New Peugeot E-408 2025 review: Peugeot's best EV yet

VERDICT 

The Peugeot 408 has always been an appealing, if slightly left-field choice, with an internal-combustion powertrain, but it’s at its best with a new electric motor. The E-408 is the smoothest, most refined and most responsive model in the range, and thanks to the new Government EV grant it costs the same as the petrol hybrid and is thousands of pounds less than the plug-in hybrid. What’s most significant here is that this same electric powertrain will find its way into many more mainstream Stellantis models, and it improves on the old set-up in every single way.

Peugeot has bolstered its ever-growing electric line-up with this: the new Peugeot E-408. I was a fan of the 408 when I drove it for the first time in petrol form; its roomy, space-age cabin and easy-going nature made me think of it as a more glamorous – but also pricier – Skoda Superb. So I’m keen to see how the switch to the fully electric model works out. 

Conveniently, the 408 was already making use of a platform that could accommodate an electric powertrain – it’s the same EMP2 architecture utilised by the smaller E-308, among others. Last week, Auto Express announced that the E-308 had been given a nip and tuck that has boosted its tech specs. While that car hasn’t quite hit the road just yet, the powertrain it uses is already here in the E-408. 

In other words, this is a significant step for the wider Stellantis group. If it shows promise in the E-408, it’s good news for a range of other cars – as well as the E-308. It’s reasonable for me to stick my neck out and suggest it won’t be long before the Vauxhall Astra Electric gets it, too. So while that old set-up never officially found its way into the 408, here I’ll be taking quite a few notes on how the two systems compare.

The powertrain looks promising even on paper. I always felt that the old powertrain, whether in the E-308, the Astra Electric or elsewhere, was hamstrung by underwhelming specs; the 154bhp on offer was behind the competition, but more of an issue than that was the battery. 

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A usable capacity of 50.8kWh gave these cars a real-world range that struggled to top 200 miles - much less when it was cold or, due to the powertrain’s poor high-speed efficiency, on a motorway. I’d have been able to accept if there was either strong performance or a decent range, but the old set-up had neither.

Fortunately, the E-408 has dodged the previous system completely. There’s still a single motor driving the front wheels, but this now produces 207bhp and 340Nm of torque - improvements of 53bhp and a significant 70Nm. As is the case with most Stellantis EVs, total output changes based on the drive mode you choose, with the full-fat figures reserved for Sport mode. However, even the Eco setting’s 168bhp and 270Nm are an improvement on the very best the group's old powertrain could muster.

Better still, Peugeot has upgraded the battery. The E-408 gets a usable capacity of 58.2kWh – 7.4kWh more than before – enough, says Peugeot, for a WLTP range of 280 miles. Charging has also improved slightly. While a peak speed of 120kW isn’t class-leading, it’s 20kW faster than the previous best that these smaller electric Peugeots could manage.

Combine all of these alterations together, and the E-408 has become one of the most convincing EVs that the brand has yet offered. It doesn’t take long to appreciate that the changes are more than just about the numbers, too. Move off from a standstill, and the throttle feels more positive than the slightly soft, almost lethargic set-up of the 154bhp motor. Unusually for me, I preferred to switch to Sport mode – not simply because it’s the one that offers the most power, but because it makes the acceleration responsive and lively without being jumpy and hyperactive, as is often the case with Sport modes.

Using all of that power, the E-408 isn’t catapulted up the road in the way which, say, a Tesla Model 3 might. Officially, it’ll crack the 0-62mph sprint in 7.9 seconds, but it’s that healthy peak torque figure that means that plenty of shove is available whenever you choose to floor the throttle pedal. Overall, the level of performance feels really well judged for a mid-size family hatchback which has a little pretence of poshness to it. 

The same applies to the rest of the drive, too. The E-408’s ride has a firmness to it, but it’s much more compliant than the set-up in the E-3008. It doesn’t crash and thump into larger bumps and isolates the noise of the road well from the cabin, too. The steering isn’t exactly full of feedback, but it feels nicely weighted; it’s linked to a chassis which isn’t outstanding, but is composed, positive and resists body roll through turns.

Unlike earlier Stellantis EV set-ups, the E-408 benefits from paddles behind the steering wheel to adjust the level of motor regen on the fly. This is a very good thing in my book; it allows the driver to easily switch between levels far more easily than before. There are three modes, ranging from mild regen to a setting which isn’t quite strong enough for one-pedal driving.

While the way the E-408 drives is mostly positive, some gripes from the rest of the 408 package carry over. It needs a rear-window wiper, for example, and if you do drive in the rain, then chances are that the reversing camera will get covered in grime, which makes it hard to see where you’re going the next time you want to reverse park.

The cabin is a lovely place to sit; fit and finish are above pretty much anything else for the price. However, we’d gladly trade the secondary touchscreen shortcut panel for a bank of physical climate controls. Then there’s the steering wheel; Peugeot's i-Cockpit set-up places a small steering wheel below the digital driver’s display. Well, that’s the theory, anyway. In my driving position, the top of the wheel rim covers a big chunk of that display. A normal-sized steering wheel could enable the digital dials to sit lower, not only making them legible, but also lowering the dashboard line for a better view ahead. 

Move into the back, and knee room is excellent – a big improvement on the 308 – although headroom is still tight. The seats themselves are very comfortable, though. There’s a generous 471-litre boot, but that figure drops to 454 litres when the subwoofer from the Focal hi-fi is fitted. 

That sound system comes on the top-spec GT trim we’re driving here. It also gets 19-inch alloy wheels, matrix-LED headlights, a powered tailgate, a heated steering wheel, laminated side windows, parking sensors all round and plenty more. Even the base Allure trim doesn’t scrimp on kit; it still rolls on 19-inch wheels (in a different design) and gets rear parking sensors, a 180-degree reversing camera, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, cabin pre-conditioning and smart charging via a smartphone app, plus traffic-sign recognition. This test car also featured Nappa leather upholstery – a £1,400 option.

My time settling into those soft seats was fairly limited, so getting a representative efficiency figure was tricky. Over a 60-mile run that took in a mix of urban, country and motorway roads, we used 27 per cent of the battery charge - that translates into a real world range of 222 miles. What seems to remain the Achilles heel of Stellantis EVs is motorway efficiency; when avoiding higher speeds, efficiency was roughly 4.5 miles/kWh, which bumps that up to 262 miles. 

Peugeot recently announced that the E-408 would be eligible for the Government’s electric vehicle grant, knocking £1,500 off the asking price. That brings the cost of the £39,055 GT tested here to £37,555, with the Allure starting from £35,560. Thanks to the grant, the 408 is now within a couple of hundred quid of being cheaper than the entry-level hybrid petrol in Allure trim. In GT spec, it’s actually the cheapest powertrain available, undercutting the hybrid by £835 and the plug-in hybrids by a whopping £7,110. Within its range, it’s an absolute no-brainer; this is the smoothest, slickest, most responsive and best-driving powertrain by some margin. 

Regardless of the powertrain you pick, the full 408 range is available with the Allure Care package, which means that should you take your car to a main dealer for its scheduled servicing (once every two years for the E-408), then the warranty cover will run for eight years.

We’ve yet to have prices confirmed for the E-308, but like-for-like, the outgoing hybrid model costs £2,435 less than the same powertrain in the 408. Even if that roughly carries over to the new version, then once the Government grant is included, it could start from around £33,000. Should things play out that way, it’d make the E-308 an awful lot of stylish, posh feeling electric family car for the cash.

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