filling the gap in Peugeot’s model portfolio between the 3008 and the 508 with another SUV variant would have been the easiest solution. However, Peugeot has chosen the braver route and, with the 408, here is a model as much sedan as SUV.
The Peugeot 408 was expected… Fortunately, Peugeot provided us with photos and concrete information. The French manufacturer has therefore reduced the gap between the 308, the 3008 and the 508 and is launching a 408, available from the start of 2023.
As announced by the French manufacturer, it is a crossover coupé, and therefore neither a sedan nor an SUV. It’s in between, it’s a hatchback (with the rear slightly raised), the whole thing has been raised slightly in an SUV style.
Plug-in hybrid, and later 100% electric
The 408 shares its EMP2 platform with the Peugeot 308 and the Opel Astra. Initially, Peugeot offered the 408 with three engines. All are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The only pure combustion engine is a 1.2-liter three-cylinder developing 95 kW/130 hp. Additionally, there will be two plug-in hybrids.
By combining a gasoline engine and an electric motor, they deliver either 132 kW/180 hp or 165 kW/225 hp and can travel up to 60 kilometers in 100% electric mode with a 12.4 kWh battery. Peugeot also provides no information on the charging system, we know until there is a 3.7 kW charger installed as standard, with an option to go up to 7.4 kW.
An all-electric version is indeed planned, but later in 2023. There is i-Cockpit, with the home interface compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a system with 6 cameras and 9 radars, for assistance to driving. If you are looking for precise technical data, here is the table of characteristics provided by Peugeot.
Peugeot is not giving a price yet, it will be before the market launch in early 2023. For comparison: Citroën sold the 165 kW PHEV of the C5 X for 44,980 euros. Since Peugeot indicates that the 408 should be positioned at the top of the C segment, this price should not be far from reality. For Europe, the 408 will be built in Mulhouse, France, with production in Chengdu for the Chinese market.
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