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Joined:
Feb 07
Posts: 4536
bertandnairobi says:
I read about this in the Danish paper Jyllands Posten. It´s the new Peugeot mid-size saloon, slotting in (in journalese) under the evil-looking slab, the 508. For some of us, this is heartening that there are still mid-size saloons available now that Ford and Opel among others seem to have abandoned this genre. Even Peugeot did so for a long while after the demise of the superbly tailored 306 saloon. This car still has Peugeot´s silly tiny badge hidden in the overhang of the grille. Some will of course carp that it´s not a 4.0 litre bahnstormer with a boot only able to carry an iPod and a pair of Persols. Sod them. Some of us have stuff to carry and people to transport. This car might be for you.
Attached images:
I need to post a reply to get this up onto the top of the board, don´t I?
I can tell this story is going to set Car´s little world on fire.
Dec 06
Posts: 1806
car4mh says:
Actually, livc44411 and Sam the Eagle both wondered what your thoughts on the 301 were on last month's News Watch comments, so you'll have another couple of replies. Opel will release the Astra saloon (a Buick Verano back from its semester abroad in America) in Paris this September tso the march of the sensible cars continues.
[This Reply has been modified by the Author]
Hi: I missed those apparently. It´s cheering to hear Opel are back with a smaller saloon too. Then perhaps Ford will release a few of its Focus saloons. I know they exist somewhere. Perhaps Car can arrange a giant test; it would help recalibrate their senses to experience something with a bit less horsepower than an Audi RS something or other. Looking closely at the 301 here I can see it looks a bit busy about the flanks, as if the pen wielders were affected by Citroen´s urge to overdecorate. That said, I will overlook this since I am happy it exists at all. I expect the Irish and the Spanish might like it as they appreciate this format more than the UK customer, for whom "small saloon" is the car equivalent of a small semi in Canley. I hope the boot is as capacious as it looks. I´ve moved on from ashtray capacities to boot capacities. I am evolving, I guess, growing in my capacities for appreciation.
Oct 06
Posts: 3048
Sam the Eagle says:
I thought it looked terrible and hoped it would not be put on sale in Europe.
That said, it is already (slightly) growing on me, although I would still prefer an Octavia or Jetta to this.
Boot capacity is indeed the one key factor for anyone who puts practicality on top of their priority list. Which is why I have been banging on about the 'golf bag test' for quite a while now, not just because I like the game...
That said, as much as I love the huge bootspace on my Bora, I will go for a hatch or small MPV next time as saloons are too restrictive when it comes to carrying stuff.
Hell is other people.
I wouldn´t call it terrible; ordinary would be my choice but I am glad it exists. My test for a boot is whether it can carry a Danish pram and still have room for a few suitcases. My XM does the job but it is a tight fit.
I wonder who has the biggest boot. It´s not the Rolls Royce Phantom which has a disappointing 460 litres which is precisely the same as my car, oddly. The Volvo S80 has only 420 litres; Merc´s E-class has 520 litres; the Skoda Superb has 595 with the seats up. Gosh. Is there nything bigger out there that´s still a saloon?
I´m already off topic: 460 litres is all that RR could manage for a car longer than a Ronnie Corbett monologue? Here was a chance to have a truly vast hangar of a boot, something like 600 litres without anyone noticing a vast overhang. Yet in some photos the car looks like its missing length aft of the c-pillar. I know there are lots of other good things about this car yet I feel this is the car´s secret sin. The boot is, proportionally tiny.
This just in: a 1990 Buick Roadmaster sedan had a 596 litre boot. Is that not astonishing?
I've been trying to find out what the 'official' boot space in the Bora is and the least I can say is that the information out there is scarce and often contradictory.
One site claims that it amounts to 784 litres (!!!), whereas according to AutoTrader it is 455 with seats down
On reflection ~450 litres with seats up sounds about right and only slightly less than the Rolls, which I'm sure doesn't come with 60/40 folding seats
Mar 08
Posts: 4892
Batty says:
I think the 301 looks Chinese. I don't mean that in a snide manner, it just looks compromised and awkward, as if the designers weren't sure exactly what they wanted so they tried what seems to be popular on other cars on theirs. Aside from VW with the excellent Bora and previous generation Astra (and the Civic although it is marred by the meanest track width imaginable), this seems to happen with all those cars that make the transition from hatch to saloon.
Bert, small saloons have generally been more popular here than the hatch as well- we like the luggage to be seperate from the passengers. Perhaps it is because things spoil very quickly in our hot sun?
Oooh shiny!
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