Singapore's getting the new Peugeot 408 crossover and it's got Malaysians wanting some French flair as well

Peugeot went for revolution rather than evolution with its all-new 408. Gone was the C-segment sedan we all associated the nomenclature with and in its place was a crossover with fastback styling that’s got everyone doing their best impersonation of a French accent and going “magnifique.”

So gorgeous it is that for the first time ever, the 408 will be sold in Europe. That’s right, previous 408 sedans weren’t actually sold in the old continent.

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If it’s good enough for Europe, it’s definitely good enough for us… or our neighbours at least. The third-generation 408 was previewed at the recently concluded Singapore Motorshow 2023 and that’s left us wondering when it’s going to make it here to Malaysia.

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The variant displayed at Singapore was the 408 1.2 EAT8. Power comes from a 1.2-litre, turbocharged inline-3 engine making 130 PS and 230 Nm of torque. That EAT8 designation means that an 8-speed automatic sends power to the front wheels.

Previously, Peugeot didn’t share performance and consumption figures but we have it now. The sole petrol 408 returns 5.8-litres/100 km. Given the full beans, it can hit 210 kph and will do the century sprint in a leisurely 11.5-seconds.

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Other features include Matrix LED headlights with auto high-beam, Peugeot i-Connect Advance infotainment with wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay. On the safety side, it gets autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop/go, rear cross traffic alert, active lane-keeping assist and long-range blind-spot information system. All the ADAS features function via a suite of 6 cameras and 9 radars.

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The 408 rides on an updated version of the EMP2 platform that you might recognise from the current 308 and 508 all though they aren’t sold here. It’ll be built in Mulhouse, France, following which Chengdu, China, will begin producing it as well.

hen it does make its way here, expect it to be built at the Stellantis plant in Gurun, Kedah. That likely indicates that we’ll be getting the same 1.2-litre variant and not the 2 other plug-in hybrid variants seeing that hybrid assembly isn’t available at the plant yet.

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Amusingly, the new 408 will be sold alongside the outgoing 408 sedan that’s still being sold in China. However, the high-riding 408 will be creatively badged as the 408X to avoid confusion.