Faults:

The usual for its age, clutch, front discs, etc.

General Comments:

This was my second car and I was just in the market for something that looked good, and was relatively modern. Other cars I was looking at were 1.6 Golfs, Fiestas etc. nothing particularly sporty or fast.

I loved the look of the 306, but the XSI looked even better than the standard, and the insurance was good for a 2 litre, so I went for it.

This car changed my perspective of driving forever. The handling is so good, and the drive so involving. I now drive a Civic Type R and can honestly say that the 306 has as good if not better handling. The steering feedback is fantastic, something now lacking in most modern cars. It is also light by modern standards and feels precise when cornering.

The engine, while not exactly super powerful, is more than enough to put a smile on your face through the corners, and the gears are aligned perfectly for nippy B road blasts. If you want more power, then get the GTI-6.

Bad points? Gearbox isn't much to shout about, but perfectly adequate. Interior is far from plush, but again livable with and comparable to most cars its age.

I owned this car for 4 years, and still got excited when getting into it up until the sad day I sold it. It's a shame Peugeot don't make drivers cars like this anymore.

Faults:

Nothing so far. New glow plugs are needed, but I haven't got round to it yet, and apart from that the car is working fine.

General Comments:

Having owned a 306 before I'm quite happy to write a quick review on this one, even though I've not had it that long (about 1 month.)

Mine is an 1995 year (M reg) XRdt in metallic blue. I picked it up for £570 with a few days tax, which is a good price considering the condition: original Peugeot mats, original mud guards front and rear, and original radio/cassette. Although the screen is only working on one side, it's otherwise as-new. Mine has a good service history - which is a bonus considering quite a few cars of this age don't.

Being a turbo it's a fair bit faster than anything I have owned before... performance isn't eye-watering, but good enough, and these engines can be tuned easily to give another 20-30bhp before the cooling has to be uprated.

Comfort on long journeys isn't brilliant, and head room in the back is limited (when there's a sunroof.)

Since getting the car I've done about a thousand miles and the car has been faultless, the only thing I've needed to do is top up the coolant. The glow plugs need doing, but it's not urgent. I've also put some Peugeot alloys on, which make all the difference.

The 306 is cheap to buy, cheap to run, and overall good value.

Faults:

New clutch need due as the revs are constantly jumping up.

Drivers side window totally broken, currently taped up.

Clutch Mountings worn out, need replacing.

Central locking not working.

Two new bulbs required.

Handling feels very unstable when accelerating hard.

Interior lock buttons have both fallen off.

Doors have a large gap between them and the main frame causing motorway trips to be very noisy due to wind being funnelled into car.

Sunroof control panel is missing.

General Comments:

Having had plenty of lifts in my friends 1.4 litre 306 and seeing that it was clearly far superior when compared with my 1.2l Corsa Ls I chose to purchase a 1.6l XS Peugeot.

An expensive decision. for £850 I got what appeared to be a high mileage, but otherwise good condition 306. It wasn't until I had it for 2 days that the clutch started to slip and a strong grinding noise began to develop when changing gear. Also when deciding to see what this power upgrade had got me I almost lost control of the car as it did a strange wobble going round a fairly wide corner. After all this the window then fell down into the door and my tax ran out which on renewal cost a staggering £170 for 12months. I am currently facing a garage bill somewhere in the region of £500 to sort out the clutch, mountings and window. Whether the suspension needs adjusting or I need new wheels or whether 306 handling is simply very poor is something I'm yet to find out.

Having said all that for the 2 days everything worked I enjoyed driving the car immensely, It can handle itself on the motorway easily overtaking cars with minimal effort (something the corsa could never do easily). And its also a fair bit faster than my friends 1.4l 306, in fact due to the low (ish) insurance costs I own the most powerful car out of all my friends. Plus the power-steering makes parking very simple indeed and it uses the same amount of petrol as my old corsa (£15 a week- 150-180 miles).

I'm curious as to whether I've merely been unlucky having had all these problems or do all 306s struggle with reliability. I'm in no doubt that if this car can get on the roads problem free then a 306 xs is the best option economically and performance wise for an 18yr old. They look better than Saxo VTR's and are only a fraction slower due to the cars having the same engine. And at the same time there far cheaper in all areas (apart from garage bills perhaps).

Overall, once I've weathered the massive cost of this car (I'm a student) I will love driving it while constantly hoping nothing else goes wrong with it.