Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by hybrid engines and utilizing the 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Renault and front in the case of the Peugeot). The first one has a Nissan-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 3-cylinder, 12-valves 300hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 225hp engine designed by Peugeot.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the Renault being a slightly better choice apparently. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Rafale offers a marginal difference of 9% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Renault with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Peugeot badge with 4.3 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Rafale rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Renault is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.5 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 180 kilometers per hour, 53km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Rafale, averaging around 0.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (471 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 100% difference compared to 408.

Peugeot appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Rafale offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. From there things take a different direction, with Peugeot offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Renault. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.