Pan Nigeria unveils new flag ship model for Nigeria

According to Deputy Managing Director, Mr Jamie Pena, the new 408 will have to go on sale until the assembly line are completely modified to have the 408 assembled here in Nigeria. The 408 will still serve in the M2 category along side the Toyota Avensis and the Honda Accord, most especially it will “come […]

According to Deputy Managing Director, Mr Jamie Pena, the new 408 will have to go on sale until the assembly line are completely modified to have the 408 assembled here in Nigeria. The 408 will still serve in the M2 category along side the Toyota Avensis and the Honda Accord, most especially it will “come as a car for Nigerians,” as mentioned by Mr. Jamie Pena.

Even though the characteristic is related to the 308, the 408 still remains very fit to handle than the M2 because it’s bigger and wider than its Nigerian predecessor, the 406. According to Pan’s Senior Manager, Marketing & Planning, the 408 comes as “an improved version to the 406” which shares the same principle layout through out Peugeot 400 series. The new car’s name follows the Lion Marque’s traditional nomenclature, with the number 4 referring to the size of the vehicle, which measures 4.68 meters in length, and its position in the midsize luxury saloon segment. The 0 denotes the 408 as a Peugeot, while the 8 signifies the sedan’s generation.

At the moment Pan Nigeria will be selling the 2.0 liter engines here in Nigeria which comes with an staggering fuel economy that returns of 6.7 liters for every 100 kilometers. The beauty about this engine is that it is mated to a 4 speed tiptronic transmission gearbox. The result should be a reduction in gear hunting which was largely experienced in the 406 during high speed and over taking. This is largely due to the fact that the newly improved 2.0 liter engine now delivers up to 200Nm of torque compared to the 406 at 190Nm.

The 408 comes with a chassis design shared in the Citroën C5 which have been very good for road manners and dynamics as a whole. Even though the 408 has returned to the Macpherson strut from the double wish bone, it now offers the low profile tyres which should reduce body rolls at bends.

The new 408 looses much of its     Pininfarina design to a more elegant body that has a little bit of the MPV height and ground clears. Just so that you don’t feel short and still have good visibility around your environment, the shoulder line have been brought down a little. Even though the 408 exterior looks more tamed, the interior offers a GT layout borrowed from the 308 with high quality materials with soft touch appeal. The cabin space is indeed enormous that you can’t complain and the boot has been increased as it is surprisingly bigger against its own looks.

The base price for the new 408 will start from N4.7 million and it will come in two trim levels.