Subaru Uncharted vs Peugeot 408

What's the difference?

The Uncharted follows the Subaru promise of offering compelling all-wheel drive and a capable driving experience at a reasonable price, but only if you compare it to its traditional rivals.

The trouble for Subaru is that this part of the market has moved on, and EV buyers now have a different set of expectations relative to its usual point-of-difference.

In that sense, this is a good electric Subaru - but is it objectively a good electric car? With the circa-$60K pricing, that’s a harder argument to make.

The Peugeot 408 GT Hybrid delivers heaps of standard equipment and safety tech for what is now a much more competitive price. It’s also super fuel-efficient, which is right for these turbulent times, offers thoughtful practicality and the wagon-fastback-crossover-SUV look is striking. The price paid for miserly economy is a peaky small-engine powertrain and the ownership promise isn’t exactly class-leading. That said, it deserves consideration in its new, even more competitive under $60K mid-size SUV segment.

The Uncharted continues to shift Subaru into new styling territory, sharing its panelled, grille-free face and two-line light signatures with the other two Subaru EVs, the Solterra and Trailseeker.

It is notable that Subaru has chosen a distinct design language for its electric cars, which is a change from the blocky and busy designs adorning its familiar combustion nameplates like Forester or Outback.

For what it’s worth, I think the Uncharted is a striking car with its wide stance, huge wheels and coupe-style tailgate. The burnt orange colour of our car also helps it to stand out from the crowd. Hard to do in a world of new wacky designs from rivals unafraid to push the envelope.

Inside will be familiar if you’ve been in any car on this e-TNGA platform which Subaru co-opts from Toyota.

There’s a squircle steering wheel, modern layered dash, screens which fill the space, and a lot of hardware which will feel familiar to Toyota owners, but not so much Subaru drivers.

This includes the rotary shifter in the centre console, indicator stalks and even the screens and software. It feels a bit less Subaru than some repeat buyers might expect, but I don’t think it’s foreign enough to scare people off.

Peugeot Design Director Matthias Hossann has been guiding the brand’s look and feel since 2020 and the result is a recognisable approach across the range with enough flexibility to give each model its own personality.

Recurring themes include the dramatic, fan-like grille with body-colour elements, narrow angled LED daytime running lights (DRLs) slicing through the outer edges of the nose and sinister tapered headlights set into the front corners.

The rear end maintains the visual drama with a stacked, angular treatment sectioning off the ‘Claw Effect’ LED tail-lights (the Peugeot brand mark is a Lion), chamfered mid-section and chunky bumper.

And among what increasingly feels like a mass of same-same newcomers the 408’s sloping turret and high, wide haunches give the car a distinctively sporty fastback look.

The interior is classy and clean although the almost uniformly grey colour palette is unrelenting.

The two-tier dash adds visual interest and a combination of sweeping curves and clean, straight lines around the cabin lift the tone. Nappa leather trim with the ribbed seat centre panels using perforated hide also looks classy.

But then we come to the ‘iCockpit’ instrument display and steering wheel combination. It’s based on the idea that reducing the size of the steering wheel and lowering its position while flattening its top and raising the location of the instrument binnacle is a better solution than the traditional look-through-the-steering wheel approach.

It doesn’t work for everyone and it doesn’t work for me. As noted in previous Peugeot reviews, after more than a decade in existence various members of the CarsGuide editorial staff continue to struggle with the arrangement, while others love it. 

For me, the wheel feels too low, yet the top of it obscures the lower part of the instrument panel. While it may work well for others I see it as the answer to a question no one was asking.

The Uncharted is a comfortable place to be, with nicely bolstered seats, and Subaru has nailed the basics of ergonomics with dials for the climate and volume controls, some shortcut buttons and consistent labelling for the array of steering wheel controls.

The digital instrument cluster, perched atop the dash, might not be to everyone’s taste. It leads to a slightly odd situation where if you’re a certain height, the top of the steering wheel might obstruct your view. It was okay for me, but felt a bit like the steering wheel was sitting in my lap.

The software, while functional, doesn’t offer the depth or innovation of many of this car’s rivals. Some of these things are gimmicks, others, like pet modes and deeper efficiency analysis screens are quite useful.

As it is, it offers an uninspired interface with built in navigation and some basic sub-menus. Hardly a stand-out in an era of fun, customisable software not just from Chinese rivals, but from others, too.

The trade-off is a modern-feeling interior which is also easy to use, surprisingly rare in this segment.

In terms of cabin space and storage, the front doors have two large bottle holders each, and there are two cupholders with spring-loaded ridges in the centre console.

