Faults:

Needed subframe bushes, front wishbones and a set of discs.

Wipers were a bit temperamental, as were the headlights.

Fuel pump started weeping from the throttle shaft and fast idle shaft seals.

Sunroof motor linkage died.

Usual driver seat wear.

General Comments:

I always wanted a D-Turbo; the combination of economy, cheap insurance, reasonable performance and simple mechanicals always appealed to me, and coupled with the fact that the original 306 was (and still is) one of the best looking small cars ever, made the offer of a well used 1996 model for £250 pretty hard to turn down.

It was a typical mechanic's car; serviced just enough to keep it alive, but nothing in the way of special treatment. The subframe bushes were the worst part, the whole axle was moving about, meaning the car would randomly steer from the rear on hitting a bump, good for the concentration, but not for the nerves. Still, it's an easy, if a bit physical fix. At the same time I threw a pair of wishbones on and discs; one of the old ones needed cut off with a grinder and chisel.

Once back on its wheels, the superb handling showed itself. It's truly awesome for an old and basic car. Why people insist on lowering 306's and destroying the handling is beyond me. The fact that people have tuned 306's to over 300bhp in petrol models without spending a fortune on handling fixes proves the soundness of the basic design, even if it's a Citroen ZX with a makeover.

The 1.9 XUD engine will never break any records, it's an old design now and utterly outclassed by modern designs, but, it's simple, tough, easily tuned and above all reliable; you can get a D-Turbo to over 110 bhp with a small amount of simple tweaking, it's easy to mess it up though, but a reputable diesel tuning expert can easily do it.

The engine will chug along all day if you want it to, and will deliver over 50mpg on a motorway run, but on the back roads, keeping the turbo on boost is where the D-Turbo excels; even when caning it, it doesn't gobble fuel. I drove mine like I stole it, and still averaged 44mpg.

The fuel pump started weeping from the throttle shaft; doom-mongers started muttering about huge rebuild costs, but the local diesel experts gave me the required o-rings for free, and it was literally a 20 minute job to sort it. Better still, fit a Bosch pump and injectors, and live happily ever after.

The sunroof died, I got it closed and forgot about it, the electric windows, immobiliser and central locking all worked perfectly; in fact the only reason I sold it was because I needed a bigger car.

The old D-Turbo is becoming a cult car, the HDi just isn't the same animal, so if you can find an unmolested XUD engined car, buy it and enjoy!

Faults:

Glove box was broken when I got the car. Held together with tape, but not for long.

Radio did not work.

Drivers side passenger door was stuck shut where the catch came off.

General Comments:

The XNd is the most basic diesel 306 you can get; it has no creature comforts, but always starts, runs well, and won't let you down unless you really abuse it.

Mine was a P reg in red, I bought it as a learner driver and it did me well. I took lessons and passed my test in this car, it's very easy to drive with no surprises. When I passed, I quickly upgraded to something with a few more features; the lack of central locking is an annoyance on the XNd.

If you're looking for something fast, this is definitely not the car for you. 0-60 in a good 18 seconds, and a top speed of around 100 although you can push it to 110.

50-60mpg on motorways, however the gear box is not suited for motorway cruising.

Nice and cheap to insure and run, with little to go wrong - bad electrics are a Peugeot/Citroen trademark, so not having any is a good thing for people who don't want the bother of fixing things as they stop working on a weekly basis.

These cars are regarded by many as "old bangers" now, and being French they have depreciated a fair bit. This means you can easily get hold of a higher model with more features for the same money. If you're OK with intermittent electrical faults, then I would recommend another model.