Peugeot will search for more sales traction in the dominant SUV segment in New Zealand when it lands the compact 2008 next month, the first of three SUVs for the year.
The five-seat 2008 (above) will be followed by a bigger five-seater, the 3008, and later by the seven-seat 5008. The 2008 will be available in two models, the Allure from $34,990 and the GT-Line from $36,990, both powered by a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder Pure Tech petrol engine delivering 81kW and driving the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.
Allure and GT-Line will come well equipped, including 18cm touchscreen (below) with sat-nav and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Allure rides on 16-inch alloys; GT-Line on 17-inch. GT-Line adds to equipment levels with Active City Brake, an autonomous braking system, and Grip Control, an “intelligent traction control.”
The prices of the 3008 and 5008 are not yet known. The 3008 (below) is the first Peugeot SUV to sit on the company’s much-praised EMP2 platform, which underpins the 308 hatchback, sedan and wagon. It is longer, wider but not as tall as the current 3008 model, architecture which allows more head- and leg-room for occupants and cargo space in the boot.
The 5008 specification and model range has yet to be finalised, but Peugeot NZ divisional manager Simon Rose said he is confident he can land it here around April. All three SUVs would therefore go on sale within four or five months of each other.
They couldn’t come sooner for Peugeot. It has been taking between $3000 and $5000 off the retail price of its existing SUV/crossover range (2008, 3008, 4008) in the latter stages of 2016 to keep sales ticking over.
“The 5008 will change the market offering for us by appealing to an entirely new range of conquest customers,” said Rose. “It will be perfectly suited for New Zealand, offering the flexibility, power, space and lifestyle appeal Kiwi families want.”
The 5008 has been reinvented. For the past seven years the badge has been on a people-mover in Europe and elsewhere. The number 5 badge has always been reserved for bigger Peugeots, like the 504 and 505 sedans and station wagons of years ago.
Now it’s central to Peugeot’s ‘Push to Pass’ strategy, its plan to become more of an international competitor. “The 5008 is proof positive of Peugeot’s desire to meet global automotive demands,” said Rose.
The 5008 (below) is underpinned by the Peugeot-Citroen PSA group’s EMP2 platform, first used as the architecture for the 3008. But the 5008 is 190mm longer overall than the 3008.
At 4640mm, it’s the same length as the Nissan X-Trail, but the Peugeot’s wheelbase is a whopping 135mm longer, a dimension that makes the 5008 “the most liveable of C-segment SUVs, ” according to Peugeot.
The second row gets three individual seats that can fold, slide and recline, and the third row has two individual seats. Boot space is upwards of 600 litres with seven seats in place and 1060 litres with the third row folded into the floor. Fold down the second row and the front passenger seat and the interior can carry objects up to 3.2m in length.
Up front, the 5008 comes with Peugeot’s i-Cockpit, a layout first seen on the 208 hatchback, where a lower and smaller steering wheel allowed the driver to look over rather than through it to see instrument dials. But there no dials as such on the 5008. Instead, there’s a configurable 12.3-inch screen that can display vehicle information.
The 5008 will be available with a variety of petrol and diesel engines, all with stop-start technology and mated to six-speed automatic transmissions. What New Zealand will get remains to be seen. Petrols include 96kW 1.2-litre three-cylinder and 120kW 1.6-litre four-cylinder. Diesels run to 1.6- and 2.0-litre.