Peugeot unveils 408 facelift

Peugeot’s 408 has always been a weird car in the best way. It sits higher than a hatchback, lower than an SUV, and looks like a fastback that wandered into the crossover aisle. Now Peugeot has given it a mid-cycle refresh — unveiled in Brussels in January 2026 — and the point is pretty clear: keep the oddball shape, but make the tech and electrified versions easier to sell. ### What actually changed outside? Most of the visual work happened at the front. The old fang-like running lights are gone. In their place, Peugeot added slimmer three-claw LED signatures tied into a more sculpted grille, with the headlights pushed lower into the bumper so the face looks cleaner and more aggressive. There’s also a new Flare Green paint option, plus more gloss and matte black trim to sharpen the contrast. (media.stellantis.com) ### Why is the rear a bigger deal than it sounds? Because Peugeot used the facelift to try a brand cue it hadn’t put on one of its cars before. The new 408 is the first Peugeot with illuminated PEUGEOT lettering across the rear, integrated into a full-width clear strip. Up front, higher trims also get an illuminated Peugeot shield. Basically, the facelift is doing branding work as much as design work — making the 408 look more premium at a glance, especially at night. (peugeot.co.uk) ### Did the cabin get a full overhaul? Not really. This is more tidy-up than reinvention. The basic layout stays the same, but Peugeot updated the graphics in the 10-inch driver display, refreshed materials, and leaned harder into nicer finishes on upper trims like Alcantara, aluminium, and optional Nappa leather. So if you were hoping for an all-new interior architecture, that didn’t happen — but the brand did try to lift perceived quality where buyers notice it fastest. (media.stellantis.com) ### What’s the important powertrain news? The headline is the new plug-in hybrid. Peugeot now offers a 408 Plug-in Hybrid 240 e-DCS7 with 237 hp combined and a 14.6 kWh battery, and it quotes 53 miles of urban electric range. That’s the version doing the heavy lifting in this update, because it gives buyers something closer to real daily EV commuting without asking them to go full battery-electric. (autoexpress.co.uk) ### What about the other versions? Peugeot kept the three-lane strategy. There’s still a mild-hybrid 145 with a 1.2-liter petrol engine and electrified dual-clutch gearbox, a plug-in hybrid in the middle, and the fully electric E-408 at the top of the battery-only side. The E-408 keeps its 58.2 kWh usable battery and 210 hp motor, but Peugeot added EV-specific features like battery preconditioning, V2L, and Plug & Charge, while quoting up to 283 miles WLTP range. (peugeot.co.uk) ### Why does Peugeot care so much about this car? Because the 408 fills an awkward but useful slot in Peugeot’s lineup. It sits above the 308, below the bigger SUVs, and gives the brand something more design-led in the C-segment without going full premium. The catch is that “different” only works if buyers also get the practical stuff — electrified drivetrains, better cabin materials, and enough visual drama to justify choosing this over a safer-looking SUV. (peugeot.co.uk) ### So is this a major reboot? No — and that’s probably the right call. Peugeot didn’t rewrite the 408. It polished the parts that date fastest: lighting, branding, display graphics, and electrified specs. That makes the facelift less about fixing a failure and more about keeping a distinctive car from going stale too early. (media.stellantis.com) ### Bottom line? The refreshed 408 is Peugeot doubling down on the same bet — that some buyers want SUV practicality without driving something that looks like every other SUV. This facelift just makes that bet easier to defend in 2026. (media.stellantis.com)