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PEUGEOT 408
PEUGEOT 408
THE ALLIANCE OF DEMANDING STANDARDS AND
ELEGANCE TO CONQUER THE CHINESE MARKET
Launched as a world premier in China and destined The 408 forms an integral part of Peugeot’s
for an international career, the new Peugeot 408 has international development strategy based on launching
been designed to conquer. modern vehicles that arouse desire and emotions,
while always being tailored to local requirements.
On a segment that accounts for almost half of
all car sales on the world’s leading market, the 408: WORLDWIDE PREMIER IN CHINA
Peugeot 408 notch-back saloon benefits from top
level and state-of-the-art equipment: The new Peugeot 408 is a latest generation vehicle and is
– a car full of personality, thanks to its combination of being launched for the first time worldwide in China. This
image-enhancing, balanced and dynamic styling; half-height architecture notch-back saloon car designed
– dimensions and volumes close to those of luxury in France is destined for an international career.
saloons; Accordingly, its name follows the Lion Marque’s
– record amount of space for rear passengers; traditional naming logic.
– driving and on-board comfort in harmony with the
Chinese clientele’s demanding expectations; The figure 4 refers to the size of the car (4.68 m) and
– new automatic gearbox adapted to driving habits; its positioning in the medium-luxury family saloon
– premium quality road holding, the genuine trademark segment. The 0 in the middle signifies that it belongs
of a Peugeot car. to the Peugeot Marque, while the 8 expresses the
vehicle generation.
The Peugeot 408 has been designed and developed in
France to fulfil the expectations of Chinese clients and With this name, the 408 naturally falls into place
to conquer the local market. It will be manufactured at within the current Peugeot range and becomes the
Wuhan and launched in China in spring 2010, before forerunner of the 8 series, Peugeot’s latest generation
being launched in Latin America. vehicles on the Chinese market.
PEUGEOT 408
STYLING
HARMONIOUS, DYNAMIC AND contributing to creating a visually wider effect for the
EXCLUSIVE STYLING car, suggesting a vehicle “glued to the road”.
Two central ribs run around bonnet to extend the
The guiding spirit for Peugeot design stylists can be effect of the Lion’s chromed surround. The highly
summed up in very few words: harmony, elegance and sculptured bonnet lines marked by the design of
dynamism. the headlights flow naturally into the front body
pillars of the wide, forward-sloping windscreen.
For the 408, the overarching desire was to instil it with These flowing lines continue right to the rear of car,
balanced proportions and simple, flowing volumes as before ending in a spoiler subtly integrated into the
foundations on which the designers have succeeded boot space.
in sculpting subtly sleek, pure and sensual lines. This
priority also guided the project’s technical choices: Special attention has been paid to modelling the
its dimensions, its wheelbase, its wide axle track, its sides of the 408. The carved wheel arches, the plunging
generous wheel sizes… body line between the tip of the rear light clusters
to the front wing, the side windows and the sunken
The front of the 408 bears the recognisable traits of rear window glass surface treatment and the junction
the Lion Marque. Accordingly, the particularly feline line between the rear quarter panel and the boot…
headlights stretch harmoniously across the bonnet. all contribute to the image of a dynamic, modern and
The headlight units each comprise four technically robust vehicle.
advanced and image-enhancing light shafts to serve
as bright and piercing eyes. At the rear, the flowing lines and the wraparound rear
The 408’s asserted personality is also evident in bumper visually highlight the vehicle’s generous “hind
its radiator grille, equipped with thin chrome strips, quarters” and contribute to the effect of it being “glued”
and in the shape of its fog lights, with the ensemble it to the tarmac.
