Faults:

Rear brake light bulb blew at 69,000 miles.

Rear brake pads worn out at 65,000 miles. All pads replaced with EBC pads and performance disks.

General Comments:

This car is quick, and has always been reliable to me. It was well maintained by the previous owner, and came with full Peugeot service history when I bought it, with just under 60,000 miles on the clock.

Although it's a 2.0 liter, it seems to lack a bit of power higher in the rev range, which is why I made a few modifications of my own.

The car's handling is good and responsive. I'm not too keen on the seat position, although it's all adjustable and I have tried many different positions, I can't get it right.

I have made a few modifications to my 306 XSi. I have a full S/S exhaust straight through with decat and panel filter (don't believe in cone filters, they suck in hot air) and have a chipped ECU. It has approx 150+ bhp and is a lot faster than in standard form, and has no problem keeping up with other hot hatches ;P

It's lowered 30mm all round, it's sitting on 205 1.9 GTi alloys and Yoko tyres (good grip), and a front strut brace, which made a big difference on the handling, and I had uprated brakes all round, as the originals seem to lack the meat to stop.

I think the 306 XSi is a good, reliable car, and quite fast in standard form, despite what I have read about them, and they are a very good basis for tuning or modding; there is a wide range of parts made for them.

I would prefer a GTi-6 or the Rallye model, which might be my next car, as I do love the 306. It looks aggressive and is a nice car to drive.

Faults:

The only thing that has failed is the heating system at 117000 miles (fans/matrix/cables) it was very costly and took a week to fix.

General Comments:

The engine is very good it develops a lot of power at 3500 to 6000 revs don't be afraid to put it on the limiter.

The cars handling is excellent it's a very well balanced chassis if you have a full tank of fuel and some things in the boot watch the back end because it can spin.

The interior big and its nice, but a bit dated the seats are great the driving position good and comfortable.

Faults:

Alternator and starter motor both required rebuilding (quite normal for 11 year old car). New items can cost lots, and only few mechanics know how to rebuild those properly.

Air conditioning compressor seized in 2004, and was replaced with a cheap one from a wrecker. It's working great so far. A new item from Peugeot is quite expensive.

Lower control bushes (suspension components on the front) needed replacement, and because I've had them fitted at a "corner store" mechanic, they weren't done properly and needed replacing 10 months later. Make sure you find a good independent specialist or a reliable good value for money Peugeot dealer. The bushes were over $500 to replace (twice).

Tyres wear quickly on the front (especially on the outside), but it's mainly due to negotiating corners at twice the recommended speed. It's something I seem to have a problem with, because the car's built for cornering fast. Rotate tyres often, and resist the temptation to turn into roundabouts at over 60km/h.

The most important thing with this sort of car is the replacement of the cam belt. It's a 4 year/80000km service interval (whichever comes first). I've had this done only because the 4 years have passed and it's good to be cautious. If the belt fails, the engine suffers badly and needs reconditioning. It's a $800 job, including water pump replacement.

Oxygen sensor (ECU) replaced a few years ago. It's another common thing with 100K cars, but it's quite cheap to get it replaced.

General Comments:

The car was a very pleasant surprise. I was only looking around for a normal "plain vanilla" 306 with a manual transmission. I didn't know about S16s at the time of purchase. I later found out there's only been around 80 delivered and sold to Australian customers in 1994-95. The later hot hatch version (GTI6 in Australia) was a lot more well known. Not many people seem to know about the S16s, and that's a good thing. It results in some absolute bargains...

The prices on the second hand market in Australia are fantastic. They were $36000, and now you can get them for less than a third of that if in fantastic condition.

Outstanding interior for this sort of car. It mixes luxury with a great handling vehicle very well.

A great way to learn more about those cars is to visit www.aussiefrogs.com (Internet forum for Australian French car enthusiasts). I've gained quite a lot from the other owners of this car from all over Australia. Lots of good tips and servicing recommendations as well.

Excellent handling, good acceleration, and fantastic braking (I have upgraded to Brembo rotors recently and EBC pads).

Fuel consumption is OK in the city - 10-12L/100km and superb on the open highway. 7.5L/100km when cruising at 110km/hour. It'd be nice if it was a little bit better in the city.

No doubt they're great cars. I'd struggle immensely to be able to buy something similar or better for the same amount of money.