Peugeot’s Forester-fighting 4008 coming

PEUGEOT will launch a new compact SUV in Australia by mid-2012 – with a pricetag starting from under $30,000 – as it embarks on a new strategy that will include at least four different SUVs within the next 18 months.

To be built in Japan, the new 4008 will be based on the Mitsubishi ASX launched in Australia late last year and is expected on sale here in the second quarter of next year.

Confusingly, the 4008 will become Peugeot’s cheapest SUV, positioned beneath the French brand’s larger Mitsubishi Outlander-based 4007, the entry price of which was last week slashed to less than $35,000.

Until the high-riding 508 RXH Hybrid4 crossover arrives in the third quarter of next year, that makes the 3008 crossover Peugeot’s flagship ‘SUV’ with a starting price of $35,790.

Computer-generated images of the still-secret 4008 have been seen since as early as 2008, based on the edgy Concept-cX that previewed the slightly more conservative 2010 ASX production model at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show.

Peugeot Automobiles Australia (PAA) presented a low-resolution rendering of a green 4008 at last week’s 508 launch (above), which like the image of the red ‘2007’ that first appeared in 2008 (below), is differentiated by a distinctive Peugeot nose, a fresh C-pillar treatment and different tail-lights.

Asked how different Peugeot’s 4008 will be to the ASX upon which it will be based, PAA general manager Ken Thomas said the changes will run deeper than they do between the 4007 and Outlander.

“It is based on the ASX, yes, but I can assure you the 4008 will have its own unique characteristics, in terms of its design features,” he said.

“I think it is going to be widely appealing with its European styling, even though the car will unashamedly be built by our partner Mitsubishi, in Japan under licence, and we will get access to it pretty quickly after launch.” Six versions of the XA-series ASX are available in Australia, including 110kW/197Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol and 110kW/300Nm 1.8-litre DiD turbo-diesel engines matched with manual and automatic transmissions in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations.

Whether the 4008 will follow in the footsteps of the 4007 and its near-identical Citroen C-Crosser sibling by becoming available with PSA Peugeot/Citroen diesel engines and transmissions in Australia remains to be seen.

However, Mr Thomas said the 4008 will be sold here with the ASX’s 2.0-litre petrol engine and would also be produced in both FWD and AWD configurations with both Mitsubishi’s 1.8-litre diesel engine and a Peugeot-sourced diesel, matched with manual and Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) automatic gearboxes.

But he said model range complexity could prevent either diesel engine being made available in Australia’s 4008.

“At this stage we will take one or two engines,” he said. “There is a petrol – essentially a Mitsubishi-built petrol engine mated with a CVT - and there is a Peugeot diesel, although whether we take that will depend a lot on price and also our market research on what the customer wants.

“The mistake you can make is having too many models within that range you have to make up your mind and decide where does the bulk of your customers want you to deliver that car, and that’s the model you go for.” Mr Thomas said the 4008 could become a high-volume vehicle for the brand when it arrives here by the second quarter of next year.

“I think by virtue of the compact SUV market (reinventing itself) as a 2WD compact SUV market the 4008 will be popular,” he said.

Left: Peugeot 4007. Below: Mitsubishi ASX. Bottom: An earlier rendering of the 4008.



“Our research has shown that women in particular like the higher seating position. People will want to buy more of that type of vehicle – like the Kia Sportage and the Hyundai ix35 – and the 4008 has that type of appeal.

“I can’t yet tell you what sort of numbers we are expecting as the car was just announced to us several weeks ago and we thought it important to share that news with you.” Mr Thomas said Peugeot's SUV range would be further expanded in coming years, with the 508 RXH Hybrid4 crossover wagon set to join the 3008, 4007 and 4008 on sale in Australia in the third quarter of next year, following its global debut at this September's Frankfurt motor show.

“I think that any car-maker that has done well in Australia over the last 10 years is simply down to them having a very good SUV proposition… “You only have to look at the BMW model to see how well they’ve done with their X1, X3 and X5, as well as Audi with the Q5 and Q7. Without SUVs they wouldn’t be half the companies that they are.

“And I think that Peugeot has to look at similar SUV solutions ourselves… and there will be more SUVs offerings to come in the next few years, that will be both traditional on-road as well as off-road SUVs.” Meanwhile, the 4007 compact SUV has undergone a “price readjustment” of $6500 as well as a minor specification upgrade in order to revitalise sales with only 241 shifted so far in 2011 volume is down 9.1 per cent.

Peugeot’s all-diesel 4007 range now opens at $34,990 for the five-seater ST, which continues to be powered by a PSA-sourced 115kW/380Nm 2.2-litre HDi turbo-diesel, matched with both six-speed manual and automatic transmissions – the latter now costing $37,490.

Likewise, the mechanically identical 4007 ST seven-seat auto is now also $6500 more affordable than before at $38,690, while the flagship seven-seat SV auto now costs $43,690 (down from $50,190).

The Mitsubishi ‘GS’ platform that underpins the Outlander/4007/C-Crosser trio and ASX/4008 twins also underpins Mitsubishi’s existing CJ Lancer and, in heavily modified ‘JS’ guise, the Chrysler group’s Caliber, Sebring/200, Journey, Avenger, Compass and Patriot models.

2011 Peugeot 4007 pricing:&nbsp
ST	$34,990
ST (a) &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp	$37,490
ST 7-seat (a)	$38,690
SV 7-seat (a)	$43,690