Owner Review : Great looks, backed by a wonderful drive - My 2013 Peugeot 408 1.6 Turbo​

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Basic information about my car:

2013 Peugeot 408 1.6 Turbo

Reasons why I bought this car(purpose)

My interest in Peugeot cars started when I was about 5 or 6 years old in the late 80's. My uncle had a 305 GTX, followed by a 405 SRi. I really loved the design of both cars. Fast forward to 2011, another Peugeot model caught my attention. The pre-facelift Peugeot 308 T7 (mainly the turbo version). The overall proportions made it one sexy and aggressive looking hatch. Really loved seeing this model on the roads, particularly the white coloured ones.

In 2013, I decided to upgrade from my then Myvi, as my job required me to travel across Malaysia a lot. I had a look at a few C segment models from a few different manufacturers. The Peugeot 308 was also one model that I considered. When I visited the Glenmarie showroom with my wife to view the 308, the 408 on display was what really mesmerized us. And for once, we both agreed on a car.

It was a good looking sedan (though being built from the underpinnings of the 308), and was spacious. The features that came with the car were pretty impressive in 2013, plus the ride was stable and pliant.

My wife and I had wanted the 408 Turbo in brown. Unfortunately, when I was buying, Naza had stopped bringing in the turbo in brown, and that colour was reserved for the 2.0 model only. So we went for the next best colour, Bourrasque Blue, which turned out to look even better than the brown.
Car selection process

● I had a budget of: RM 120,000 to RM 140,000.

● Models that I have considered include: Honda Civic FB 2.0, Kia Forte Koup, Mazda 3 Sedan, VW Jetta

Reasons why I chose this car

The design and proportions of the car are very beautiful. For a sedan that was built from the underpinnings of a hatchback, the 408 is indeed very gorgeous, not awkward unlike some other competitors which have half-baked designs. The build quality of the car is also good. The doors close with a solid thud.

The interior was simple, yet attractive. It has lots of soft touch surfaces. The seats are covered with leather, and places where the arms come into contact (the centre armrest and armrests on the doors) are wrapped in leather too. Parts made out of plastic are also quite sturdy.

In 2013, this car was the most powerful C segment sedan, with 163hp from the 1.6 turbo engine. The second highest then was the Jetta (150hp from the 1.4 twincharged), while the Japanese rivals were averaging around 140hp -150hp from their respective 2.0 engines. The gearbox is an Aisin sourced 6 speeder, which was known to be robust.

As my family members are all tall (I myself am 5 feet 11 inches tall), interior space, especially at the rear is a critical factor when I choose a car. The interior space of the 408 is much bigger then most of its rival C segment sedans (only losing out to the G11 Nissan Sylphy. I know this because I have a G11 Sylphy as well, but that's a story for another day). The rear seat bench is deep, so rear passengers have good thigh support. Ingress and egress is easy, as the car is slightly taller then its rivals. The sidewalls of the footwell is not high, so getting the legs in is easy (I found it tough to get into the rear seat of the FB Civic, as the sidewall of the footwell not high). Additionally, there is sufficient space under the front seats that rear passengers can comfortably stretch their legs. Also at that time, the boot size of this car was the biggest among all C segment sedans, measuring around 563 L (if my memory serves me right).

Apart from this, the 408 Turbo came with lots of passive safety features, compared to the rivals. It had 6 airbags, ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), brake assist (BA), electronic stability control (ESC), 4 reverse sensors. Nowadays, these safety features may be the basic ones across all models, but back in 2013 most rivals only came with 2 airbags, ABS and 2 reverse sensors as standard. 

On top of all this, Peugeot offered the 408 with 5 years or 100,000km free service (inclusive of labour and parts). So I would not have to spend a single cent for my 1st 10 services. To top it off, buyers of the 408 turbo also got the Eurokit body kit installed for free.

User Experience

I have already done: 118,500 km

My average fuel consumption is: 7.3 km/l. 

The ownership experience has been pretty satisfactory. In these 8 years of usage, the car has served me very well. Despite the negative image that has been painted about Peugeots, my car has been reliable. Maybe I was lucky to get a car that is not a lemon. Fuel consumption is a bit on the higher side, but that would be due to my heavy right foot.

The engine has been very robust, despite my aggressive driving almost every work day (I do a lot of accelerating and speeding). The engine is eager. Even at highway speeds, tap the accelerator a bit, and the car accelerates further, without the need to drop gear. The gear changes of the Aisin sourced 6 speeder is very smooth, no jerks to be felt. The gearbox comes with two driving modes (Sport and Snow/Rain), and can also be shifted manually (+/-. The engine-gearbox combination provides a very wonderful driving experience.

