Test drive Peugeot 408
The most Russian of all Peugeot, which is specially prepared for the harsh conditions of our country and is produced here, is presented to the market in an updated form
Grand Mercy, Monsieur Gilles Vidal! When this talented automotive artist became Peugeot's chief designer, the controversial open jaws of the air intakes slammed shut and the styling of the models began to change significantly for the better. So the face with the wide grille of the 408 sedan is a thing of the past - now the model looks more intelligent: beautiful narrow headlights, neat cladding, chrome inserts in niches with fog lights and LED running lights. The attractive mask is designed to hide the age: under it in Russia they will continue to sell 408, which has been produced for five years and will be assembled in Kaluga for some time.
Why is the first generation sedan left on the Russian market? For three years now, China has been producing the "second" 408, built on the new modular EMP2 platform, larger and more comfortable. Not about us. The launch of an expensive novelty with the costs to re-equip the line of the Kaluga plant in a period of a shaky economy and a decline in demand is too serious a risk. Peugeot would be able to keep up sales of the existing car, which had a circulation of just 1413 units last year. Fortunately, the update allows you to look at the model with a fresh look. What is interesting under the mask?
The sedan's key benefits are well known. Firstly, a spacious luggage compartment with a volume of 560 liters. The backrest folds down in parts. It is a pity that it is not horizontal and with the formation of a step, and there is no hatch for long lengths. There is a full-size spare wheel under the raised floor. The boot lid is still unlocked either with a button in the cabin or with a key, and a recess allows it to be pryed off.
The design of the stern has not changed in a single stroke, but on the bumper of the middle configuration Active and the maximum Allure there are round parking sensors, and a standard rear-view camera has also settled above the Allure license plate - it gives an acceptable picture with fixed trajectory prompts (for Active, this is an option for $ 263 ).
The impressive spaciousness in the second row is another strong selling point for the sedan. Even the tall ones sit quite freely. And you can put your feet under the right front seat (the driver's is adjustable in height). I would like to see the world more comfortable: there are air ducts and a folding tray in the back, but there is no center armrest and cup holders, there is no heated pillow, and there is only one USB slot in the cabin - in the front center box. But the back seat is quieter than the front, only the "sixteenth" Michelin tires are shining.
In general, the car is quiet. Soundproofing packages differ depending on the versions, but after the update, the simplest one was abolished, so the base sedans are now quieter. We were provided with the top versions. In the front row, high revs of the engines and whistling in the areas of the side mirrors are heard - not to say that this is critical. Suspension work can also be heard, although recently the manufacturers of springs and shock absorbers were changed just to reduce the noise of the chassis. But on the roads of the Tver region, other chassis are not enough that they would knock with bones - they would generally crumble.
The test route is replete with long stretches of disgusting asphalt - pavers and rollers have not been here since Tsarist times. Deep pits and cracks, crooked influxes ... It seems that now you will learn and remember the exact number of your organs. But the eyes are afraid, and the sedan resiliently and without a single breakdown holds "different-caliber" blows and pokes, without losing trajectory and without shaking your insides, only swinging up and down, but from side to side. You can keep the allowed 90 km / h without any problems.
The Russian preparation of the Peugeot 408 is an indisputable plus: an omnivorous energy-intensive suspension with springs extended by a coil and a thickened stabilizer, a ground clearance of 175 mm, metal crankcase protection and a protective coating on the thresholds, preparation for a “cold” start with a reinforced starter and increased capacity batteries, an expanded tank for washer fluid.
The Active and Allure versions include heated washer nozzles and wiper rest zones, as well as adjustable seat heating (an option for the less expensive $ 105 Access). But why did the headlight washer disappear? There are questions about the assembly of test 408s: the joints of the bodies are uneven in places, the trunk lids are installed skewed. At the same time, the salons are of high quality.
There are few changes in the environment around the driver. Starting with the Active configuration, rain and light sensors appear, the salon mirror receives an auto-dimming function, and next to it we find a button for the ERA-GLONASS system, for which they ask to pay $ 105. Add another $ 158 and get a new SMEG media system with a seven-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink support, but no navigation. On the top version of the Allure, this is standard. A capricious thing: you can connect your smartphone with several attempts, files with the designation in Cyrillic cannot be read, and once the electronics froze for a long time. The dealership accepted our comments and promised to check the firmware.
