Dubai, UAE - Peugeot launched the new 301 model yesterday, Thursday, 16th May, 2013, at The Address Montgomerie, Emirates Hills.
This is a very important car for Peugeot, as it will account for the vast majority of their car sales. The compact sedans have always been prime sellers for any major brand.
Keeping this in mind, the compact sedan has been priced at a very competitive price of 49,900 AED, putting significant pressure on Japanese and Korean rivals such as Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Accent which is unheard of for a European brand!
On first impression, it is certainly a more spacious compact sedan.
There are three strong points of Peugeot 301:
1) Wheelbase is 2.65m
2) Rear knee room is 121mm
3) Boot space is 640 liters
All three figures are claimed best-in-class by Peugeot.
Our research indicates the boot space is certainly larger than Hyundai Accent (370 liters) and Nissan Sentra (510 liters).
Wheelbase too, is longer than the Accent (2.5m) and almost equal to Sentra (2.7m).
Here's the funny part: Most publications (local and international) have mentioned rear LEGROOM of Peugeot 301 to be 121mm whereas in reality 121mm is the rear KNEE room. The rear legroom, in fact, is 801mm, a bit less compared to Nissan Sentra (1,080mm) and Hyundai Accent (1,062mm). Check out the image below highlighting both dimensions.
The 301 features a 1.6L VVT engine producing 115 horse power and 150 Nm of torque, more powerful than Sentra as well as Accent.
The Middle East is certainly a very important market for Peugeot 301 since around 74% of car sales in Middle East are compact sedans.
As a European "upmarket" brand, the package, at least on first glance, seems quite competitive.
