Peugeot 408 Hybrid Review
This ambitious-looking car is the new plug-in hybrid from Peugeot, the 408 GT. It’s carving out a little niche for itself by blending the benefits of both body styles into one car.
But that means that there are a few direct rivals, the closest being the Citroën C5X and the Cupra Formentor VZE.
Peugeot 408 Pricing
The 408 is only being offered in one grade for the Australian market, and that’s the GT model, which is priced from $67,990 before on-road costs.
That makes it the most expensive compared to its rivals.
Features Peugeot 408
But you might not care because there are some benefits to it being offered in only one grade, and that means that this is quite well specified and has a long features list.
Some of the highlights include It’s a heated steering wheel, powered front seats with heat and massage functions, Hello Comfort, and Napa leather, upholstery, wireless Apple CarPlay, and wireless Android Auto.
Peugeot 408 Design
There’s a lot happening with the design of this because of the mashup of styles. The long, slick body gives some sedan vibes, but it still gets tagged as an SUV because of its height.
The rear has the classic coupé pinching, but all of the elements are blended quite well. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I actually quite like it.
The lights on this are a little bit different from other Peugeots, but you still see remnants of the original claw design in the tail lights if you look closely.
I’m really loving the long vertical LEDs at the front because they look like the fangs of a snaling cat, and that just gives the design an overall edge.
Peugeot 408 Interior
The cabin is beautiful, and it looks really sophisticated with the long and sleek dashboard, high-end tech screens, Napa leather upholstery, and the mix of synthetic leather trims.
The front feels very roomy, I love the massage function on the seats, it’s really nice on a long journey.
The door seal lip does sit a little bit high, so sometimes it can feel a bit clumsy getting in and out of this car, but overall, row is very comfortable.
Individual storage is pretty good for the class up front. I like the dual opening middle console and that you’ve got lots of little nooks in the center console as well.
USB & Touch Screen
The charging options are good with each row getting two USB-C ports. The front also gets a 12-volt socket and the boot also gets a 12-volt socket.
The 10-inch touch screen multimedia system looks really good, and I like how you can customize the buttons to the features that you actually use most often.
It’s quite clever, but the system itself, I found to be quite unresponsive and laggy.
You’d touch something, especially Actually, the seat functions, you’d touch something and just wouldn’t respond, which got annoying while I was on the go.
I do like, though, that it has built-in satnav and that wireless Apple CarPlay was easy to connect to. in the back seat and it’s very comfortable, and I have plenty of room.
I do think, though, that the amenities don’t reflect the price tag of this car just because there’s no real luxury items back here.
But you do get directional air vents, those USB-C ports, as well as mat pockets and drink bottle holders in the door.
You miss out, though, on full-down armrest and cup holders.
For any families out there, there are ISOFIXI child seat amounts on the outboard seats plus three top tethers, but two seats are definitely going to fit best.
Boot Space In Peugeot 408
The boots are really good size at 471 liters. It’s a mostly level loading space with just a little lip, so it’s easy to slide things in and out, which is great.
You get a tire puncture repair kit and a power tailgate in this model.
Engine Specs
The 408 GT has a 1.6 liter turbo petrol engine and an 81 kilowatt electric motor, which produce a combined power output of 165 kilowatts and 360 newton-metres of torque.
More than an adequate amount of power for open road driving, and you can do a zero to 100 km sprint time in 8 seconds.
The switch between the electric and petrol components isn’t always seamless, but overall, it’s pretty smooth.
Steering is responsive, and this car is pretty easy to maneuver in close quarters.
But the lane keeping aid does very severe corrections, which can be a bit of a fright when the wheel just suddenly jerk out of your hands.
So do keep your wits about you when you’re on the open road.
Peugeot 408 Road Experience
Ride comfort is all right for a longer journey, but you do feel the bumps when you hit them, and you do get some vibration through the steering wheel and seats, depending on the road surface you’re on.
I also notice that you get pretty low key road noise no matter what speed you’re going at.
Despite the narrow back window, the visibility in this is actually very good. It’s easy to park as well because it’s not too big and it has a very clear 180 view camera system.
I do think it would have benefited from a 360-degree view camera system just because the top-down view camera feed only shows once you drive over the space.
Most of the time, You park, and then you actually have the full camera feed.
Efficiency
The official combined fuel cycle consumption figure is 1.5 liters per 100 kilometers, but that’s if you were recharging the car every time the range dropped out.
The 408 GT has a Type 2 charging port and a small 12.4 kilowatt hour lithium-ion battery that accepts up to 3.7Kw of power.
You can get up to 60 kilometers of pure electric driving range from that. And on a domestic socket, you can go from zero to 100% in around 6 hours.
That drops to three and a half hours on a seven-kilowatt AC power charger. A little bit slow, but still worth it if you’re going to charge overnight.
Safety Feature In Peugeot 408
The 408 is so new that it doesn’t have an NCAP safety rating yet, but that might not bother you because it does have a long safety features list, and it includes all of the biggies like blind spot monitoring, Rear Cross traffic alert, and AEB.
I also like how the blind spot monitoring is available up to 80 meters, which is great.
The 408 does only have six airbags, which is quite low in my opinion, and misses out on the newer front center airbag and any driver’s knee airbags as well.
Ownership
The 408 comes with a five-year unlimited kilometer warranty, and the battery is covered by an eight-year up to 160,000 kilometer warranty.
Both terms are average for the class. You can pre-purchase either a three, four, or five-year servicing plan, which all work out to be cheaper than the pay-as-you-go option.
On the five-year plan, it costs $2,000 or an average of $400 per service, which is very reasonable for the class.
Surfacing intervals are good at every 12 months or 15,000 kilometers, whichever occurs first.
Final Word
The Peugeot 408 GT Plug-in Hybrid is a little bit expensive but well specified, and sports a killer design that looks fresh.
The tech could be a little bit better, like all plug-ins, you get the best economy if you charge it often, and that’s not always realistic.