Earthfusion gets behind the wheel of the Peugeot 508 sedan and 207 hatchback: An ICB Exclusive!

Peugeot 508 sedan front

The upcoming Delhi Auto Expo has a lot to offer in terms of new car and bike launches. Majority of the car makers have lined-up some exciting stuff for the aficionados and the average customer. The year 2011 has been anything but cheerful for the auto industry with the exception of a few premium brands. India’s premier car maker Maruti Suzuki will debut the Ertiga MPV which will be their first offering in the MPV space. The other big launch happening during the auto expo is the Ford EcoSport crossover.

All eyes will be on Ford India and their strategy for the new compact SUV. Speaking of compact SUVs, Premier will launch an updated version of the Rio while Hyundai will showcase a new compact SUV concept dubbed the HND-7. As far as premium brands are concerned, BMW will launch the Mini while Audi also has a few surprises in store for us. That said, we’ve been banging about all the new stuff that will on display at the upcoming auto expo but not much has been talked about one French brands re-entry into the Indian market.

Peugeot 208 front angle

So, we thought we should dig around a bit and see if we could get hold of some exclusive stuff. You’d be amazed to know that we did actually get a sneak peek into the upcoming Peugeot cars. The Peugeot 508 sedan and 207 hatchback have already been spotted doing their usual testing rounds around India’s roads. We’ve been on their trail for quite a while and the following exclusive information has been the result of weeks of hardcore investigative journalism by our manEarthfusion. Right, now let me fill you in with some little known facts about the Peugeot cars that will make their debut in India.

Earthfusion got behind the wheel of the Peugeot 508 and the 207 hatchback recently and IndianCarsBikes.in is the first online publication to bring you an exclusive first impression of the new age Peugeots. Both models that are on test in India are equipped with automatic transmissions. The 508 has a diesel engine under the hood coupled to a slush box. The 207 on the other hand will be available with both diesel or petrol engines with an automatic option with the petrol variant. That said, the 207 will be replaced by the 208 five-door hatchback soon and this is the car that will drive in to India.

Peugeot 508 sedan rear

The hatchback gets decent quality interior with the usual fabric seats. NVH levels are pretty low even on the diesel models. The gearbox has a nice chunky feel to it when you slot in a ratio and the gear changes are rather smooth. That said our man Earthfusion could only try the automatic versions. The diesel engine isn’t too noise either and has decent low end torque which aides city driving. Also, the petrol engine on the hatchback has ample grunt to take on the hustle and bustle of Indian roads.

Our tester was impressed by the interior quality of the 508 sedan. The dashboard is well laid out with leather seats and a multi-functional leather wrapped steering wheel. Given the fact that the Peugeot 508 will go against the Honda Accord, the diesel engine on the Peugeot does give it the advantage over the Honda. Honda really needs to hurry with their diesel engine for India because now they have yet another rival that could make things worse for them in the new year. We expect Peugeot to unveil the cars during the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo and as I’ve said time and again, Team ICB will be covering the expo live from Delhi. So stay tuned!