Say hello to…
…the Peugeot 408 gives the French brand a rival to premium offerings such as the Audi A3 saloon or BMW 2-series. Given the name it’s perhaps unsurprising the 408 is smaller than a 508 and larger than a 308 hatchback. It’s very similar in dimensions to a 308 estate, but the 408 has a hatchback boot.
Peugeot could have added the car to the 308 range, but setting it apart as a 408 is a clever move which will help residual values and positions the car further up the range.
Peugeot offers the 408 in three trim levels with the PHEV version starting in Allure specification:
- Allure
- Allure Premium
- GT
Standard equipment on the Allure includes cruise control with speed limiter, lane keeping assist, traffic sign recognition, LED headlights, 10-inch digital driver’s display, 10-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, 4x USB sockets, 17-inch alloy wheels, dual zone climate control, power-fold door mirrors, rear parking sensors, reversing camera, drive modes and satnav.
Allure Premium adds 19-inch alloys, adaptive cruise control, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot warning, front parking sensors, keyless entry and acoustic front side windows.
GT trim adds lane position assist, heated steering wheel, driver sport pack, powered tailgate, uprated interior materials and uprated headlights.
Is The Peugeot 408 Suitable For My Fleet
As a mid-size plug-in hybrid, the 408 sits squarely in fleet’s heartland. It’s the kind of car that may not fit into a conventional category, but it ticks all the right boxes for a business driver; large boot, low benefit-in-kind taxation (thanks to the 40mile EV range), plenty of room for passengers, great looks and all the tech you’d want.
The PHEV version (there is a conventional petrol version too) has a boot of 454 litres, which is plenty large enough for most drivers, but is 58 litres smaller than the ICE car.
Leasing A Peugeot 408
Pricing is competitive too, which means lease rates are favourable. Intelligent Car Leasing is offering the top specification GT PHEV model for £671 a month on a 3+36 month contract with 10,000 miles a year.
Gensen Reports expects running costs to be good too at £41 a month over the same mileage.
Driving A Peugeot 408
Not only is the Peugeot 408 good for fleets and company car drivers on paper, but it’s been set up well for real-world use too.
The cabin on the top specification GT model is a great place to be. The seats are comfy and supportive, there’s two good-sized digital screens and there’s still a few buttons to make using the controls simple.
Material quality is good in the most frequently touched and viewed areas. However, Peugeot is not a premium brand and that shows itself when you look lower down the cabin where the materials are still good, but not a match for an Audi or BMW.
The 408’s suspension has been set up well. Ride comfort has been prioritised over outright handling which makes the 408 an easy car to live with on both shorter trips on the UK’s potholed local roads or on longer motorway journeys. And while the ride is comfortable, there’s not too much body roll either.
Range under electric power may not hit the claimed 40 mile figure, but it’s usefully longer than many other PHEVs at about 30 miles.
PHEV efficiency figures will always vary hugely with the type of driving. Long journeys where battery power is only a small portion of the distance can be significantly lower than multiple shorter journeys where the car’s recharged regularly. However, over mixed driving we saw a figure of 112mpg which impressed us.
The only detraction from the driving experience is the snazzy-looking, but complex driver’s digital display. The two-layer effect looks great at first, but is overly busy and makes glancing at and then registering your speed and other information more difficult than it needs to be.
FleetandLeasing.com Verdict On The Peugeot 408
A very welcome addition to the Peugeot line-up for fleet and business buyers.
Peugeot 408 PHEV
- Model: 408 GT Hybrid 225
- Power: 225hp
- Torque: 360Nm
- Max speed: 145mph
- 0-62mph: 7.8s
- Official battery range: 40 miles
- Official consumption: 211mpg
- Test consumption: 122mpg
- CO2 emissions: 26g/km
- BIK tax band 2022/23: 8%
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