NASIM Peugeot sprang a surprise when it launches five new variants of the 508 luxury sedan as two of them come with the Euro 5 diesel engine. Apparently, Nasim has been wanting to bring in the diesel variant since 2009 and has been actively sending in local diesel samples to Peugeot’s laboratory in France.
“What we found out was very interesting. Our diesel pollutant quantity used to be at 3,000 ppm (particles per million) but then it dropped down to between 300 to 400 ppm, good enough for Peugeot’s high end HDi FAP diesel engines,” said Dato’ Samson Anand George, COO of Nasim. He later added that Peugeot has done lab and also endurance testing to see the performance of the diesel engines. ”To date, we have clocked more than 100,000km and the engines have no problems coping with the local diesel.”
We were also told that the diesel engine is rated Euro 5 and still has its particulate filters intact.
Two variants are equipped with the diesel engine, the 508 GT sedan (RM199,888) and the 508 SW GT wagon (RM209,888), both sporting the 2.2 HDi FAP (turbo diesel) that unleashes 204hp and 450Nm with 6-speed auto transmission. The other three variants are the 508 Standard (RM155,888), the 508 Premium (RM169,888, the same one TopGear Malaysia reviewed in May 2012) and the 508 SW (RM179,888). All these petrol variants run on the same 1.6L twin scroll turbo engine with 6-speed auto transmission.
Nasim also sprang a surprise with the SW models, again breaking the local market’s tradition by offering a wagon option. The company however believes that the petrol and sedan variants will still make around 80 per cent of the sales for the 508. Target sales figure for the 508 now is between 150 to 200 units a month. All prices quoted are on-the-road prices with insurance. As with all Peugeots, the cars come with a 5-year unlimited mileage warranty.