The rear light design blends harmoniously with the INTERIOR STYLING: FLOWING LINES
car’s boot. The ruby red coloured lights are trimmed ENHANCED BY NOBLE MATERIALS
with a clear white strip that hints at a lion’s claw
The interior styling of the 408 highlights and
within the cluster. At night, they take on the form of
makes maximum use of the space offered by the
three diagonal strips, as a tribute to the styling details
half-height architecture, while the design and top-
of some of the Marque’s historic models (307 CC, 504
of-the-range materials used create an incontestable
Coupé and Cabriolet).
perception of quality.
Finally, every detail, every part visible on the vehicle
By way of example, the dashboard design is
has been styled to contribute to its elegance and
uncluttered, elegant and flowing, with a particularly
perceived quality. Accordingly, the colour of the wide field of vision due to the steeply sloping
protective trim, set in chrome, matches the body windscreen that is almost symmetrical with the
colour, with the ensemble further enhancing the front body pillars.
car’s luxury appearance. In the same manner, the
absence of any visible external aerial, as it is built The interior designers became genuinely obsessed
into the rear window, contributes to this saloon’s with paying special attention to interior trim and
pure body lines. onboard wellbeing, and this can be seen in the smallest
of styling details:
All in all, the 408 displays flowing and original – the instrument and controls cluster is very compact,
styling that combines dynamism with presence to leave generous surfaces free for noble materials, in
and elegance with modernity. Moreover, its promises terms of both feel and appearance (the upper portion
hitherto unavailable experiences in terms of the quality of this dashboard is covered in soft-touch “slush”
of life onboard and driving pleasure. material);
CLEVERLY DESIGNED
AERODYNAMICS
The styling and dimensions of this new Peugeot
immediately point to particularly efficient
aerodynamics. In fact, its exceptional Cx coefficient
of 0.30 matches the best of its competitors’ four
door saloons. Its performance in terms of this air
penetration index and the excellent resulting SCx
(0.698 m²) are proof of the efforts invested in
fine-tuning the vehicle’s body shape in the wind
tunnel.
LIFE ON BOARD THE 408, The elegant, state-of-the-art, soft-touch dashboard offers
SPACE AND WELLBEING everything required for driving and for comfort, while
avoiding any impression of invading the occupant space.
The 408’s half-height architecture offering interior Along the interior sides, the welcoming ergonomic and
freedom, space and luminosity, provides its occupants refined door panels invite occupants to rest their elbows.
with a comfortable quality of life onboard. The modern-design front seats provide comfort and
support, without monopolising the interior space.
GET IN AND SEE The raised rear seats contribute to an “amphitheatre
effect”, while enhancing forward visual comfort and
With glass surface area of 3.95 m2, unrivalled in improving space at knee level.
its segment, the 408 offers its occupants a much-
appreciated light and airy environment that become At ease in a luminous and vast car, passengers
genuinely exceptional with the opening sunroof which benefit from space, for which the dimensions speak
increases the total glass surface area to 4.32 m2. for themselves:
– in the front, shoulder width of 1,464 mm and roof
PASSENGER COMPARTMENT LAYOUT height of 924 mm, record values in this category;
WITH THE EMPHASIS ON SPACE AND – in the rear, shoulder width of 1,470 mm and roof height
COMFORT, SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR of 869 mm, values among the best in the category;
THE CHINESE CLIENTELE – record knee space, up to 159 mm, thanks to the
generous wheelbase.
