Sydney show: Peugeot previews 308

WITHIN weeks of the 308’s global debut at the Frankfurt motor show, Peugeot has presented the all-important small car in Australia. Pricing and specifications for our market remain undisclosed until the 308 hits the streets in February, but expect the impressive-looking hatchback to be available in three-door and five-door guise and with a range of petrol and diesel engines.

The latter should include natural breathing and turbocharged incarnations of the familiar 1.6-litre petrol four and, at the top of the range for an RC model, a 160kW 2.0-litre turbo four. Sharing its platform with the Citroen C4, the 308 is larger, but sits a little lower, than the outgoing 307. The Touring station wagon version is due in the second quarter of 2008, and a coupe-convertible should follow after that, just as new model variants are turning up for the smaller 207 range. Cue the 207 Touring, which also made its Australian debut in Darling Harbour this morning. In presenting the light load-hauler – another vehicle fresh from Frankfurt – Peugeot Automobiles Australia announced that the Touring will go on sale in November with the choice of either 1.6-litre petrol or 1.6-litre turbo-diesel power. Pricing will start from $28,990 for the XT Touring 1.6 petrol auto, and $29,790 for the manual-only XT HDi.

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