2000 Peugeot 306 XSi review from UK and Ireland

Car eats idle control valve stepper motors. Replaced twice and third is now playing up. Symptoms are erratic idle speed, stalling, unprompted "revving" when in traffic. Must be a design fault.

Small oil leak fixed under warranty.

Terminal sounding clatter from tappets which suddenly started in a motorway queue, cured itself a few minutes later, and hasn't returned since.

I took a career change a few years ago, swapping a fully expensed BMW 320i for a fairly modest car allowance. I never liked the ostentatious BMW much anyway, and decided to look for something based purely on driving fun rather than badge or "image". I always liked the 306's styling, and although the budget wouldn't stretch to the GTI-6, was offered a good deal on a pre-registered, 11 mile old XSi.

If you purely want fun and involving handling, forget the Focus, forget the Astra, and (especially) forget the heavy, soggy Golf. The 306 makes the lot of them look dull-witted and clumsy. The balletic poise of the 306 when you sling it into a corner wouldn't disgrace a piece of exotica. It resolutely refuses to understeer, and you feel the tail easing gently against the grip of the rear tyres to help turn the car into the corner. Feather the throttle and it will gently slide to further tighten the line. Wind off the lock, squeeze the throttle and she pulls straight again. No other car in this class will do this. Even the critically acclaimed Focus. This balance is backed up by utterly superb power steering which even eclipses the 320i for weight, accuracy and feel. In fact, this car handles better full stop.

The 2.0 engine is good, but not as good as the chassis. It's a bit feeble at low revs, but does pick up quite nicely when given its head. Not a bad engine, not a good one. Just an engine. My friend has an old 8 valve version of this car which I actually prefer. It's torquier and responds better to the throttle.

I love the car, despite a few faults. BMW say they build the Ultimate Driving Machine. I beg to differ. As a pure drivers car, I'll stick with my Pug.