Peugeot has imported the 208 premium hatchback in the country for testing purposes at a time when the segment is running hot with the likes of the Hyundai Elite i20 and Honda Jazz.
Peugeot had an extremely tough luck when it comes to establishing its base in the Indian market. The French automaker originally arrived in India during the 1990s partnering with Premier Auto, but had to shut shop after a small stint. Giving it another shot, the automaker planned to enter the Indian market once again and even participated in the 2012 Auto Expo, but the European market slowdown made things bleak for the company. Nonetheless, it now seems the company might just get lucky for the third time as the Peugeot 208 hatchback has been officially imported in India for testing purposes.
Launched earlier this year in Europe, the 2015 Peugeot 208 facelift was recently spotted in Mumbai. A rival to the Volkswagen Polo, Hyundai Elite i20 and Honda Jazz, the 208 comes with French styling featuring a large grille and double barrel headlamps, while the rear gets quirky shaped LED tail lights. Inside the cabin, the 208 features soft touch plastic, leather wrapped steering wheel and 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Internationally, the hatchback gets 16-inch or optional 17-inch alloy wheels.
The Peugeot 208 also gets start-stop function, reverse camera, Active Braking function, MirrorScreen, smartphone integration and Park Assist feature that allows the vehicle to park in and leave a parallel parking space automatically. It needs to be seen how many of these features will actually make it to the Indian version. In terms of power, the 208 uses a host of 1.0-litre, 1.2-litre and 1.2-litre turbo petrol engines tuned to produce between 68 HP of power, going up to 110 HP for the GT Line versions. Transmission options include a 5-speed manual and 6-speed automatic.
Diesel power comes from a 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine available in two states of tune – 75 HP and 100 HP, paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox. For the GT version, the same motor is uprated to produce 120 HP, paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox. All said, there are no concrete details to fall back on and we will have to wait for Peugeot to reveal its plans for India. Maybe they could understand a thing or two from their new found Indian friend Mahindra.
Spy Pictures Source – MotorOctane.com
