It’s not the first time Carscoops spies catch Peugeot
during testing of a weird-looking jacked up 208 hatchback which itself is an
early mule of the French company’s upcoming baby SUV. Our first encounter with
Peugeot’s mule dates back in August 2017 and the test car itself appears to
have done little progress since then, at least on the outside.
The upcoming baby SUV -unofficially called ‘1008’-
is still dressed with the 208 bodywork, which has been modified to accommodate
the model’s longer wheelbase. As before, a set of plastic fender flares are
still present, doing their part to hide the wider tracks.
The new Peugeot 1008 will sit underneath SUV models
like the 2008 and 3008, expanding the French carmaker’s offerings in a segment
that keeps on getting more popular by the day. It will most likely be based on
PSA’s CMP architecture (Common Modular Platform), which will underpin all
future models of the French company’s entry-level lineup.
With PSA already having announced that all of its new
models from 2019 onwards will feature either a fully electric or a hybrid
powertrain, expect the new small SUV to offer at least one electrified
derivative, in addition to a range of turbocharged three- and four-cylinder
engines.
We still can’t tell for sure when Peugeot is
planning on revealing the smallest member of its SUV fleet, but judging from
their continuous testing of the specific mule, we would wait for a launch
probably in 2020.
