Official Peugeot 408: crossover with grit and sporty look | Video

After the rumors of 2021, which spoke of a new model of the compact family Peugeot indicating a coupé variant of the 3008 SUV as the most likely solution, the House of the Lion surprised everyone with the 408, unpublished car both in the initials and in the configuration. In fact, it presents itself as an agile 5-door with a physiognomy halfway between the hatchback and the crossover, agile but muscular, which in fact fills the void between 308 and 508, offering a new concept of car so far missing in the Leone range.

The front enhances the typical stylistic features of the House: pixelated mask with digital effect, claw daytime running lights surmounted by Led matrix headlights, curved bonnet in the front, large emblem in the center of the grille and model name immediately above. The sloping roof, the conspicuous bulges at the rear wheel arches and the side window that tapers towards the D-pillar contribute to the character of a car that knows how to get noticed. Precisely to enhance its shapes, the car arrives on the market with two new colors (Ossession blue and Titane gray), which add to a wider palette, with previously seen colors such as Pearl White, Artense rey, Sphera black and Elixir Red.

The 408 is 4.69 meters long, 1.85 wide and 1.48 meters high, and has a generous wheelbase of 2.79 meters, very close to that of the 508 itself, with respect to which, however, it intends to offer greater comfort and versatility thanks to the greater vertical development and ‘height from the ground which is 18.9 cm. It offers a large interior for 5 passengers and a 536-liter trunk which barely drops to 471 on hybrid models.

The passenger compartment is characterized by the presence of the new fully digital i-Cockpit and the sports steering wheel, but also by the expanded infotainment and safety features: from the system Peugeot i-Connect Advanced with 3D Connected Navigation and TomTom services updated “over the air” remotely, that is, transmitting data via the telephone network to voice commands with on-board assistant who responds to the sentence “OK Peugeot” and recognizes the natural voice.

In terms of active safety, the presence of new ADAS advanced level that work thanks to a sensory system consisting of 6 cameras and 9 radars: among these, the Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go function, which maintains the distance from the vehicle in front by stopping and restarting the car automatically in the column driving, and Night Vision, which assists driving at night or in low light conditions by detecting pedestrians, cyclists and animals in front of the vehicle. In addition, the Blind Spot Monitoring, which monitors the movements in the blind corner of the rear view mirrors, is present here in an updated and improved version with a view of 75 meters and accompanied by the Rear Traffic Alert, which detects rear traffic and warns of vehicles in approach also transversely during reversing maneuvers.

The announced range starts with the 130 HP 1.2 Turbo PureTech with standard EAT8 automatic transmission and continues as the 180 and 225 HP Hybrid versions, all strictly front-wheel drive. However, a 100% electric variant will also be presented in the coming months. No Diesel, on the other hand, now excluded from all new models on the market starting from this 2022. Marketing will start early 2023.

[Aggiornato 13/07/2022 con video]