• Excellent legroom in rear seats
• But headroom is at a premium
• Generous boot, slightly larger on petrol model

How much space is there?

The Peugeot 408’s intended to compete with family cars, so practicality in the back seats is quite important. It’s a mixed bag. Legroom is plentiful, and a six-footer sat behind a similarly tall driver will have room to stretch out. It’s a shame, then, that despite Peugeot’s claims to the contrary, the curving roofline means that headroom is very tight.

Provided they’re not too tall, though, two adults will enjoy good space and a generous centre armrest. While three can sit across the rear bench, it’d be tight for adults. There’s a good view out of the back windows – not always a given on a coupe-SUV – and two Isofix points for mounting child seats.

Boot space and storage

The 408’s sizable rear overhang is intended to improve boot space (above) and it does so well – there’s a maximum of 536 litres of space on petrol versions. Hybrid models have this reduced slightly to 471 litres, as the batteries mean a slightly raised floor.

However, the raised floor does mean there’s no lip when loading the boot and the load area is flatter when the rear seats are folded, so it’s swings and roundabouts. There’s still a little underfloor storage. The seats split 60:40 to help you balance out passengers and luggage space, and the tailgate’s electrically operated on top-spec GT models. The rigid parcel shelf is in two parts and mostly attached to the rear hatch – it’s a little fiddly to take on and off. We’d prefer a flexible, rolling luggage cover here.

In terms of storage, there’s a shelf with optional wireless charger perfect for keeping your phone in, a small cubby, two large cupholders and some under-armrest storage in the centre console. The door bins are pretty average in size, but – praise be! – Peugeot has installed a full-sized glovebox rather than the half-sized affair you often get on right-hand drive cars.

Is it easy to park?

The 408’s a large car with substantial overhangs, especially at the rear – and visibility isn’t the best. Standard rear parking sensors and a reversing camera take the sting out of parking, while you can optionally specify a 360-degree camera system to make it even easier.

With the large alloy wheels of top-spec models, this might pay for itself in saving you from kerbing a wheel.

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Safety

• Closely-related Peugeot 308 gets four-star Euro NCAP rating
• Generous standard equipment
• Night vision system an optional extra

The Peugeot 408 shares its Euro NCAP crash test with the 308 hatchback. Given it’s a significantly larger and much higher-riding car, we’re not too sure if this is totally representative – but it’s what we have – and is the view of the respected road safety organisation.

The 308 scored four stars, with points docked because its autonomous emergency braking system wasn’t quite as effective as some rivals. Crash protection was deemed good, though not exceptional – there are safer cars available, such as the five-star VW Golf or Kia Sportage.

Safety equipment is generous, though, with all models getting autonomous emergency braking and lane-keeping assist. Top-spec GT cars come with a few clever extras, such as long-range blind-spot monitoring that can keep track of vehicles 75 metres behind you. Optionally available is night vision, which projects an infrared view of the road into the driver display and highlights pedestrians, cyclists or animals.

Watch: Peugeot 308 Euro NCAP crash test video