The console features dual wireless chargers, although they could do with a more rubberised surface, as your phone may move in the corners, particularly if you have a hard-finish case. An annoying oversight.

Beneath the bridge-style console, there is a carpeted storage area which is also home to your power outlets, and the centre console, while not very deep, offers a trick lid which can tilt-open in both directions.

Visibility is good for the driver, too.

The back seat offers a good amount of space for adults in the outboard positions. I fit behind my own driving position at 182cm tall with a few inches of knee room, and a little bit of headroom, although there’s an intrusion into the space for the sunroof’s roller cover, so it’s worth considering if you need that as an option if you’re regularly going to have taller passengers.

While the synthetic leather-clad seat trim continues, the centre position feels less useful, because the distance between the end of the seat base and the centre console severely limits legroom.

On the amenity front, the stand-out is the rear heated seats. Other than that there’s the expected array of adjustable air vents, dual USB-C ports, pockets on the backs of the front seats, and large bottle holders in each door.

My main criticism of the Uncharted’s interior is that it doesn’t feel anywhere near as large on the inside as the car looks and feels from the outside. This is not helped by dark headliner, chunky door cards, and heavy window tinting in the rear.

The boot is also not enormous at 403 litres. With some trickery, I could fit the full three-piece CarsGuide luggage set, with the floor set to its lowest of two positions. Underneath there is a small additional storage space where you can fit some charging cables alongside the inflator kit.

There’s no spare wheel, which is a strike against this EV’s Subaru go-anywhere credentials, and there’s also no frunk with the under-bonnet space taken up by high-voltage and battery cooling hardware.

At close to 4.7m long, around 1.9m wide and a bit less than 1.5m tall with a 2790mm wheelbase, the 408 sits in the middle of the typical mid-size five-seater footprint.

Ample room in the front, although the lower section of the two-tier dash protrudes a fair way towards the driver and front passenger and the centre console is broad so it feels snug rather than airy.

Storage includes generous door bins with room for larger bottles, a lidded (and illuminated) bin between the seats that doubles as a centre armrest, two cupholders in the console with an oddments tray ahead of them and a decent glove box with an extra pocket built into the lid.

Switching to the rear, sitting behind the driver’s seat set for my 183cm position, there’s loads of leg- and headroom and enough width for three adults when required and more than enough for a trio of up to mid-teenage kids. Centre rear is less of a short-straw position, too, thanks to a relatively low and flat central tunnel.

The lack of a fold-down rear centre armrest is a miss mainly because it means there are no cupholders in the rear. But there are decent door bins with a space for smaller bottles, netted map pockets on the front seatbacks and a storage cubby at the back of the front centre console.

Speaking of which, individual air vents in the back of that console are a welcome addition.

 The boot is large for the class at 508 litres (VDA) with the rear seat upright and 1583 litres with the 60/40 split-folding backrest folded down. The power tailgate (with foot sensor and pedestrian detection) also makes life easier.

Other thoughtful touches include four load tie-down anchors, a netted pocket on the right-hand side, elasticised straps on the left-hand side, specific lighting and a pair of bag hooks.

Power and connectivity options include two USB-C sockets, a 12-volt outlet and a wireless phone charging pad in the front, another two USB-Cs in the back and a second 12V plug in the boot. So no problems with charging capacity for phones and other devices.

Maximum braked trailer towing capacity is a useful 1300kg (750kg unbraked) but we have to put a big black mark against provision of a repair/inflator kit rather than a physical spare. Not good enough for the Aussie market. 

The previous plug-in version of the current 408 Hybrid was a 1.6-litre, turbo-petrol, four-cylinder paired with a relatively large electric motor and cost-of-entry sat at $67,990, before on-road costs.

A shift to this car’s mild-hybrid powertrain, built around a 1.2-litre, turbo-petrol, three-cylinder engine matched up with an appreciably smaller battery and electric motor coincided with a 15 per cent ($10,000) price reduction to $57,990, BOC.

Convenience or consequence? Either way, it’s opened up a new competitive set with the focus shifting from the likes of the Lexus NX, Mazda CX-60 PHEV and Volvo XC60 to a fresh batch of sub-$60K rivals.

Think Honda CR-V e:HEV RS ($59,900, drive-away), Hyundai Tucson AWD 1.6 Hybrid Premium ($58,350, BOC), Kia Sportage GT-Line HEV FWD ($57,370, BOC), Nissan X-Trail Ti e-Power 5 seat AWD ($58,215, BOC), Subaru Forester AWD Hybrid Touring ($55,990, BOC) and the Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid AWD ($59,015, BOC).

