The new PEUGEOT 408 is different. Here PEUGEOT demonstrates the creativity of its teams by offering a new fastback silhouette at the top of the C segment. This new age PEUGEOT offers – this is how the company calls it – allure, as well as engineering excellence focused on efficiency and intelligent electrification. According to Peugeot, it awakens emotions, thanks to the cutting-edge technologies dedicated to driving pleasure and instinctive use.

We saw the car for the first time in the flesh, at a stationary presentation held in our country. It certainly has the looks, presented to us in a dramatic setting offered by elegant ladies on stilts and spectacular fairy-like uniforms.  See my YouTube short using the following link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hZVv01F0OgI

And also read further… Hans Knol ten Bensel

I must admit that the 408 has character, and its angular shapes certainly impress, exuding elegance as well as a bold presence. Peugeot calls it having “allure”.

Its lines are sharp, with remarkable styling details like the inverted cut-out of the rear bumper. We also liked the 20- inch rims feature an interesting geometric design. What I also personally liked was that the tyre rims bulge out over the alloy rims and thus protect them, so you cannot readily damage the beautiful wheels at the first stone kerb you meet, which modern architects now go to utmost lengths to build ever higher, in their foolisch anti-automobile philosophies. 

But even the narrow (Parisian) older parkings with their circular trottoir bordered entrées present no menace any more, which is a blessing…

In good Peugeot tradition it is comfortable and offers room. Remember, back in the mid fifties, the 403 ponton was dubbed with good reason “la Mercedes française” and indeed was built to offer comfort and refinement. With a length of 4.69m, based on a long wheelbase of 2.79m, the new PEUGEOT 408 continues the tradition and offers 188mm of legroom in the rear. The boot is also well sized, with a volume of 536 litres, which can be increased to 1.611 litres once the rear seats are folded down.

Emotion and excellence…

Besides “allure”, Peugeot marketing puts forward two other hallmarks of its products: they should provide driver’s emotion and let you enjoy engineering excellence.

Indeed, the PEUGEOT 408 offers the latest generation of the PEUGEOT i-Cockpit®, instantly recognisable by its compact steering wheel dedicated to driving pleasure and controlled agility.

In the cockpit, the emphasis is on quality and connectivity, and the very latest technologies make the driving and travelling experience more intuitive and rewarding.

Powered by 6 cameras and 9 radars, the driver assistance systems provide peace of mind and safety. They include:

Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go function,

Night Vision, which warns of animals, pedestrians or cyclists ahead before they appear in the high beam,

Long-range blind spot monitoring (75 metres),

Rear Traffic Alert, which warns of a potential hazard when reversing.

Drivetrains: power, smoothness and efficiency…

The range of engines powering the PEUGEOT 408 includes two rechargeable hybrid versions with 180 and 225bhp, and a 130bhp petrol version. All three are paired with an 8-speed EAT8 automatic gearbox. An all-electric version will follow a few months later.

Efficiency was a key concern for the designers of the PEUGEOT 408, since the combination of efforts in terms of aerodynamics, weight reduction (from 1396kg) and low-emission engines means that the vehicle can now boast remarkably low average energy consumptions (under homologation), both for the hybrids as well as for the 130bhp petrol version.

The new PEUGEOT 408 will arrive on the market at the end of 2022. A car with a global ambition, it will be produced at first in Mulhouse, France, for the European market and then, soon afterwards, in the Chengdu factory in China for the local market.

Just have a look at the photos, and more news about this stylish 408 soon…

Hans Knol ten Bensel  

Photographers’ notes: this is the first time we used exclusively a smartphone, actually the flagship Samsung S22. Quite a change for your servant who has been using camera’s for ever, and it was quite a struggle geting used to it. But experience will soon help…