Designed for the occupants…
The 408’s architecture enables the passenger … and their luggage
compartment to be laid out solely with passengers’ The square shape and clever layout of the boot
wellbeing in mind, with made-to-measure “furniture”. area ensures easy and practical use of the vast
load space offered by the 408: 526 litres of water These storage spaces include:
(or 481 dm3 VDA). – the glove box with a storage capacity of 10 litres
Side bins are provided to store and even tie down that can accommodate a 1.5 litre water bottle. Its
usually-transported items, such as cans, cleaning cover, with opening/closing assistance, has its own
materials or even a fire extinguisher, while the long special storage spaces. Moreover, the glove box is air
loads flap available on versions trimmed in leather conditioned on certain vehicle versions;
upholstery, makes its easier to carry long items. – at the tail end of the console, after the flat recessed
area for placing a teapot, the central armrest cover
Finally, to extend this load-carrying space into the offers access to a 2.12 litres storage space that can
passenger compartment, the rears seats can be folded hold six CD and various items;
in a 40/60 split (backrest and seat squabs) to create – at the junction between the instrument and control
extra load-carrying space. façade and the console there is an area covered
with a sound-deadening mat to place keys and a
Access to the generous boot is very easy, thanks to the wide telephone;
rear opening made possible by the use of two pantographs. – the front and rear door storage bins offer a total
The driver can even control the opening of the boot volume of almost 15 litres for keeping maps, guides
remotely by means of the remote control or a special and various items ready to hand. The front door
push button on the dashboard. storage bins can accommodate an upright 1.5 litre
water bottle and the rear storage bins have enough
Host of storage spaces space for a 50 cl bottle;
As evidence to the care taken over occupants’ onboard – an ashtray with a flip-up cover for use by the rear
life, a host of cleverly-designed storage areas in the passengers is located at the rear end of the console ;
vehicle provide space for storing a total volume of – an ISO format space is available to accommodate
almost 33 litres. miscellaneous items.
Other storage facilities are offered on leather-trimmed In the rear, the side seats have been specially modelled
versions: to ensure that two passengers can travel in optimal
– a drawer under the front passenger seat; comfort.
– a rear centre armrest, as an extension to the long
item flap, covers a closed storage space, two cup FOCUS OF EVERY
holders and two pen recesses. It is situated at ATTENTION TO DETAIL
the same level as the door armrests to provide
A plethora of “attentions to detail” dedicated to 408
rear passengers with a pleasant and comfortable
user comfort have been developed and incorporated in
seating position.
certain versions.
Welcoming seats…
To see better
As elements of conviviality symbolising comfort, the
As soon as the remote unlocking is activated, at
utmost care has been taken in designing the seats of
the same time, welcome lighting that can be set up
the 408. according to user preferences, turns on the passenger
Both the fabric and leather versions, as well as being compartment lighting and the dipped headlights to
welcoming, offer comfort and support. light the way to the car. As soon as the door opens, the
Despite being located particularly low in the vehicle to door sill lights (under the door rebate) and the foot-well
offer a genuinely typical saloon car driving position, the lights are actuated. When the remote control is used to
408’s driver’s seat incorporates 50 m of active height lock the vehicle, the dipped headlights remain on for a
adjustment (+ 13 mm and - 37 mm in relation to its few seconds (variable user preference time lag).
nominal height) to set just the right driving height. This
adjustment is also available for passengers with the Ambient lighting (activated/deactivated via the parameter
leather upholstery option. setting menu) comprises discreet foot-well lighting
to enable occupants to find fallen objects. For their has been taken into consideration at all design levels
part, the rear passengers have an independently- and has resulted in:
operated overhead light cluster with two map – a quest for body rigidity and the elimination of noise
reading lights. due to shapes, as well as studies into the process
of bodywork-chassis attachment to hunt down and
To breathe better
eradicate any source of noise;
The very carefully designed heating, cooling and
– recourse to dual seals, scuttle cross-member seals,
ventilation system on the 408 contributes to onboard
almost 4 mm thick side window glass, sound-proofed
comfort via exceptional air distribution, notably via five
front air vents, heating grilles under the dashboard and laminated windscreen;
two air vents with direction-adjustable fins for the rear – unrelenting work to seek out and eradicate trim
passengers. noises;
– additions serving to absorb potential noise, such as
In addition, the 408 benefits from a new, even stiffening pads in certain areas and sound-absorbing
more powerful, duel level climate control system: padding in others.
manual and automatic dual zone air conditioning. High quality audio and telematics offer
The latter can also operate in single zone mode,
These acoustic surroundings are conducive to listening
with a single control, when the driver is alone onboard.
to the various audio options offered on the 408.