Suddenly the Peugeot’s included features list sits in a new context and aside from the performance and safety tech we’ll get to shortly, standard equipment highlights include dual-zone climate control air, full-grain Nappa leather seat trim, a leather-trimmed (heated) steering wheel, Alcantara door trim, 3D satellite navigation and 10-speaker 690-watt Focal audio (with digital radio) as well as wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Then there’s power-adjustable driver (eight-way) and front passenger (six-way) seats that are also heated with a ‘multi-point’ massage function, keyless entry and start, a 10-inch digital 3D instrument panel, a 10-inch multimedia touchscreen, auto LED matrix headlights, eight-colour ambient lighting, chrome trimmed pedals, a power tailgate, heated power-folding exterior mirrors, a panoramic glass sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels, auto rain-sensing wipers and more. 

Then you can add over-the-air updates, access to remote services via the ‘MyPeugeot’ app and ‘Ok Peugeot’ voice recognition.

That’s an impressive basket of fruit for an under-$60,000 car. 

Power output is impressive from this car’s dual-motor all-wheel drive system. The Uncharted is front-biased, featuring a 167kW/286Nm motor on the front axle, and an 88kW/169Nm motor on the rear axle. The two combine for a 252kW total output, which makes this one of the most powerful Subarus you can buy.

As a point of difference from its Toyota brethren, the Uncharted features a software-emulated version of Subaru’s signature X-Mode for a little bit of extra off-road ability. It also has slightly less ground clearance compared to the Crosstrek, at 211mm as opposed to 220mm.

The Peugeot 408 Hybrid is powered by a 1.2-litre, turbo-petrol, three-cylinder engine producing 100kW at 5500rpm and 230Nm at 1750rpm.

This compact, all-alloy, direct-injection unit works in concert with a single 15.6kW/51Nm 48-volt electric motor integrated into the six-speed dual-clutch auto transmission and energised by a 0.9kWh lithium-ion battery.

Drive goes to the front wheels only and Peugeot claims a 0-100kmh sprint time of 9.4 seconds.

The Uncharted has a 74.7kWh battery pack which grants it a WLTP-certified 522km of driving range.

The car I sampled was predicting around 500km of range in the real world according to the trip computer, which is impressive for an EV with all-wheel drive and a battery capacity of less than 80kWh, speaking to solid energy efficiency.

Officially, this is 16kWh/100km, but my car, which was primarily driven around town with some small freeway stints, performed even better, showing 14.1kWh/100km on the dash.

Owing to its e-TNGA platform, the Uncharted doesn’t have the most impressive charging specs. On a fast DC charger it is limited to 150kW. This should deliver a 10-80 per cent charge in a little over half an hour, but it’s still a lot slower than some competitors, which slash that charge time, in some instances, in half.

The slower AC charging is impressive at 22kW although an AC charger with an output above 11kW is rare in Australia.

The Uncharted also features a vehicle-to-load system, allowing you to use its large battery to power household appliances.

The 408 Hybrid’s official fuel consumption figure for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 4.5L/100km, the 1.2L turbo triple emitting 102g/km of CO2 in the process.

And it’s important to point out those official (ADR 81/02) numbers for the 408’s consumption and emissions are better than any of the direct competitors we’ve called out in the ‘Price & Features’ section above. 

Over a week of mainly city and suburban running with some freeway sections thrown in, we recorded an on-test average of 6.0L/100km. Impressive for a mid-size crossover weighing in at a bit over 1.4 tonnes.

Brim the 52-litre tank with minimum 95 RON premium fuel (ethanol blends not recommended) and using our real-world figure you can expect a handy driving range in excess of 860km.

To drive, the Uncharted proves where Japanese automakers still maintain an advantage over many of their rivals.

The overwhelming feeling in this car is one of balance. Weight is managed very nicely by the suspension, which isn’t too soft like a lot of Chinese cars, and not too hard like some Korean cars or the Tesla Model Y.

The steering feels organic and direct, as opposed to overly software-assisted, and feedback from the pedals and road feels more like a traditional combustion car than a new-age EV.

There’s also a focus on the touchpoints being familiar, leading to a car which won’t be too much of a leap into the future for many.

It comes with some drawbacks. There’s no true single pedal driving mode despite several levels of regenerative braking. If you’ve driven an EV with single pedal mode this might be disappointing as it is quite easy to get used to.

The giant 20-inch wheels also feel a bit at odds with this EV’s supposed go-anywhere attitude. It feels like any rutted tracks are best avoided, limiting your off-road ambitions to just gravel trails and the sheer size of them is perhaps the only blemish on ride quality.

