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By Jonathan Crouch

Peugeot brings full-EV power to its avant garde 408 family hatch. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 19

In its full-electric E-408 form, Peugeot's aspirational crossover hatch makes for an unusual, slightly compromised but rather appealing confection.

Backgroundword count: 115

From the beginning, Peugeot promised us that there would be a full-EV version of its stylised mid-sized hatch, the 408. To start with, we thought it would share the same rather EV-limited drivetrain as the E-308. Then more recently, we thought it might get the more advanced and larger battery set-up used in the E-3008. In the event, the car was launched here in early 2025 with neither, which was a curious decision on Peugeot's part. Like EV versions of the marque's other models, this electric 408 is remarkably unaffected by the installation of its fossil fuel-free drivetrain. So it's still a mid-sized Peugeot hatch-cum-crossover that'll have the neighbours craning their necks over the fence.

Driving Experienceword count: 407

Set off in an E-408 and this refined full-battery drivetrain feels a good fit for the car, smooth and refined. But it's difficult to avoid thinking about the elephant in the room here. When a manufacturer starts to talk about the amount of miles an average of EV customer drives in a day (28 miles apparently in the C-segment), you know the marketeers have been saddled with a product struggling on EV range. In the case of this E-408, that figure is just 281 miles. It wasn't actually necessary for this car to be hobbled like this. Apparently, the Long Range 98kWh battery offered with the E-3008 would have fitted, but Peugeot presumably didn't want this E-408 to be saddled with that bigger pack's likely downsides of heavier weight and higher cost. So instead, the E-408 has ended up with a 58.2kWh usable-capacity NMC battery pack that we've never seen on a Stellantis Group model before. It is at least slightly bigger than the pack in the brand's comparable E-308 hatch (which in its updated form now has a 55.4kWh usable-capacity battery). Unfortunately though, because this E-408 is nearly 200kgs heavier than an E-308, that extra capacity doesn't translate into any extra range. You do though, get quite a lot more power than is offered in the E-308, the synchronous front motor developing 210hp (56hp more) which with a perky 345Nm of torque translates into a 0-62mph sprint time of 7.6s that's a couple of seconds quicker than that hatch. Top speed though, is limited to just 99mph and you only get that in the feistiest of the three provided drive modes - Sport, which turns the little virtual dials ahead of you a fetching shade of lime green. When we tried the combustion version of this car, we enjoyed its well-weighted steering and eager handling, the effect accentuated by the low-set driving position and the way that quick wrist-flick turns are easy with the tiny little wheel. Well inevitably, a bit of that dynamism has been dulled with the extra weight of the EV powertrain, but this is still one of the better EVs in its class to drive on twisting secondary roads. If you're wondering about brake regen settings, well those are controlled via proper steering wheel paddles, with a choice of three settings. The fiercest of these slows the car noticeably, but not as much as the 'one-pedal'-style setting you'll get with some rivals.

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