The 2008 compact SUV is Peugeot's answer to the Ford EcoSport
The compact SUV segment is heating up not just within India but internationally as well. Every single manufacturer wants at least one compact crossover under its portfolio by the end of 2013.
Companies like General Motors who have many sub brands have multi-branded a single product (Trax/Mokka/Encore) for different markets.
Peugeot's much awaited 2008 Compact SUV for various international markets has been leaked through photographs uploaded by French automotive site Largus.fr.
While details are a bit scarce, it is likely that the 2008 will be based on the 208 hatchback platform. It will be somewhere around 4.15 m long and 1.75 m wide. Being a world SUV, the design of the 2008 was finalized by Peugeot stylists in Paris, Shanghai and Sao Paulo. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the interiors available for now.
It will sit below the 3008 SUV and reports suggest that the French automaker is working on a two door version of the 2008 which will be called the 1008.
The 2008 Compact SUV will hit the Chinese, Brazilian and the European markets with a range of engine options –
Petrol
- 1.2L Turbocharged petrol with 110 bhp
- 1.2L Turbocharged petrol with 136 bhp
- 1.6L Turbocharged petrol with 156 bhp
Diesel
- 1.6L e-HDI diesel with 92 bhp
- 1.6L e-HDI diesel with 115 bhp
The world premiere of the 2008 is expected to bow at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Soon after it will head to the production line in the factories of Mulhouse and Wuhan (China) and Porto Real in Brazil.
Competition will come from the EcoSport, Mokka, Juke, Yeti, Countryman and many more under-development CUVs such as Renault Captur and Honda’s unnamed urban SUV.
[Source: Largus.fr]