The CUPRA Formentor is one of the most successful compact crossovers of the moment. This SUV is more of a crossover, since its driving position is relatively low and its driving feel is very similar to that of a passenger car – in fact it is postulated as one of the most dynamic alternatives in the segment. However, there are those who may find the CUPRA Formentor “too much an SUV”. For all of them, there is an alternative whose price on offer is only 310 euros higherin addition to having a trunk with more volume and a very personal design.
That car is the Peugeot 408. It is a difficult car to classify. By dimensions, it is halfway between a compact SUV and a sedan, with 4.69 meters in length. It’s slightly taller than a saloon and has generous ground clearance, but it doesn’t have all-wheel drive. Its driving position is relatively low and its five-door body has a very slim design, almost typical of a coupé. The best way to define this Peugeot 408 is perhaps to call it “the saloon that wanted to be an SUV.”
If you value novelty and want a rarely seen car, the Peugeot 408 may interest you.
It is a car with a very striking design, as we have already seen in the test that we have done, and that has just been launched on the market. Its access version is equipped with a 1.2 PureTech gasoline engine, a 130 CV three-cylinder of power that is necessarily associated with an EAT8 automatic gearbox with a torque converter and eight relationships. With this engine it will not be as dynamic or fast a car as the 150 CV CUPRA Formentor 1.5 TSI, but its average consumption of 6.0 l/100 km is lower and its gearbox is not manual.
All in all, it is more than enough mechanics for this car, with correct performance. To achieve the price on offer of 33,350 euros with which the commercialization of the Peugeot 408 begins, we are obliged to choose a allure finish. This finish has the digital i-Cockpit with a double 10-inch screen, dual-zone climate control, speed control with limiter or rear parking camera, as well as automatic emergency braking with lane departure warning and driving aids such as reading traffic signals.
Its interior finishes are excellent and with 536 liters of trunk space, it is a very practical car.
However, it is not as flashy as other Peugeot 408s because it has to settle for 17-inch wheels, basic LED headlights, and a not-so-flashy grille like other versions. In addition, achieving said price implies financing the purchase of the car. We must finance about 28,000 euros, and after paying an entry of 6,670 euros, pay 48 installments of 399.55 euros per month. Being a product of multi-option financing, the last installment is high, just over 17,000 euros. The APR is also high (10.85%) and we cannot do more than 10,000 km/year.
Its most direct rival: a CUPRA Formentor for 33,040 euros
The CUPRA Formentor which more directly rivals the Peugeot 408 1.2 PureTech it costs 310 euros less. Its 1.5 TSI 150 CV engine is more powerful but it is associated with a manual change, if we want an automatic change the purchase amount will amount to 35,520 euros. It has better performance and a more dynamic driving feel, but in practical component it suffers from a 450-liter trunk – less bulky. CUPRA does not detail the final price after financing or economic conditions of the same, which will be treated at the dealer.
Photos of the Peugeot 408
