1995 Peugeot 306 S16 review from UK and Ireland

Duff outside air temperature sender.

Two ignition coils (within a week of each other).

Battery had to be replaced.

That's about it.

I bought this car to replace my tired 1994 XSi 8 valve, a car which I absolutely loved for its stunning handling, great looks and lovely, torquey engine. At 140,000 miles though, it was getting quite unreliable, and the chance of this mint S16 was too good to pass up.

All the strengths of the XSi are there - a chassis and steering set up that are simply incredible in their feel and sharpness, still pretty looks, and a welcome subtlety in the days of police victimisation of performance cars.

I have to say though, that I don't think it offers that much over the XSi. It's a bit quicker, although not as much so as I was expecting, but is much more expensive to insure, and much heavier on fuel. In a drag race, the S16 would be quicker, but I don't think it feels like 155 bhp worth. I've had the car checked out and it is delivering everything it should be.

The power delivery is very "top end" which means you have to cane the wotsits off it to make it go. The XSi actually felt quicker under 5,000 RPM which, let's face it is where you spend most of your time.

It's still a stunning car, but next time I would save myself some money and buy another XSi. Or a GTI-6!! Just avoid the hopeless Peugeot dealer network and find a good specialist.