Peugeot E-408

FIRST DRIVE Family hatch is at its best with new, more powerful electric powertrain, which is good news for future Stellantis cars

- By Alex Ingram [e-mail]

PEUGEOT has just bolstered its ever-growing electric lineup with this: the new E-408. We were fans of the 408 when we drove it for the first time in petrol form; its roomy, space-age cabin and easygoing nature made us think of it as a more glamorous - but also pricier - Skoda Superb. So we're keen to see how the switch to electric power works out.

Conveniently, the 408 was already making use of a platform that could accommodate an EV powertrain - it's the same EMP2 architecture utilised by the smaller E-308, among others. Last week, Peugeot 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 the smaller model 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 to suggest it won't be long before the Vauxhall Astra Electric gets it, too. So while that old setup never officially found its way into the 408, here we'll be taking quite a few notes on how the two systems compare.

The powertrain looks promising even on paper. We 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 lagged behind the competition. However, more of an issue than that was the battery that was fitted to those models.