[Eminenttismo]

High Points:

- Designed for the emerging markets. Will be marketed from 1 November 2012 in Turkey, and then in a wide area: Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, North Africa, Middle East, Gulf countries and Africa and some Latin American markets.

- Length of 4.44 m

- 2.65 m wheelbase

- ESP, ABS, up to 4 airbags, emergency brake assist, ISOFIX, etc..

- 1.2 liter 3-cylinder VTi 53 kW (72 hp) one with a manual gearbox
1.6 liter HDi 68 kW (92 hp) with manual transmission
1.6 liter VTi 85 kW (115 hp) with manual gearbox or automatic

- Produced in the European plant in Vigo (Spain)

[revintup]

Seriously us Indians should not be bothered with Peugeots given the total lack of interest from the company towards the Indian market. And i firmly believe that it will be a sales dud if Peugeot decides to set up shop in India. They have earned quite a name for themselves with the old 309 and now the cancellation of its plant.

[GTO]

Must say, it's quite a good looking sedan for something that's developed for the emerging markets. However, as revintup rightly mentioned, Peugeot's Indian operations continue to suffer one bad news after another. Their commitment to our market is ZERO.

it's also been developed to deal with a greater range of climates and with poor road conditions that often exist in developing markets.

Typical PR rubbish. That's what they said about the Peugeot 309 too!

[SmartCat]

301 looks like Maserati Quattroporte's grandson!

Why are all the good looking and desirable cars are made by companies you wouldn't want to buy from?

[mav2000]

Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please avoid typing with excessive dots.........like................this. Thanks

Looks nice, but knowing Peugeot, they will keep deciding and redeciding. They seem to have no long term strategy in place, specially for India.

[Eminenttismo]

Originally Posted by revintup

Seriously us Indians should not be bothered with Peugeots given the total lack of interest from the company towards the Indian market. And i firmly believe that it will be a sales dud if Peugeot decides to set up shop in India. They have earned quite a name for themselves with the old 309 and now the cancellation of its plant.

Originally Posted by GTO

Must say, it's quite a good looking sedan for something that's developed for the emerging markets. However, as revintup rightly mentioned, Peugeot's Indian operations continue to suffer one bad news after another. Their commitment to our market is ZERO.

Originally Posted by mav2000

Looks nice...but knowing Peugeot, they will keep deciding and redeciding...they seem to have no long term strategy in place, specially for India.

I suppose Peugeot is trying to play it safe in India and other emerging markets considering it's weak European Operations. I think they will come up with a more efficient plan given their new alliance with GM. But that must be time consuming.

Originally Posted by smartcat

301 looks like Maserati Quattroporte's grandson!

Why are all the good looking and desirable cars are made by companies you wouldn't want to buy from?

Yes,.

[Mpower]

Looks quite good (esp interior) for something that's slated for emerging markets. (Please take note Mr.Toyota Etios)

Its interesting to note that they are not only joining the 3 cyl bandwagon but offering it in a sedan!

[1100D]

Originally Posted by GTO

Typical PR rubbish. That's what they said about the Peugeot 309 too!

But in case of the 309, the car was capable of handling our roads best with respect to the others in its segment (read Esteem, Cielo). Had a 309 GLD in the family and were quite impressed by it, till the company moved out.

Similarly the 504, 505 rocked africa and 504 is still being produced there. 504 specially was known for its ride and handling on European expressways as well as African rural lands, it was that versatile. I grew up in one such country and recall that my father used to have a smile driving the 504 over a W123!

But I agree that the company now seems to only be a shadow of its former self. With the lack of dedication and resolve to setup shop in India (not sure how many times now that their Indian initiatives have failed) will always take these claims from current Peugeot with a pinch of salt.

[Eminenttismo]

Originally Posted by Mpower

(Please take note Mr.Toyota Etios)

The interior particularly is note worthy.


Is it based on a new chassis?
Because I see no point in developing a new chassis for a car that will be marketed in emerging markets considering the profit and expenditure will be more.

The Vigo plant in Spain produces the C4 Picasso which is based off C4 or the 307 Platform. May be the car is on the same platform as 307 or 308?

[Mpower]

Yup. A cursory glance at the size and features indicates that is based on the outgoing 208 hatch.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Yup. A cursory glance at the size and features indicates that is based on the outgoing 208 hatch.

Do you mean to say 'outgoing 207'? Because 208 just came in this year.

Infact Autocar UK has reported that the 301 is actually the successor of the current 308. Going by the Peugeot nomenclature, the next gen 308 should be the 309, but apparently they don't want resurrect the 309 name too soon, and hence starting from 301 again. And the sedan version of this car maybe the one for emerging markets.

Here's the relevant link:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/ne...val-301’

[Mpower]

Yes Vb, the 2 series as I like to call it. Thank you.

I doubt if thats the case because the 308 is a Golf sized car and the sedan version would be a Laura/Cruze sized car.

Now how can you power that with a 1.2 liter 3 cyld 82 bhp engine??

[GTO]

Originally Posted by 1100D

But in case of the 309, the car was capable of handling our roads best with respect to the others in its segment (read Esteem, Cielo).

Used my Esteem for about 2.0 lakh kms and it handled the roads just fine too. Except for two overhauls at the expected kms, the suspension didn't ask for anything else. The car had multiple drivers, has visited every corner of Maharashtra and was fairly abused in the last 2 years with us.

I'm not able to figure out what manufacturers mean when they state "our suspension is rough road ready". If it means ground clearance, agreed. But other than that, overall reliability actually comes from precision & quality at the time of manufacturing. Example : Everyone thinks that the Indica is the best for "rough roads". Well, at the end of 1.5 lakh kms, a Swift has required 25% of the maintenance that an Indica does. Actually, at 1.5 lakh kms, the Indica is at the end of its useful life, while the Swift can still fetch you over Rs. 250,000 in resale!

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Yes Vb, the 2 series as I like to call it. Thank you.
I doubt if thats the case because the 308 is a Golf sized car and the sedan version would be a Laura/Cruze sized car.
Now how can you power that with a 1.2 liter 3 cyld 82 bhp engine??

True, and looking at the pictures, the said 301 sedan looks more aligned to the 208. And the 1.2 3cyl engine is also from the 208.

But, there may be some truth in the Autocar article. Peugeot current naming convention goes with 1 to 8 for the last digit. As per that, the next generation of 308 should reset back to 301.

Here is a review/write-up on 301 sedan, along with the press release info.
2013 Peugeot 301 Sedan - Top Speed

[volkman10]

Peugeot rename models based on markets!

Peugeot says the launch of its 301 compact sedan will usher in a new car-naming system intended to avoid confusion between different generations and variants of the same model

Entry-level models such as the 301, aimed at emerging markets, will end in a 1, while models targeted at mature markets will end in an 8. These include the 208 subcompact, 308 compact, and 508 midsized car

Current models ending in a 7 will be renamed on replacement

http://europe.autonews.com/apps/pbcs...ture-for-brand