Are you looking for a spacious, comfortable family car but prefer something other than ubiquitous SUVs? Do you want a vehicle that stands out from the crowd with its sleek and distinctive design? Do you also care about performance and efficiency, especially if you are a company car user? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should look at the new Peugeot 408 Hybrid.
The Peugeot 408 Hybrid is a new addition to Peugeot's lineup, and it aims to offer a different option for buyers who want a large family car. It is not a conventional hatchback, nor an estate, nor a coupe, nor an SUV. It is a hybrid of all these things, and Peugeot calls it a fastback. It combines the practicality of an estate with a generous boot space of 548 liters, which can be expanded to 1,634 liters by folding the rear seats. It also has a style of a coupe, with a low roofline, frameless doors, LED headlights and taillights, and a large grille with the Peugeot lion emblem. And it has the high driving position of an SUV, which gives the driver a good view of the road and a sense of confidence.
The Peugeot 408 Hybrid is powered by a 1.6-liter petrol engine and an electric motor that produce a combined output of 178bhp. It can travel up to 40 miles on electric power alone, thanks to a 12.4kWh battery that can be recharged in less than two hours using a 7kW wall box. This makes it eligible for low company car tax rates and exemption from congestion charges in some cities. It also has an official fuel economy of 269.5mpg and CO2 emissions of 24g/km, which are impressive figures for such a large car.
The Peugeot 408 Hybrid joins the existing Peugeot 408 Hybrid 225, which has a more powerful 222bhp system, and the PureTech 130, which is a conventional petrol engine with 129bhp. All models come with an eight-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. The hybrid versions also have four driving modes: Electric, Hybrid, Sport, and Comfort.