Peugeot’s redesigned 2008 SUV will arrive in Australian showrooms in the fourth quarter of this year, distributor Inchcape has confirmed.
The new generation was first revealed in June of last year and went on sale in Europe back in January.
It’s moved to Groupe PSA’s new Common Modular Platform, which also underpins the latest 208 and Opel Corsa, as well as the DS 3 Crossback.
That means it now features a battery-electric version, the e-2008. This model uses a 50kWh lithium-ion battery and an electric motor, with a total system output of 100kW of power and 260Nm of torque.
Electric range is up to 310km under the stricter WLTP standard, while DC fast charging allows owners to charge up to 80 per cent in 30 minutes at 100kW public charging stations.
Peugeot’s PureTech 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine is available in three states of tune. The least powerful has 75kW of power and 205Nm of torque and is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
Above it sits a 96kW/230Nm version with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic and a 115kW/240Nm version available only with the auto.
There are also two 1.5-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines on offer, one with 74kW and 250Nm and a six-speed manual, the other with 96kW and 250Nm and an eight-speed auto.
Expect the local range to be much more condensed. The current 2008 is available exclusively with a turbo 1.2-litre three-pot with 81kW and 205Nm, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
Much as the exterior resembles a slightly shrunken version of the handsome 3008 and 5008 SUVs, so too does the interior. That includes Peugeot’s i-Cockpit interior design, which includes a digital instrument cluster.
The largest touchscreen infotainment system available is a 10.0-inch unit, and all screens feature Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The interior is also available with surfaces finished in carbon-look trim, Alcantara and Nappa leather, while there are also neat touches like colourful ambient lighting strips, quilted upholstery and metal-look switchgear.
The 2008 has a full suite of active safety and convenience features, including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection that works between speeds of 5 and 140km/h. There’s also active parking assist, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring and traffic sign recognition.
The second-generation model should hopefully give local 2008 sales a boost. Last year, the current-generation 2008 was one of the slowest-selling small SUVs with just 194 units sold, though that was better than its corporate cousins from Citroen, the C3 Aircross (55 sales) and C4 Cactus (92), as well as the Fiat 500X (154).
However, the 2008 was outsold by its French arch-nemesis, the Renault Captur (484 sales) and was even bested by slower-selling Japanese rivals like the Nissan Juke (509) and Suzuki S-Cross (470).
The 2008 skipped the 2019 and 2020 model years though MY18 models are still available. Peugeot’s local website provides pricing only for the 2018 2008 Allure, which costs $29,990 before on-road costs.
That means it’s currently the cheapest way to get into a new Peugeot.
