In the past, it was easy with car models. For Peugeot, there were 208, 308, 408 and 508. Clear divisions where they made roughly similar cars – but in different sizes. But that is not how it should look in the future and now that a new generation 408 is making its entrance, the company has thrown the old convention over.

Because instead of being launched as a hatchback / hatchback such as the 308 – the 408 is a trendy coupe-like crossover, or fastback as the French call it. Completely unique and unique according to the manufacturer itself, in the same line as the Citroën C5 and Renault Arkana if you start from the design.

If you look at the size, the Peugeot ends up in the middle and counts as a C-Class car. However, it has a touch on the same wheelbase as the larger Cittran and the luggage space is also quite large. 471 liters must be accommodated before it is time to fold down the seats.

Familiar interior

Peugeot’s interior concept is recognizable from other cars and involves the special I-cockpit with the small steering wheel and instrumentation with 3D effect. In addition, there is a ten-inch screen for infotainment and a lot of physical buttons for the air conditioning system.

The model is based on an updated version of the EMP platform that has been used for a long time in PSA – ie not the STLA Medium architecture on which the Stellantis Group’s cars from 2024 will be based.

People like to talk about the electrification of the car, however, it initially consists of charging hybrids. Like many others in the former PSA group, it is a driveline that provides 180 or 225 horsepower that applies. In both cases, it is a 1.6-liter petrol engine that is the basis, but with slightly different power outlets. 150 hp in the base version and 180 hp in the stronger one. To this is added an electric motor of 81 kW (110 hp).

The battery capacity of the charging hybrids is then 12.4 kWh, however, Peugeot does not reveal how far it will go. In the Citroën C5 X, which has the same driveline, it should be possible to drive up to 60 km, so in that district the 408s will also be located.

Fully electric will come – but when?

A fully electric version is planned, but exactly when we can see it remains to be seen. To Ny Teknik’s direct question why you do not launch this at once, the answer is a bit evasive.

– There will be an E-408, but we will start with the plug-in hybrids because they are most important in the transition phase. We will have two hybrids and next to them a petrol engine. This is the strategy we have, but by the end of 2024, 100 percent will be hybrids and electric cars, says Jérôme Micheron, product manager at Peugeot.

The new 408 will be launched on the market in early 2023, but what price speculators can expect is not yet clear. However, it will be between 308 and 508. Cars that in a plug-in hybrid suit are between SEK 295,000 and SEK 480,000.