The lion roars thrice

The new Peugeots are ready to challenge the local SUV market

With this year heading to home stretch, French brand Peugeot unleashed its salvo of three new vehicle releases in the Philippines in line with Peugeot Southeast Asia Group’s global SUV offensive.

That may sound a bit aggressive but by the looks of the new iterations of their popular nameplates, it’s simply apt.

The new 2008, and the all-new 3008, and 5008 7-seater have been unveiled to the local motoring media recently, and it’s apparent that Peugeot’s got their crosshairs on the thriving local SUV market.

Peugeot Philippines president Glenn Dasig explained that the brand’s late foray into the SUV game only allowed them to bring their new SUVs to higher levels of features and performance to be more competitive in the market.

Indeed, one glance at the trio reveals a strong cohesiveness in their design language that conveys a bold and athletic persona.

The all-new 3008 and 5008, for instance, can no longer be mistaken for MPVs, minivans or even crossovers as their looks and configuration now clearly state “SUV,” and along with the 2008, certainly make for a formidable-looking sub-compact, compact, and medium-sized SUV lineup.

The scoop on the new Peugeots doesn’t end skin-deep though, as it’s really the total driver experience that the brand aimed to ace.

Body structures were engineered to be sleeker and more compact in dimensions while keeping the interior as spacious as possible, finding the ideal balance between great looks and functionality.

The new Peugeot SUVs also possess a lower center of gravity despite having respectable ride heights, to enhance driving stability without sacrificing multi-terrain capability.

The cockpit displays a bold and athletic persona

They also feature a couple of proprietary tech from Peugeot, namely its Modular Platform 2 setup that significantly reduces the vehicles’ weight while improving on suspension, and the patented Advanced Grip Control, that allows the vehicles to take on a difficult terrain with the agility of a lighter vehicle.

The heart of the lion

Peugeot aims to buck the market’s predilection towards diesel-powered SUVs by offering its new SUV lineup equipped with its next-generation gasoline-fed engines.

The 1.6-liter high-pressure turbo engine will be available on the new Peugeot 3008, and the award-winning (2017 International Engine of the Year) 1.2-liter Puretech engine will be available for the first time in the country on the new Peugeot 2008.

These new Peugeot gasoline engines are more compact, clean-running, more powerful and fuel-efficient, and offer a compelling option to diesel engines.

Truly, Peugeot isn’t speaking lightly when it say it has a new breed of SUVs.

The all-new Peugeot 3008 SUV GT Line is now available in limited supply at P2.59 million. The Peugeot 2008 SUV will be available by 2018 at a retail price of P1.49 million. The new Peugeot 5008 will also be available by 2018, and its SRP will be announced soon.