I work in an industrial area, so you can understand the kinda roads that my car is subjected to. But after all these years, the interior parts (dash, door cards) are still intact. No vibrations to be heard when driving over uneven surfaces. The soft touch surfaces on the dash board and on the doors are still in good condition, no cracks, no melting has occurred. One sad point to note though. The conversion from left-and drive to right-and drive was done without much thought going into the process. As a result, the glove box is very small, as there is a fusebox within it. And because the fusebox was not relocated, there is a storage compartment on the right hand side of the steering wheel.

The seats are firm, and provide good support. After a long journey, the body does not feel tired. The rear seats are also deep, providing good thigh support for rear passengers. The quality of the leather used is quite good. Unfortunately the leather on my front seats have cracked. But I would blame myself for not taking good care of the interior.

The body of the car is pretty solid. The doors are a bit heavy, but this contributes to the solidness of the car body. The car weighs more then its Japanese competitors, coming in at about 1450 kg. The car body design is aerodynamic. The suspension is firm. All these, combined, provide a very stable and pliant ride, even at high speeds. The car is still very stable even when overtaking heavy vehicles on the highway at high speeds. But, there is one downside to the firm suspension though. Ride comfort at the back seat is compromised. It can get pretty bumpy at the back at speeds exceeding 120km/h, and this can be quite a deal-breaker for owners with family.

The sound system that came with the car, though pretty basic and not branded, sounds pretty sweet. Peugeot calls it 'World in Peugeot'. Basically a built in radio CD player with bluetooth connectability, and 6 speakers. Sound quality is good, and no breaking of bass at high volumes.

Spare parts are easily available. There are a number of well known Peugeot specialist workshops, especially in the Klang Valley. Maintenance of the car does not cost an arm and a leg (like what most haters like to say). In fact, maintenance is comparable to the Japanese equivalents. Apart from that, we have an active FB group where we discuss ideas and issues that arise with our cars. Accessories are pretty hard to come by as Peugeots are not so common when compared to the Japanese makes, so you need to know where to look, and sometimes you just need to DIY to make your car standout.

Also, I must add, Peugeots come factory fitted with awesome brakes. The stopping power of these factory fitted brakes will amaze you.

Although ownership experience has been good, I would not say the car has never broken down on me. In my second year of ownership, my car had to be towed to the service center, due to a failed High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP). The replacement was covered under warranty, and I got my car back after a few days. (The HPFP failed again at end of last year, and was replaced at my regular workshop). Apart from this, the other problem I have faced was with the aircon compressor, and this issue was recurrent. I have had the compressor replaced 4 times between the 3rd and 5th year of ownership. Fortunately, Naza extended the warranty for certain Peugeot models to 7 years, so all compressor replacements were done under warranty. This issue with the aircond compressor was further resolved when Naza issued a recall for the thermostat in 2017 or 2018. Ever since then, the aircond has been running fine. Though, the cooling is not as good as the aircond of Japanese cars.

I also had an issue with the interior of the car. The silver decorative part on the sides of the dashboard is sharp, and this has caused many of my long pants to get damaged as they graze along the sharp edges. I had to DIY attach rubber strips to cover the sharp edges, and this has pretty much solved my problem.

Pros and Cons

Pros of my car

1. Solidly built body.
2. Well built interior.
3. Powerful, eager and reliable engine.
4. Smooth gearbox.
5. Good set of passive safety features.
6. Awesome braking system.
7. Comfortable and spacious seats.
8. Large boot.
9. Decent sound system.
10. Stable and pliant ride.
11. Good stopping power of the braking system.
12. Low FC with 100% highway driving. 

Cons 

1. Bumpy ride for rear passengers.
2. High FC for city driving.
3. Lack of network to perform service and maintenance

Ratings:

Total Score: 4

Performance: 4

Quality & Features: 5

Space: 5

Ride comfort: 3

Fuel Economy: 3

Price & cost: 4

Summary:

All in, the Peugeot 408 Turbo is a pretty awesome car. The design of the car is still fresh and gorgeous, even if the model is almost 10 years old in Malaysia. I would say I bought this car at a good time in 2013, considering the package that it came with. Adding on the extension of warranty by Naza to 7 years, which covered many critical parts (most sensors), I believe I got a pretty good deal.

Interesting Events:

When we visited the Glenmarie showroom a second time, my brother in law had tagged along just to check out the 408. While there, he fell in love with the 508 Premium (and eventually traded in his car for one in September of 2013). During the test drive session, my brother in law had been at the wheel, the salesperson at the front passenger seat, while my wife and I had been seated at the rear seats. The salesperson kept telling my brother in law to push the car, to accelerate. Seeing that the test track was empty, my brother in law did so. Then the salesperson told my brother in law to test the brakes, to slam the brakes hard. My brother in law did that too, without any warning. By the time the car had come to a stop (which was very fast), my butt had landed in the footwell. Moral of the story. Peugeots have good brakes and slippery leather seats. Also, always wear your seatbelts, even if you are seated at the rear.

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