In addition, the slim rubber has an effect on cabin ambiance. This isn’t the quietest EV I’ve driven when it comes to road noise.

All that said, once you get the uncharted on some twisty roads it leaps out and shines. It’s alarmingly rapid when you stomp on the accelerator, making its power outputs feel the part, and its capable Dunlop tyre package and well-calibrated all-wheel drive system give the power-down a civilised silence as opposed to some of the wheelspin wackiness of some of this car’s Chinese rivals.

It is deeply capable in the corners, attacking them with poise and grip, with the traction system also keeping the power at sane levels.

It’s not quite as athletic or quick as its premium cousin, the Lexus RZ which I also drove recently, but still one of the more impressive EVs in this small SUV segment as an overall package.

Even with the assistance of an electric motor in the transmission and a turbo on the engine, a 1.2-litre, petrol three-cylinder powering a more than 1.4-tonne five-seat car is always going to be an interesting equation.

And in practice, although the small triple’s peak torque (230Nm) is available from just 1750rpm it lacks the smoothness of larger capacity mild- and full-hybrid combinations. Especially at slower speeds, the powertrain feels relatively edgy and agitated.

Outright acceleration is fine (claimed 0-100km/h acceleration is 9.4sec) with decent mid-range pulling power for confident overtaking or decisive lane changing (a 15.6kW/51Nm boost from the motor playing its part) and the dual-clutch auto is a more polished example of what can be a fractious device. 

But engineering and tuning for maximum fuel-efficiency has an impact on driveability. For example, we noticed the air-conditioning system’s output softened at standstill, which led to some mild window fogging in stop-start traffic on a particularly humid morning. Haven’t seen that for a while. 

The strut front, torsion beam rear suspension delivers a compliant ride and responsive handling in classic Peugeot fashion. The steering in particular points accurately and provides good road feel. 

We’ve covered the intricacies of the i-Cockpit instrument and steering wheel configuration in the Design section as its shortcomings (for me, anyway) are more ergonomic than dynamic.  

The car is relatively quiet, thanks in part to sound-dampening acoustic glass and the Michelin e.Primacy tyres (205/55) which also grip persistently if you decide to slice through your favourite set of corners. Push the engine harder and it’s revvy note and exhaust rasp will start to make their presence felt. 

Regenerative braking is helpful and the physical brakes (ventilated discs and the front and solid rotors at the rear) are nice and progressive.

The front seats are firmer than the Peugeot norm but remain comfy enough and they provide enough side support to keep you well located. 

Despite the swoopy fastback design, all-around vision is surprisingly good and an overall length under 4.7m, an acceptable 11.2m turning circle, a clear reversing camera and a 360-degree camera view make parking straightforward. 

The 408 has a maximum five-star ANCAP rating from assessment in 2022 with active crash avoidance tech including Auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, junction assist and backover detection, adaptive cruise (with stop & go), lane departure warning and lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, a 360-degree camera view, rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning, driver fatigue monitoring and tyre pressure monitoring as well as front and rear parking sensors.

If a crash is unavoidable there are six airbags onboard (front, front side and side curtain) but a front centre bag is notable for its absence. 

On the upside, an active bonnet helps protect impacted pedestrians from striking hard engine parts under the bonnet and multi-collision brake minimises the chances of subsequent impact after an initial crash. 

For child seats there are three top tether points across the second row with ISOFIX anchors in the outer positions.

Subaru covers the Uncharted with the usual, but now behind-the-pace five year and unlimited kilometre warranty. The high-voltage battery is covered by a separate eight-year and 160,000km promise.

Servicing is required once a year or 15,000km which is annoyingly frequent for an EV, but it is relatively cheap, especially for a Subaru, averaging just $196.84 for the first five visits, covering the life of the warranty.

Subaru has around 140 dealers across Australia, covering every state and territory including capital cities as well as key regional and rural centres.

Peugeot covers the 408 with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is perilously close to sub-par in 2026 with an increasing number of brands at seven, eight and up to 10 years conditional. The battery warranty at eight years/160,000km matches the market.

Roadside assistance is included for five years, service is recommended every 12 months/15,000km and pre-paid servicing is offered across three-, four- or five-year plans, with the latter at $2070.

That’s a not insubstantial average of $414 per workshop visit, which Peugeot says will save you $893 compared to pay-as-you-go over the five years.

For reference, a Toyota RAV Hybrid service for any of the first five years is $260, although pricing steps up after that period.

Peugeot has a well established network of 31 dealers mainly covering major cities and key rural areas, primarily on the east coast. Currently, no presence in Tassie or the Northern Territory, while Perth and Adelaide are the only representation in WA and SA.