There was a time when the four- and five-door sedan offered the ideal combination of space and practicality, and elegance and image, that a driver needed. But since then things have changed a lot. Today, SUVs dominate the market. But they have also led to the emergence passenger cars that, with the appearance and features of an SUV, maintain proportions that are more typical of a sedan or a compact.
And that is the case at hand. Peugeot begins the launch of its own anti-SUV, a Peugeot 408 that has the proportions of a large sedan, which is close to 4.7 meters in length, in a package with features that undoubtedly resemble those we usually find in an SUV. The strategy followed by Peugeot bears certain parallels, for obvious reasons, with that followed by his compatriot and sister Citroën, from the Stellantis Group, and his Citroën C5 X.
However, what is the price of the Peugeot 408? Is it an alternative to the CUPRA Formentor?
The success of SUVs has also led to the arrival of passenger cars with the appearance of SUVs and proportions typical of traditional segments, such as the three-body sedan
Anti-SUV lurking in the CUPRA Formentor
The list price of the new Peugeot 408 is €33,350, a starting price with which we can already access a 408 equipped with the 130 hp PureTech engine, with automatic gearbox, and Allure finish. The Peugeot 408 does not have versions with manual transmission and, in addition to the 130 hp gasoline engine, it will have two hybrid and plug-in versions, with 180 hp (from €41,350) or 225 hp (from €46,900). € with GT finish).
The CUPRA Formentor is shorter, and although its proportions are more similar to those of an SUV, due to its short stature and its set-up, with its own passenger car driving, it has become one of the greatest exponents of a wave of vehicles that, without being an SUV itself, have its appearance.
Today, a CUPRA Formentor is available with a 150 hp TSI petrol engine for €32,700 (manual gearbox) and €35,150 (DSG automatic gearbox). If we point to the CUPRA Formentor plug-in hybrid, the 1.4 e-HYBRID with 204 hp, its price amounts to €40,500.
The Peugeot 408 is at prices similar to those of the CUPRA Formentor and halfway between the Peugeot 308 SW and the Peugeot 3008
How is it positioned in the Peugeot range?
If it is interesting to place this Peugeot 408 against the CUPRA alternative, it is even more so analyze how it fits within the Peugeot rangeplacing itself between the Peugeot 308 SW and the Peugeot 3008.
The Peugeot 308 SW PureTech with 130 hp, automatic transmission, and Allure finish, starts at €31,550 (-€1,800). The Peugeot 3008 PureTech 130, with automatic gearbox and Allure PACK finish, does the same at €38,320 (+€4,970).
If we compare the plug-in hybrid versions, the Peugeot 308 SW Plug-In Hybrid 180 with Allure finish starts at €39,080 (-€2,270). The 225 hp Peugeot 3008 Plug-In Hybrid, meanwhile, starts at €48,700 with GT finish, which is €1,800 more than the price of the 225 hp Peugeot 408 Plug-In Hybrid with GT finish.