A filter protects the passenger compartment from
Considerable care has been taken over reception and
dust and pollen. In addition, with the dual zone
broadcasting quality. The audio equipment includes
climate control system, active charcoal is used to
six loudspeakers attached to the actual door panel
limit fuel odours.
structure to achieve optimal sound quality.
Noise level to ensure a comfortable atmosphere RD4 audio system: with an MP3 file reading capability,
As a basic requirement for comfort, noise treatment it is standard fitment on the 408. On certain versions,
– new functions such as one-touch indicators that just This function is linked to vehicle speed between 5 km/h
flash three times – useful on the motorway – or even and 160 km/h to adapt to different driving conditions.
the windscreen washer fluid low level warning light; The headlights can pivot at a speed of 15° per second
– boot and fuel tank flap opening controlled from the over a maximum angle of 22° (15° towards the exterior
passenger compartment. and 7° towards the interior). This function procures
the pleasant feeling that the system anticipates
Moreover, depending on the version, the driver can also the next bend to make night driving safer and more
benefit from: comfortable;
– a variable speed governor coupled with the cruise – front/rear parking assistance. A valuable aid for
control; parking manoeuvres and personal safety, the
– Bi-xenon directional complex surface headlights. parking assistance function broadcasts a series
To improve night-time driving conditions, these of sounds at varying speeds to indicate the degree
headlights provide a blue-white light similar to of proximity, via the loudspeaker closest to the
daylight and are three times more powerful than obstacle.
standard bulbs. The system is activated automatically when reverse
To comply with regulations, these xenon headlights are gear is engaged and at speeds under 10 km/h for front
fitted with a dynamic beam height adjustment system parking assistance, once the vehicle has been at rest
and headlight washers. for longer than three seconds.
Their elliptical module comprises a dynamic dimming If the vehicle is equipped with the multi-function colour
device to switch to and from dipped and main beam screen, different colour strips indicate the distance
functions. An additional complex surface headlight remaining.
adds even more light to improve distance vision. The rear parking assistance function is standard
On dipped beam, the headlights are equipped with a equipment on the 408, while the front parking
directional function to improve vision on winding roads. assistance function is available as an option;
VERY HIGH LEVEL OF PRIMARY AND The controlled deformation of this structure and the
SECONDARY SAFETY occupant protection equipment (airbags, seatbelts and
seats) enables the 408 to aim for the five-star rating in
As with every new vehicle developed by the Marque, the adult occupant vehicle protection test.
safety plays an overarching role in the project.
Accordingly, consideration of safety aspects started at
ROBUST STRUCTURE
the very outset of the design phase. The 408 benefits
from the Group’s entire experience in this area and The 408 has been structurally designed to dissipate
from the very latest technological advances. This has impact energy in a programmed manner.
resulted in state-of-the-art safety at all levels.
In terms of primary safety that contributes to The car has been designed with a double impact force
avoiding an accident, the vehicle’s excellent structural dissipation channel to provide maximum passenger
rigidity enables the running gear (an historical area compartment protection, and occupant protection
of expertise for Peugeot) and the electronic driving and to facilitate reparability. The latter has a direct
assistance systems to achieve benchmark handling influence on car insurance costs for the user.
behaviour in its category.
In terms of secondary safety that limits the Frontal impacts
consequences of an accident, the body structure has The principle of the single-piece steel structure has
been considerably over-sized to withstand the most been re-employed in its main features. However, the
severe impacts, such as CNCAP crash tests. front section has been rethought with:
Thick steel panels have been used to increase the – the design of an upper channel formed of
rigidity of certain strategic parts, such as body panels reinforcements situated above the front wheel arches,
(panels thickness varying between 0.67 mm and as an extension to the windscreen pillars, and door frieze
0.72 mm) or structure reinforcements (up to 3.2 mm thick). stiffeners which serves to improve impact absorption;
– increased rigidity of the scuttle side cross-member has led to the considerable use of materials lighter
and the passenger foot-well. than ordinary steel, such as VHEL panels (Very High
Elastic Limit sheet steel).
