First Impressions: Peugeot 108 & 5008

Thursday, 19th September 2019 marked the announcement of the revamping and rebranding of the Peugeot brand in Southern Africa. And with having had the 200-year-old brand’s iconic Lion on coffee grinders, pepper mills, scooters, bicycles and cars, the car manufacturer launched two cars that will carry the newly revamped Peugeot logo.

Since its inception in 1808, Peugeot’s first shipment of imported cars only arrived at our Cape Town shores in 1902. Since then Peugeot has managed to steadily capture the hearts of South Africans with the company selling 10 000 units for the first time in 1972.

Is Peugeot ‘Back‘ In The Race?

In 2019, the launch of the entry level 108 and 5008 SUV marks a new beginning of the Peugeot brand as they try to recapture the South African market. The sleek 108 will be battling it out with the likes of the Volkswagen UP and Hyundai i10. The Peugeot 108 has been designed to tackle the urban traffic, the daytime led running lights and distinct three claw design of the rear lights carve the cars unmistakable appearance.

The dashboard has been fitted with a touch screen infotainment system. Windows, Android and iOs devices are compatible with the system and one can either connect via Bluetooth or cable. Peugeot’s 108 has a 3 cylinder 1.0VTi engine that pushes out 53kW with a claimed fuel consumption of 4.1 l/100km.

The bolder 5008

The new Peugeot 5008 on the other hand boasts a more enchanting design that’s packed with fresh features to spear it into the ever growing SUV market. The design and release of this model is said to continue the brands strategy in being up market and more so to lead the C-segment large seven-seater SUV.

The 5008 has fantastic interior design and finishes with great use of various materials to make it appealing to the everyday driver and passenger. The last row of seats are easily removeable to increase storage pace, the beauty about this is that each seat only weighs roughly 11kg so these can be removed and reinserted without difficulty. This Peugeot has the smallest steering wheel in this segment and in my opinion it’s something someone can get used to over time. The dashboard has a 12.3” high-resolution digital head-up instrument panel and an 8” capacitive touchscreen.

The i-Cockpit has been brought it to evoke feeling and emotion of the drive experience. This seeks to evoke your senses such as; sight with the screen and cabin light that can be adjusted, hearing with musical ambiance settings, touch with the five multipoint seat massage programmes and even smell through the built in fragrance diffuser. The exterior also displays the signature claws effect in the tail-lights, wide grille with chrome fins that lead you to its piercing feline like halogen headlamps.

The Peugeot 5008 will be available in 1.6 petrol and 2.0 diesel engines with all models having a six speed automatic transmission. The GT Line will have more standard features with the option extra of the opening panoramic sunroof with electric blind and side lighting.

Peugeot has not held back on these two models and its evident that they want their presence felt in the South African market. With both models coming equipped standard with six airbags and packed with a lot of features that may be ticket as extras in other vehicles. These cars really set an interesting tone for the manufacturer moving forward. Xavier Gobille, MD of Peugeot Citroën South Africa also added that it’s their biggest priority to reposition the brand perception. Peugeot cars now come with 5 Years / 100 000 km Service Plan , 5 Years / 100 000 km Warranty and road-side assistance and courtesy transport for all warranty repairs for 48 hours.

The 108 Active 1.0 THP base model has been priced at R 179 900 and the 5008 will start from R 534 900 for the Allure 1.6 THP and the GT LINE 2.0 HDi will start form R 554 900.