Photo: Peugeot
The long awaited premium-ish compact sedan from Peugeot has finally been revealed ahead of the Beijing Auto Show. Say hello to the 408, a sedan who's name instantly brings back memories of the 406 and 407.
Right now, it's a China-only model. But don't be surprised when it makes its debut in Europe as well, with the Paris Motor Show being one good place for Peugeot to show it. We've spied the 408 testing in Spain throughout 2013 and 2014.
Its name indicative of a more premium model than the existing 301 sedan, the 408 is being presented as riding on a longer wheelbase than the 308. The EMP2 platform this uses would make it a very light car, which should translate into good economy figures.
Dongfeng Auto will locally assemble the 408 for Chinese customers. Engine choices will be limited to a 1.6-liter turbo with about 167 hp and 1.8-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder for base models. These are the typical engines fitted to most Peugeot, Citroen and DS models and are not relevant for Europe.
It's far more likely that the engines from the 308 will be carried over, engines like the new 1.2 turbo THP, the 1.6 e-HDI diesel and the 1.6 THP turbo on high-spec cars.
The design is surprisingly understated for a French car. The same sort of headlights with LED technology as on the 308 is featured on the front of the car. The grille is small and discrete, though the "Peugeot" logo in the middle might have a glowing feature. Round the back, taillight graphics are strangely lacking the "lion claw"graphics, which might be added to the European model. Though double exhaust pipes have been fitted, they are subtle and fit flush with the clean bumper.
Its name indicative of a more premium model than the existing 301 sedan, the 408 is being presented as riding on a longer wheelbase than the 308. The EMP2 platform this uses would make it a very light car, which should translate into good economy figures.
Dongfeng Auto will locally assemble the 408 for Chinese customers. Engine choices will be limited to a 1.6-liter turbo with about 167 hp and 1.8-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder for base models. These are the typical engines fitted to most Peugeot, Citroen and DS models and are not relevant for Europe.
It's far more likely that the engines from the 308 will be carried over, engines like the new 1.2 turbo THP, the 1.6 e-HDI diesel and the 1.6 THP turbo on high-spec cars.
The design is surprisingly understated for a French car. The same sort of headlights with LED technology as on the 308 is featured on the front of the car. The grille is small and discrete, though the "Peugeot" logo in the middle might have a glowing feature. Round the back, taillight graphics are strangely lacking the "lion claw"graphics, which might be added to the European model. Though double exhaust pipes have been fitted, they are subtle and fit flush with the clean bumper.
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