Scoop: Peugeot Caught Testing Hotter 308 SW GTI

It's only been a week since Peugeot offered us an early glimpse of their new 308 SW (Station Wagon) ahead of the compact model's world premiere at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March, and while no hot version was mentioned in the release, our spy shots tell a different story.

This prototype is believed to be the GTI variant of the 308 SW series that will share the same powertrain and chassis upgrades with the upcoming five-door 308 GTI, and which will likely include a detuned version of the 1.6-liter turbo found in the RCZ R delivering somewhere around 220-horses.

The tester features a modified front bumper with extended air vents, bigger brakes and twin exhaust pipes at the back, though, expect the production car to sport a few more changes to give it a slightly aggressive appearance.

We should see the car in its final form within the next year.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS

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UK: Restyled Peugeot 5008 Priced and Detailed

The Peugeot 5008 has been made ever so slightly more attractive after having received a facelift, and while it didn’t have an image problem as poignant as that of the smaller 3008, it’s welcome.

Now it’s available for order in the UK, where it promises the same seven-seater practicality with high levels of adjustability for each seat, but with more equipment and gadgets on offer than before, plus nine new color choices, all for the starting price of £18,800 for an Access trim model with the 1.6-liter petrol engine and 120 hp.

If you want a diesel, the 1.6-HDi, with 115 hp starts at £20,495. It comes with a snappy six-speed manual gearbox as standard, but should you want a robot to do the gear changing for you, then there’s that option too, available in the £21,345 e-HDi FAP model. It promises to return 65.7 mpg and emit 113 g/km CO2; the conventional manual only manages 56.4 mpg UK and pollutes slightly more, but it will definitely be the more satisfactory means of swapping cogs.

There’s also a turbocharged petrol variant on offer too, drawing its power from a 1.6-liter THP unit with 156 hp. It too uses a six-speed manual and can achieve a claimed 40.4 mpg UK on the combined cycle.

Other novelty features include the LED daytime running lights, along with the reversing camera; when buying one of these note that the fitting of PSA’s head-up display is not a bad way to part with a few hundred of your pounds, should you run out of options boxes for necessities and still remain within budget.

By Andrei Nedelea

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Peugeot’s New 308 SW Boasts 610 Liters of Boot Volume

Peugeot’s family of 308 compact vehicles has just welcomed its second member after the traditional hatch in the form of the 308 SW (Station Wagon).

The estate version of the 308 is 4,580mm long (180.3in) and 1,470mm tall (57.9in), boasting a boot capacity of 610 liters (21.5 cubic feet). That is pretty close to the segment’s leader, the Honda Civic Tourer, which has a 624-liter boot (22 cubic feet).

Furthermore, the seats are folded with a single action from inside the boot and form a perfectly flat floor.

There are no surprises in terms of design, as the 308 SW features the same styling language as the hatchback. The most obvious difference is the addition of the third lateral window and the larger taillights. On the inside, the Peugeot i-Cockpit is carried over from the hatchback with no changes.

Just like the 308 hatchback, the 308 SW is based on Peugeot’s new Efficient Modular Platform (EMP2), which uses weight saving solutions. This is why the 308 SW is 140 kg (308.6 lbs) lighter overall than its predecessor. As a result, Peugeot says the estate is more fun to drive too.

The 308 SW will be available with the same range of Euro 6 petrol anddiesel engines from the hatchback, including a BlueHDI version that emits just 85 g CO2 per kilometer.

The car will debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, with sales scheduled to start in France during spring followed shortly after by other European countries.

By Dan Mihalascu

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New Peugeot 308 Compact Hatch on Sale in the UK from £14,495

Peugeot's latest effort in the popular compact hatchback category, the all-new 308, is now officially on sale in Britain, where it is available in four trim levels, named Access (from £14,495), Active (from £17,195), Allure (from £18,645) and Feline (from £20,995). For full pricing details, check out our previous post here.

Depending on the trim grade, Peugeot's VW Golf and Ford Focus competitor can be had with eight engine choices in the UK, including the 1.2-liter VTI 82PS, 1.2-liter e-THP 110PS, 1.2-liter e-THP 130PS, 1.6-liter THP 125PS, 1.6-liter HDi 92PS, 1.6-liter e-HDi 115PS, 1.6-liter BlueHDi 120PS and 2.0-liter BlueHDi 150PS.

Other highlights include the new Modular Platform 2 (EMP2) that has allowed the 308 to be up to 140kg (308 pounds) lighter over the predecessor model, a 420-litre boot space with the rear seats upright, and a multitude of comfort and tech features such as an available touch-screen infotainment system with a large 9.7-inch screen size.

“The New 308 is a significant leap forward for Peugeot," commented Tim Zimmerman, Managing Director of Peugeot UK. "It’s high on style and quality and provides a truly rewarding driving experience, all at a value-for-money price. We’re confident it will be a big hit with UK customers.”

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Peugeot Rumored to Be Working on Mercedes CLA Rival

Peugeot is a bit out of touch with what’s currently happening on the Old Continent in terms of buyers’ demand for interesting new vehicles.

Along with parent company PSA, it believes that the solution is to make a crossover out of every single darned hatchback that they have, and even the larger cars – the results of that tactic can be ghastly (don’t buy a 3008, really) or no more than average.

However, after seeing that the luxurious yet trendy Germans over at Mercedes are having a field day selling their front-wheel drive sedan, the CLA, a vehicle also based on a hatchback, Autobild suggests that the French too want a piece of the action and are readying a rival for the swoopy sedan called the 408 GT – a Peugeot-badged Citroen DS 5LS?

As its name suggests, this new model would slot in between the 308 and 508, while the GT part hints that they can look even further over the fence, way into the backyard of BMW and its similarly-branded models.

In addition, while it is not directly mentioned in the source article, I suspect that this 408 GT would share its underpinnings with the 308, modern torsion beam rear suspension and all. Engines would be carried over too, and may go all the way up to 266 hp if need be.

By Andrei Nedelea

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Peugeot Smashes Into Road Construction Block, 6th Accident to Happen on this Site in Past Month

Even if the following video doesn't provide us with a detailed look at the accident scene, the fact that, according to Russian media, this is the sixth crash to have taken place on this particular road construction zone on the 74km of the Moscow Ring Road in the past month alone, tells us that there's something terribly wrong with the way it is set up.

The five previous crashes resulted in the death of three people with four more sustaining injuries when the vehicles they were travelling in smashed into the roadblocks.

In the case of the forceful Peugeot accident captured on a dash-cam video from a following car, the 42-year-old driver of the Peugeot van, Ivan Kalioglo, was injured and transferred to the hospital.

Needless to say, Russian authorities should have already taken measures to make the construction zone safe for drivers and workers alike.

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