As a result, in the event of a head-on impact, 80% of In the same spirit, the bonnet and door reinforcements
impact energy is dissipated via the central channel (front are made of aluminium, while the wings and numerous
bumper, wings, side members, etc.), and 15% via the engine other bodywork elements are made of composite
cradle. The upper channel absorbs the remaining 5%. materials.
stiffeners and the protection system is completed by • 2 adaptive front airbags with a capacity of 60 litres
the inclusion of impact-absorbing padding. for the driver and 90 litres for the passenger,
In the same vein, the bodywork sides are formed • 2 side airbags with a capacity of 10 litres to protect
entirely of cavities and the exterior side members are the thorax of front seat passengers,
attached to numerous cross-braces that contribute to • 2 curtain airbags with a capacity of 23 litres to
vehicle rigidity. protect the heads of both front and rear passengers;
Rear impacts – the 408 is equipped with 5 three-point safety
A cross-member is incorporated in the rear section belts:
of the vehicle to absorb impacts, reduce the • an audible and visual warning system is fitted as
consequences on the vehicle body and ensure a good standard to remind the driver to buckle up. As an
level of reparability. The rear styling takes account option, this safety system can be extended to cover
of the structural element in the design of the boot, the front passenger (Safety Pack),
its rear lights and its generous bumper. • in the front seats, the belts are equipped with
pyrotechnic tensioners and low-rated force limiters,
HIGH PERFORMANCE RESTRAINTS • in the rear seats, the side seatbelts are equipped
with force limiters;
To complement the vehicle’s structural performance
in terms of impact resistance, a range of “personal” – front and rear headrests.
protection elements have been developed to restrain
and protect the body: Special care has been given to child safety. In fact, the
408 has been designed with two Isofix locations to
– 6 airbags are available, depending on the version, to accommodate a dedicated child seat on both the rear
protect passengers: side seats.
bends. Along the same lines, the change in the front The standard or optional ESP system, depending on
axle angle to - 0.2° negative camber, contributes to the version, also adds the functions of anti-slip
the car’s precise and quick handling. regulation (ASR) and stability control (CDS). The system
can be disconnected to maintain power in delicate
PRECISE STEERING situations and automatically reactivates when the
speed exceeds 50 km/h.
The 408’s precise rack and pinion type steering
provides good driver feedback. Its variable steering
power assistance system is controlled by a variable
output pump.
EFFICIENT BRAKING
At the front, braking is provided by large 283 mm
diameter, 26 mm thick ventilated discs. Piston
diameter on the front brake callipers has been increased
to 54 mm to provide a good level of “bite”, control
and endurance. The rear is equipped with two
249x9 mm discs.
As standard equipment, the 408 is fitted with an ABS
system, electronic brake force distribution (EBDF) and
emergency braking assistance (EBA). To complete
this package, the hazard warning lights come on
automatically in the event sharp deceleration.
AMBIANCE AND INTERIOR TRIM Peugeot, in accordance with the Group’s demanding
quality policy, has deployed major resources to
Light ambiance
conduct 1,000,000 km of road testing on the 408.
Elegance and modernity characterise this two-tone
This means that double the amount of initial road
ambiance:
testing has been carried out prior to the vehicle’s
• upper dashboard: Tramontane Dark Grey;
• lower dashboard: Ariès Beige; sales launch. The aim has been to obtain the maximum
• instrument background: Black; amount of feedback likely to improve or correct the
• chrome dashboard trim and Warm Silver paint; slightest detail not complying with the high quality
• Tiaowon Beige warp and weave fabric or Beige Leather; targets set for the 408 at the time of its launch.
• available with the following body colours: Polar White,
Thorium Grey, Obsidian Black, Vapour Grey. January 2010