Paris show: Peugeot previews 2008 crossover

PEUGEOT has confirmed its forthcoming compact crossover model will be called the 2008 when it enters production in France from early next year.

Set for a public debut at the Paris motor show on September 27, the model was previewed this week by a series of concept images that closely resemble the company’s Urban Crossover Concept shown in Beijing earlier this year.

The car will arrive in Australia by the end of 2013 – joining the Mitsubishi ASX-based Peugeot 4008 – to give Peugeot’s local arm extra presence in the booming small SUV market that is up 65.4 per cent this year.

The 2008 will be one of several newcomers to the segment, with the Holden Trax, Opel Mokka, Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke joining the small SUV sales stoush next year.

Peugeot says the car was designed and engineered by a global team in Paris, Shanghai and Sao Paolo and aimed squarely at a “new generation of city dwellers”.

The canary-coloured concept will have the “chunky, tonka-toy” styling promised by Peugeot Australia director Bill Gillespie in July, with big wheels, prominent side scallops, roof bars and a squared-off tail.

Expect the design of the production 2008 to stay faithful to the concept seen here. For precedent, consider the 208 GTi ‘concept’ shown at Geneva in March, which looks identical to the production version revealed last week.

Reflecting its global ambitions for the car, Peugeot will put the 2008 into production at its Wuhan plant in China and Porto Real plant in Brazil as well as its Mulhouse facility in France.

At 4140mm long and 1740mm wide, the jacked-up 2008 is slightly longer but narrower than the Juke, but is claimed to offer impressive versatility and occupant space.

Like the EcoSport, the 2008 will be powered by a turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine, in this case a more potent 82kW version of the 1.2-litre direct-injected triple used in the 208 light car that will feature in the petrol-only Australian line-up due to launch next week.

Other small petrol and diesel engines sourced from the 208 are likely to emerge in time.

The 2008 Concept will appear at Peugeot’s home show in Paris alongside a more powerful upgraded RCZ coupe, the 208 GTi hot hatch and the stunning Onyx supercar concept.