Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   The Indian Car Scene (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/)

-   -   Peugeot 208 facelift caught testing in India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/187408-peugeot-208-facelift-caught-testing-india.html)

With Peugeot looking to enter the Indian market by 2020, they may be testing the 208 hatchback in it's facelifted avatar of 2016. The car had a 'PureTech' badge, which means it had the 3 cylinder engine that comes in different sets of tune. The tune of this car's engine is not known.

The car was caught on camera in Mumbai wearing TC plates, however, there is a possibility that this car may be a private import by someone as the car was not wearing any camouflage. Read more about it here.




Credits : Overdrive

I don't think that is a private import as all the badges are covered up. It's definitely a company import, here for testing.

Logical.

For PSA to start testing their vehicles; to get a feel of Indian driving conditions and how their vehicles are going to cope with it.
They can understand the performance gaps of the various systems and aggregates and re-engineer them to Indian conditions.

Also, it seems that this is not a European version 208. The Euro Pug's sit much lower.
This car looks it has been plucked from some other market. Maybe some African or Iranian market where Peugeot has substantial presence.
Again, makes sense, as the vehicles for these markets would possibly be having aggregates which are more robust and "abuse-friendly" compared to their European counterparts and will give a better representational view from a product performance perspective.

Could not help being a little cheeky and posting a picture of the Gaul's Korean cousin! Now who copied whom? lol:

I had seen Peugeot cars multiple times in Pune in monsoon of 2014. I thought they would launch by Diwali 14 but that never happened :(

The white Peugeot 208 in Pune belongs to a R&D company and the car was imported for benchmarking/study purposes.

Interestingly Zauba shows no record of any Peugeot 208 being imported in the recent past.

Nice to note Peugeot's entry with 208. I had taken this car on rental in Germany, Europe for two weeks and it was a pleasure driving this car on autobahns and other state highways. Overall felt much better than many hatchbacks sold in india. Fuel efficiency was decent, perhaps not the best due to driving at high speeds (but within permitted speed limits of the highways). Would definitely be in my consideration for buy, if priced below Polo.

Hope that apart from the suspension height, there is not much change. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/editpo...post&p=4209763

Saw 4-5 of these near the Hinjewadi flyover in Pune today. I was driving so couldn't click any pictures. Strangely, only the front and rear logos were covered with no other camouflaging. The car looked good from the little glimpse I got.

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing them with other enthusiasts via this page!



In June 2017, an uncamouflaged test mule of the Peugeot 208 was spotted in India. Now, images of a group of 208s have surfaced online. What is noticeable is that the cars in the images are no longer bearing temporary license plates, but have now been registered with the Pune RTO. This suggests that the carmaker might set up its office or a factory in or around the city.



The 208 has sweptback headlamp clusters with projector lamps, a black grille with a chrome border and round fog lamps. The front bumper gets chrome inserts as well. There are no request sensors on the door handles.



One of the spy images gives us a glimpse of the interiors of the car. The vehicle gets all-black interiors and is equipped with a multi-functional 3-spoke steering wheel, which has silver insert on the lower spoke. The centre fascia houses a touchscreen infotainment system with the central air-conditioner vent located just below it. The side air-conditioner vents have silver inserts around them and the inside door handles also appear to be finished in silver. The car also gets front quarter glass. The absence of manual control stalks suggests that the car's ORVMs are electrically adjustable. A keyhole for the starter suggests that the car does not get an engine start/stop button. There is an "airbag" tag on the driver's seat, which means that the car is likely to be equipped with side airbags. The image also reveals that the upholstery gets white stitching.



Earlier reports have indicated that one of the cars tested in India was powered by a 3-cylinder petrol engine form the PureTech family. The PureTech range consists of a 1.0-litre engine making 66 BHP, a 1.2-litre unit producing 80 BHP and a 1.2-litre powerplant developing 108 BHP. In India, the Peugeot 208 is likely to be offered with the 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder engine that produces 80 BHP. A diesel version is likely to be offered as well. The 208 is expected to come with a choice of manual and automatic transmissions.

The PSA Group which owns the Peugeot and Citroen brands has already confirmed its plans to enter the Indian market by 2019. The French carmaker has also announced a collaboration with the CK Birla Group. In addition to the 208, Peugeot is also rumoured to be gearing up to launch the 308 hatchback in India.

Link to Team-BHP News

This is a bit intriguing now that they are registered under Pune RTO.

Back in August last year when I was getting my car's wheel balancing and alignment at Wakad (near Hinjawadi flyover on the highway next to Fiat Showroom) two of these cars were parked for getting theirs done as well without any camouflage and test registration. The drivers were not around but I got a good look of the cars, they were pretty dirty inside out probably hinting at some long distance testing.
PSA group is onto something !

+1 to Ninja.
I spotted these around the same time right outside the Balewadi stadium on the highway.
They were a fleet of about 4 cars accompanied by a Hyundai i20. I earlier mistook it for a i20 face-lift but then realized the conventional Peugeot logo placement.
They were not camouflaged at all but were heavily equipped with testing equipment on the inside which made it difficult to see the interior properly.

I hope the 308 comes loaded to the brim with equipment sometime soon. I owned an imported 306 with a 1.9 litre oil burner in the 90s. It weighed a ton; as solid as they came. When I sold it in 2005 I always wanted another option that gave me a similar feel. Of course Peugeot’s plans for India were made clear when they introduced the 309 - which was garbage. Hope their second innings is more impressive.

I've seen one of these in the it park I work in chennai, but I am given to understand from a reliable source that they are here for design and testing as one of the companies here does some work with them.

The cars are registered in the name of PCA Motors

MH12PC8051 [PUNE,MH]
Owner:1-PCA MOTORS PVT LTD
Vehicle:PEUGEOT 208(PETROL)
Motor Car
RC/FC Expiry:02-Jun-32
MV Tax upto:(LifeTime)
-Courtesy:MoRTH/NIC

Pug should skip launching these, they are a little old and have nothing to set them apart. Instead they should launch the 3008, it would make a Jeep look boring.