Faults:

So far the car has been extremely reliable. I service the car myself (to change oil and filters). It's a relatively easy job and reasonably cheap for oil and filters etc.

General Comments:

Love it - being an Aussie I've always been a Holden man, 'til one day I met "Pug", and introduced her to my wife who was looking to get rid of her 2003 Impreza. We haven't looked back. It's powerful, comfortable, economical, and a great design.

Faults:

Previous owner did necessary maintenance only, so when I got the car, I had to:

1. Replace master brake cylinder.

2. Replace slave brake cylinders.

3. Resurface drums and get rear brakes.

4. Replace radiator (got a Danish A/T type).

5. Replace suspension arm.

A month or so later the plastic firewall link to the internal radiator broke while driving in the desert in the hottest day of the year; obviously very frustrated, but cost little to fix.

Speedometer stops working occasionally.

Center dash lighting iffy.

Fuel cap annoying to close.

General Comments:

The XR model 4d sedan I got comes with 2PW, CL, fog lights, alarm, steering column radio control, 2 airbags, regular A/C, no ABS, manual mirrors, 2 speakers.

I got it for its low price and have enjoyed it immensely up to now, with nearly 100 miles of daily commute. The car is highly comfortable and has lots of power, despite a notchy shift.

I'm also tall at 185cm, and there's lots of head room and lumbar support, never had any back pain.

One gripe is the engine noise which is excessive but within reasonable limits below 110km/hr.

The trunk is very roomy, back legroom is so-so, and I would have enjoyed an option to move my chair back a little further.

Gas mileage is good at 14km/liter with severely inefficient driving. I have reached speeds of up to 195kph on a closed road, and this car is rock solid.

Will take corners like a dream, and thus allows the driver excellent confidence and resulting handling and driving safety (especially after putting 4 Continental tires). Relatively cheap to keep. Essentially if you don't care spending an extra $250 and 1-2 garage days a year on average, the 306 is a great deal.

However, I would not think of buying a more modern Peugeot, since the new ones are lacking what Peugeot was famous for (the 106, 205, 306 & 406 were the last decent Peugeot's).

Faults:

The car has covered 114000 miles, but as yet nothing has gone wrong.

The only concern I have is the automatic wipers. They keep getting stuck half way through the windscreen and it's quite annoying as you don't have an intermediate wiper and have to rely on the sensor. Does anyone have any clues on this?

Faults:

These faults where already on the car when purchased.

Passenger side front window doesn't work (blown motor up to £80 from dealer).

Auto wipers don't work (wiring fault).

Remote central locking key doesn't work (new internal chip required about £80 from dealer).

Air con doesn't work lost gas due to broken air charger pipe.

General Comments:

This, in my opinion, is a great, very well speced car for the price, with its half leather, air con 4x electric window and mirrors, auto wipers, CD player with remote stalk etc.

The car is quite good on fuel, returning 520 miles to a tank with quick driving. Although it is not as quick as a VW Golf or Bora TDI, it is cheaper to run, with only group 5 insurance. The power issue can be sorted with a chip, which will raise the car to roughly 120bhp and 260nm of torque, instead of the standard 90bhp and 215nm.

The drive is quite sporty for a diesel, with very good cornering, especially on B roads. Some consider it to be the best in its class, although tyres do tend to wear quickly.

The car is very comfy; I have done a 300 mile trip to Scarborough and back with no back trouble, and the boot is a decent size for a family, and can easily take suitcases.

The only downside, is that these cars tend to suffer with electrical faults, especially the wiring loom into the door. Mine has a faulty passenger front window, auto wipers, air con, and remote key that needs a new circuit board. Parts are pretty steep at main dealers, but can be sourced easily from breakers or auction sites for much less.

Overall an economical, sporty, cheap to run, and comfy, family or young persons car.