The 408 Turbo, One Quick French Sedan (Part 2)

By NYC 9 months ago

Driving both front wheels of the 408 Turbo is the familiar THP turbo-charged Prince engine found under the 308 Turbo’s bonnet. Output figures stand at 163hp@6000rpm for power and 240Nm@1400rpm of torque from this 1598cc plant. Kinetic energy is then transferred to those 17” rubbers via a 6-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic and Sport mode. Read Part one Here!

Shedding speed is done by all-disc brake, assisted by ESP, ABS, ABD, EBA and also Anti-skid Regulation or ASR. Other passive safety feature include dual front airbags, curtain airbags for side occupants, anti-whiplash front headrests, force-limiter fitted seatbelts and 2 rear ISOFIX mounts for the little ones.

As expected, this C-segment family sedan goes as good as it is on paper. Unlike conventional turbo chargers which suffer from turbo-lag, this twin-scroll unit spins plenty of oomph from its lower rev range right until the red line. Power comes quite rapidly though in a gradual manner as the gearbox shifts smoothly instead of dumping all at once. Sure, it does not have the looks or savage as a pumped up Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, but it is still capable of leaving many cars behind when it is really accelerated.

Like Peugeots before it, the 408 Turbo does not disappoint when the straight roads end. Even though the steering can be a tad heavy in city traffic, its weight combined with good chassis dynamics raises assurance under conditions when one would have definitely tapped the brakes. The only bit missing here is a more communicative steering feedback to match.

So, this forced induction French sedan is definitely a driver’s car, and it continues its charms towards its other occupants. Impressively insulated from unwanted surrounding noises, passengers relax in a leather trimmed cabin as they are wafted along to their destination. Of course this Turbo variant leans towards sportiness, thus things can get a bit jarring if the driver forgets about road imperfections.

In a nutshell, its designers have definitely gone the extra mile to distinguish this 4-door saloon from its competition. And if I were to be frank, it has also been quite a while since I last drove a C-segment family sedan without a hunch of feeling like a levelheaded middle-aged family man. In other words those whom really enjoy driving really do an option, all yours for RM125888 OTR, inclusive of insurance from Peugeot.