The Peugeot 408 is a bit like a half-and-half pizza: you get a different flavour on each side when you cannot decide. From some angles it reads as a large, solid saloon; from the rear there is more than a hint of SUV. It is a little of both.
That makes it awkward to classify. It is roomier than the Honda Civic saloon at a similar price, yet the two are unlikely to share the same shopping list. The Skoda Octavia is slightly more practical, though again the match is loose. Coupé-SUV options such as the Renault Arkana and Cupra Formentor feel closer, while the Citroën C5 X — which shares much of its hardware — has a similarly odd silhouette.
The 408’s looks divide opinion. Details such as the integrated rear spoiler and 3D indicators stand out, but the massive lower bumper is less convincing. Base cars wear 17-inch alloys that would look lost in the arches; our test car’s 19-inch wheels work well, with 20-inch rims about as large as you would want.
Up front, the large grille works well with body-coloured inserts, and the trademark claw-shaped headlights and DRLs are elegant. Viewed as a whole, though, the shape is not fully coherent — many sharp angles compete with each other.
Inside is a different story. Peugeot builds strong cabins, and this may be the best yet: a clever dashboard layout and high-quality, upscale materials. It is clearly ahead of what you would find in a Volkswagen, or even some Audis at similar money.
The infotainment system is another highlight. Menus are clean and easy to use, with buttons below the main screen that can be customised for your most-used functions. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. It is still annoying that climate controls live behind a screen button instead of proper knobs and dials.
It is easy to feel comfortable in the AGR-certified seats, but you should try them before you buy. Peugeot’s interesting 3D digital dials are meant to be viewed over the wheel, not through it; in some driving positions the rim hides the top of the display.
Up front there is plenty of space for odds and ends thanks to a large armrest bin, big cupholders and felt-lined door pockets. Rear legroom is generous and headroom should suit most passengers except the very tall. The 408 is fairly narrow, so fitting three adults across the back bench is difficult.
The two plug-in hybrid options offer 180 hp or 225 hp and will appeal to company-car drivers because of lower benefit-in-kind rates. Fuel economy is excellent if you keep them charged and run short trips on electricity, but the non-hybrid 1.2-litre petrol is considerably cheaper to buy. We recorded 4.6 l/100 km in mixed driving with the stronger hybrid, not far from the roughly 5 l/100 km claimed for the petrol car, which makes that version attractive too.
The 408 feels like a comfortable cruiser, but the suspension is firmer than you might expect. In town it copes well with large bumps and potholes, yet broken surfaces send a rumble through the wheels. It is smoother at motorway speeds, though road noise is quite intrusive — a shame.
Standard safety equipment includes post-collision braking, lane-keeping assist and automatic emergency braking. Allure Premium adds the Drive Assist pack: rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control and long-range blind-spot monitoring.
