2000 Peugeot 306 GTi-6 review from UK and Ireland

Clutch became snatchy and noisy at 4,000 miles. Replaced under warranty and no problems afterwards.

Airbag wiring problem caused the warning light to blink constantly. This was never properly fixed.

Button fell out of the central locking remote key.

External temperature sensor in passenger mirror replaced twice and still wildly inaccurate.

Rattles and squeaks from glovebox, footwell trim, parcel shelf, seats and steering column.

Two major oil leaks, one of which wrecked an engine mount.

Two ignition coil failures resulting in the car running on 3 cylinders on two separate occasions.

Engine would sometimes "hunt" at idle, revving itself between 800 and 1500 RPM in traffic. It was also prone to stalling when cold. Dealer could not find any faults.

Sometimes difficult to start from cold with the engine grinding over and over before spluttering into life. Other times it would start first go.

Irritating gearbox whine from about 2,000 miles which was apparently "normal"

Probably the best hot hatch ever made, but a total dog of a car to live with.

Too many stupid problems, inept dealers (I tried three and they were all the same), and no backup whatsoever from Peugeot's so-called customer service people.

It was a very quick car, but you needed to work it very hard to get at the performance (it would actually rev to almost 8,000 RPM). The handling was amazing and I still don't think the 306 has been equalled for driving fun, even by Peugeot themselves. The eye opening turn-in and the lift-off oversteer characteristics of this car are simply not available anywhere in this market any more and made the GTI-6 the match of much more expensive machinery on a good B-road.

Would I buy another? Sadly, no. Much as I miss its dynamic ability and it's elegant styling, I need a car which works at least 95% of the time, and with dealers who can at least find and fix problems when needed. The GTI-6 fails miserably on both counts. Proves it's not just the British car industry that comes up with fantastic concepts and then destroys them completely in the execution.