(ENG) Peugeot 301 Allure 1.6 HDi (Citroën C-Elysée) - test drive and review

A spacious sedan for the price of a city hatchback? In eastern markets PSA Peugeot Citroen launched a budget model 301 and C-Elysée. It's basically the same car with prices starting at around 8,500 euros. The interior is solid, even if hard plastics are used. The suspension seems suited for the more demanding surfaces, and there are three frugal engines to choose from. It may not be the most exciting car you ever drive, but you may find it to be a pleasant surprise.

[IsaKocoglu]

I love the way you have described this car. All the information that I was curious about, you explained in both an informative and entertaining way. Also, I love that you are engaging with your audience, and not being selective of who or what you answer.

Thank you very much Marek :D

[ron]

I hired one of these in Corfu. Excellent car, I have a 2006 BMW 320d here in England, but the little 301 1.6HDi was a good substitute on vacation, the interior and boot space is comparable to E90 3 series. The ride quality on rough roads was good. Fuel economy is excellent. Audio system could be better. But it's a nice simple car of the people that Peugeot and Citroen do not really sell anymore in the developed nations.

[robiszi]

Marek is living legend!! Long live our Polski Bratanki. Greetings from HU!

[MarekDrives]

Warranty depends on the market. I think in Poland Peugeot offers a 2-year warranty as well, but in Australia it's 3 years/100kkm. When I bought my Peugeot back in 2000, the warranty in Poland was 1 year/30kkm.

[MarekDrives]

Most car journos in Poland say C-Elysee/301 would make a great taxi, but the few I saw on the road were privately owned. Poles in general have something against French cars. And Fiats. And Fords. We're weird like that ;)

[MarekDrives]

There is no back support adjustment in the driver's seat, so if you have back problems, you probably will feel backache after some time. You can fix this with some sort of a pillow or special seat cover.

[MarekDrives]

I am waiting for an official response from Peugeot press office. What I know is that the 301 is NOT structurally related to 208, so you CANNOT compare the two, and say 301 and 208 would have a similar Euro NCAP score. Safety rating score is also related to the number of airbags and safety systems available as standard. For example in the EU ABS and ESP are compulsory for all new cars, so Euro NCAP (especially on budget models) applies mainly to the EU market.

[MarekDrives]

The boot lid sounds like that because it has no insulation. It's just bare metal, like in Honda sedans from not that many years ago. I don't think it makes any difference during an accident. Anyway, the Euro NCAP rear impact test focuses on the whiplash effect. They test how the seats and headrests protect your spine. There is no actual crash test from the back. Euro NCAP has not tested this car, but it may never do so, as it will be sold on eastern markets, where safety is less of a concern.

[MarekDrives]

I think it's the biggest relatively to its price, but a lot will depend on your local market offer. Citroen usually has a sticker price, and then discounts its cars heavily. Good if you want to buy it cheap, less good for the resale price.

[olihenry]

great review, you've got a great Youtube channel. Thanks for putting reviews up in english also, nice too see a car we dont have in the UK, too. What reviews have you got coming soon?

[MarekDrives]

There's Yaris HSD and KIA Sorento in the pipeline. If everything goes well there may be also be some faster motors within a couple of weeks, so stay tuned and thanks for watching.

[rffr]

I like 301/C-Elysée (and i'm almost 30) but you're right.
These cars aren't reference in nothing, has it's flaws, but they look nice and have a good relation :)
Here in Portugal, only the C-Elysée is available and the main target are middle-age/old men too. But most C-Elysée are Taxi.

[rffr]

It's not only in Poland :)
Not all Portuguese are like this, but most prefer a german car. If it's premium, even better. It doesn't matter if it's new, used or imported. Some wants because of the general qualities, most wants for the status/show-off. Except C-Elysée and other cars/brands, most taxis here are Mercedes. They're excellent cars, but the main reason is because of the famous and reliable 190D (the spare parts of this model were always cheap to buy) and the "indestructable" W124...

[tomu]

Well said. Like the review very much. This model is very interesting to me but if you take into consideration this is the PSA car ..., warranty is only two years, perhaps addition warranty would be wise. For everything else, time will tell.

[AbsoluteBarstool]

To be honest, it's pretty confusing that they don't sell this in the UK instead of the C1/Aygo/108. Power and comfort seem to be the same whilst the trade-off for a bigger boot, from the touchscreen infotainment system seems to be a great perk from an everyday usability perspective. It's also good to see that you can transport passengers in the back of the 301 without folding them flat.

That said, as an Englishman, British motorists can be f***ing stupid with their tastes in features.

[MarekDrives]

There is no rating. Euro NCAP hasn't tested it. I doubt it will be tested, because it's going to be sold mainly in Asia/Eastern Europe. It has two airbags, ABS, ESP.

[HeshamBadrEmam]

very good review
but bear with me please,
this car or the Citroën C-Elysée?

[MarekDrives]

Euro NCAP has just released crash test results for Peugeot 301 and Citroen C-Elysee.

[karouimohammed]

I used this car 1.6 HDI around 2 years, generally it's good car spacially the engine 92 ch

[MarekDrives]

I haven't driven the Rapid. As far as interior quality is concerned, they are similar. Perhaps Peugeot pretends to be a little bit more up-market.