Nasim Sdn Bhd, the official distributor of Peugeot cars in Malaysia teased the Peugeot 208 and 2008 duo in Penang earlier this month. Yesterday, at the Peugeot Malaysia Media Night, we had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the pair.
Starting with the 208 B-Segment hatchback, it now features a new front bumper, front grille, fog lamp surrounds, chrome side mirror caps and LED taillamps with signature lion claw graphics. This zesty Orange Power metallic example shown here rides on new design 16-inch alloys wrapped in 195/55 profile Michelin Energy Saver tyres.
The interior dittos the pre-facelift specifications, save for the carbon fibre-like trims on the dashboard, new fabric seat design and new leather material on the multifunctional steering wheel.
On the other hand, the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3 rival now wears a larger front grille with the lion’s badge now positioned at the centre of the grille giving a more rugged appearance. Other than the new 17-inch alloy wheel design wrapped in 205/50 profile Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres, the 2008 is as per the pre-facelift. The same can be said for the interior.
Under the hood is where the meat of the facelift is for the duo. Peugeot has retired the 1.6-litre four-cylinder VTi engine and four-speed automatic gear box for a punchier 1.2-litre PureTech turbocharged three pot mated to an Aisin sourced six-speed automatic transmission with quickshift.
The new turbocharged mill and six-speed combo dishes out a healthy 110 hp and 205 Nm of torque. This will make the 208 to be the hatchback with the highest torque figures in our market, besting even the Ford Fiesta EcoBoost’s 170 Nm! In addition to the auto start/stop system, Peugeot claims that their award winning engine is capable of returning 4.2 litres per 100 km and is able to travel 1,190 km on a single tank of fuel.
No prices were revealed but the pre-facelift 208 and 2008 retailed at RM86k and RM120k respectively. If Nasim is keen on outplaying their competitors, pricing will be key to swing conservative buyers to give the French make a try. More info of the Peugeot 208 and 2008 facelift will come when it’s officially launched in January 2017.
IMAGE GALLERY
Peugeot 208 5-door
Peugeot 2008 Crossover
