Pakistan’s leading securities brokerage Arif Habib Limited took to Twitter to write about the launch of the Peugeot 2008 and KIA Stonic in Pakistan.
AHL wrote, “With the launch of two new cars expected namely KIA Stonic and Peugeot 2008, Lucky Motor is set to become the only company in Pakistan to assemble vehicles of two brands.”
With launch of two new car expected namely KIA Stonic and Peugeot 2008, Lucky Motor is set to become the only company in Pakistan to assemble vehicles of two brands@MAliTabba @LuckyCementLtd @KiaMotorsPK @Peugeot @Hammad_Azhar @razak_dawood @aliya_hamza #PakistanMovingForward pic.twitter.com/xTG58MtcFa
— Arif Habib Limited (@ArifHabibLtd) September 13, 2021
The Peugeot 2008 was first sighted at the start of the year when reportedly, an Orange unit was imported with the intent to test it on the local roads. However, there were no reports from that point forward about the company’s plans.
Recently, however, a sighting was confirmed of a camouflaged wrapped test unit on the roads of Karachi, as can be seen in AHL’s tweet. It had the words, “from Europe with Love” written on it.
Having already covered KIA Stonic’s features in detail, it is only fair that we go through what the Peugeot vehicle will offer to Pakistani consumers.
The Second Generation of Peugeot, launched in 2019, comes with a 1.2-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, paired with either a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic transmission. It comes with 100, 130, and 155 S&S in the international market. It is only available in Front Wheel Drive (FWD) around the world.
An electric version of the crossover named the e-2008 comes with a 100 kW (134 hp) electric motor and a 50-kWh battery (out of which 46.2 kWh is usable), capable of 310 kilometers (193 miles) of range under the worldwide harmonized Light-duty vehicles Test (WLTP) test. It was launched in Europe in 2020, but no updates on this are available for the Pakistani market.
Read More: KIA’s latest crossover Stonic spotted in Pakistan
Exterior
According to Car Wow, a British car blog, the Peugeot 2008 is a small SUV with a bold look, comprising strong color schemes and a variety of slashes and creases that make rivals such as the Volkswagen T-Cross look more than a little tedious.
Features on the outside include Eco LED headlights, color-coded roof, LDR with Peugeot’s distinctive tooth design, Peugeot signature claw effect lights in the rear, electric heated and power-folding door mirrors, one-touch electric front/rear windows with pinch protection, among others.
Interior and infotainment
The increased length of the car means it’s more spacious, improving room for rear-seat passengers in particular. The legroom is very good in the latest models, and there’s plenty of space for feet under the front seats. Mat Watson, a Carwow expert said, “..not many do better than the Peugeot for the front-seat room.”
However, the rear seats don’t slide, unlike many SUVs in this range.
All the models come with the Peugeot i-Cockpit digital dash and a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, keyless start, DAB radio, smartphone docking, and voice recognition amongst the standard spec list on SUVs these days.
Top-end GT-Line and GT models will also receive Alcantara and leather interior trim, customizable ambient lighting and will ride on 18in alloy wheels
The speed and safety information is projected like a hologram on top of the regular cluster via a head-up display (HUD), which the company claims helps to improve driver reaction times.
Safety
According to Car Expert, an Australian auto blog, the Peugeot 2008 has a five-star rating from ANCAP based on Euro NCAP testing conducted in 2019. It received a score of 93 percent, the child occupant protection score was 87 percent, vulnerable road user protection was 73 percent, and safety assist was 72 percent.
The standard safety equipment included traffic sign recognition, lane-keep assist, driver attention monitoring, front, front-side, and curtain airbags, cruise control, a reversing camera with rear parking sensors, and autonomous emergency braking.
The higher trims have extra features like low-light pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus automatic high-beam, blind-spot monitoring, lane-positioning assist, and adaptive cruise control with stop/go.
Read More: Lucky Motor to introduce new car brand in Pakistan
Pricing
Price is one of the biggest issues reported by many car reviewers in Europe, which could again mean that Pakistan’s majority of the population will not be able to afford it.
According to auto blog Fairwheels, the vehicle will cost the buyer Rs4.5-6 million in Pakistan.
It is worth mentioning that the features are for the European models, and no official information is available for the Pakistani market.