Nevertheless, a number of claims remained with the 408 even after the restyling. For example, there are still seats with push-out backs and inconvenient adjustment. The odd-numbered Allure white dials are hard to read. The steering wheel controls would be more comfortable than the current Peugeot steering wheel levers. The steering wheel also had to be improved: I would like the rim not to respond so strongly to shocks and vibrations from irregularities, and to reduce the artificial uninformative weight when the steering wheel deviates. And the steering wheel itself would like to be reduced in diameter.
The main news behind the mask is the range of 1,6-liter petrol engines. The most popular variant of the sedan before the upgrade was a 120-horsepower with an old 4-speed automatic transmission, and such a power unit is no longer offered. But the 115-horsepower aspirated VTi EC5 became available not only with a 5-speed manual gearbox, but also with a 6-speed "automatic" EAT6 Aisin, which is already familiar in combination with a 150-horsepower THP EP6 Prince turbo engine. The least demanded 1.6 HDi DV6C turbodiesel (114 hp), which accounts for about 10% of sales, is still paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
We started with a 150-horsepower modification, then switched to the "automatic" 115-horsepower modification. The turbocharged THP is good, and the automatic transmission works seamlessly with the high-torque engine: shifts are infrequent, unobtrusive, smooth. There is no need to resort to sports and manual modes. On the highway, the onboard computer reported for a minimum 7,2 l / 100 km.
A lower power motor gave a result of 6,8 l / 100 km. Why not more modest? After THP, you immediately notice that VTi's recoil is not so energetic, you spin it more often. So the "automatic" is more frequent with the choice of gears. Sports with manual modes already make sense. True, if you do not look back at the turbo version, the sedan with a 115-horsepower engine and automatic transmission looks good and will be optimal for many.
The basic Entry is designed for an attractive starting price tag of $ 12. Marketing trick: Entry outfit like the next Access, but without air conditioning. Access costs from $ 516, and the list of equipment includes ESP, front airbags, an immobilizer, fog lights and headlights off delay, driver's seat height adjustment, one-touch power window keys, on-board computer, audio preparation (surcharge for "music "$ 13), electric and heated side mirrors, c / h, 083-inch steel wheels. Nice set, but no lavish surprises.
The mid-range Active (from $ 13) is complemented by front side airbags, cruise control, the aforementioned heaters and sensors, an audio system with MP742 and Bluetooth, and parking sensors. At the maximum Allure (from $ 3) has dual-zone climate control, SMEG, camera and alloy wheels. Turbodiesel is combined only with the Active package ($ 15), THP - only with Allure ($ 127), and for a new combination of VTi with automatic transmission they are asking for from $ 14.
Odd digitization is more suitable for countries with a city limit of 50 km per hour.
Peugeot 408 was bought mainly in the regions, and the company hopes that the money for their sedan will find there at least one and a half thousand customers a year. Although the competition in the segment is heightened to the limit, and such a modestly updated 408 will not be able to come close to the leaders of the Skoda Octavia, Kia Cerato and Volkswagen Jetta. Let's not forget the related recently improved and richer equipped Citroen C4 Sedan with similar engines and price tags - this is the closest competitor. But what if the Peugeot restyling works more efficiently than expected? One famous Hollywood character once said: "Nobody cared about me until I put on the mask."
| Body type | ||
| Sedan | Sedan | Sedan |
| Dimensions (length / width / height), mm | ||
| 4698/1802/1542 | 4698/1802/1542 | 4698/1802/1542 |
| Wheelbase, mm | ||
| 2717 | 2717 | 2717 |
| Curb weight, kg | ||
| 1352 (1388) | 1406 | 1386 |
| engine's type | ||
| Petrol, R4 | Petrol, R4, turbo | Diesel, R4, turbo |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | ||
| 1587 | 1598 | 1560 |
| Power, hp with. at rpm | ||
| 115 at 6050 | 150 at 6000 | 114 at 3600 |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm at rpm | ||
| 150 at 4000 | 240 at 1400 | 270 at 1750 |
| Transmission, drive | ||
| 5-st. INC (6-speed automatic transmission) | 6th st. АКП | 6th st. INC |
| Maximum speed km / h | ||
| 189 (190) | 208 | 188 |
| Acceleration to 100 km / h, from | ||
| 10,9 (12,5) | 8,1 | 11,6 |
| Fuel consumption (horizontal / route / mixture), l | ||
| 9,7/5,8/7,1 (8,8 / 5,6 / 6,7) | 9/5,3/6,7 | 5,7/4,5/4,9 |
| Price from, $. | ||
| 12 516 (13 782) | 15 985 | 14 798 |
