1997 Peugeot 306 XR 1.8 XU7 from Thailand

Summary:

Unreliability is this car

Faults:

Rubber knob on the oil level stick broke into pieces on the first use.

Left door lock fell out from its place.

Slipping engine belt.

Loud engine noise.

Water leak in the trunk.

Door seal broke at 10000km.

Unstable speed meter.

Unbalanced wheel, shake at 110 km/h +.

Etc.

General Comments:

This car is a very fragile in the places it shouldn't be. Minor parts reliability is a very annoying problem for me, even though the overall performance is not that bad.

The only point I love is the suspension system, stick like glue to the road.

Engine performance is incredibly low.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th May, 2001

1997 Peugeot 306 GLX 1.9 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A quality motor that will always be better than the 307

Faults:

Air conditioning has packed up at 63,000 miles. It would appear that it is something electrical as the fuses and "on" switch are OK, but the magnetic grip on the fan belt does not activate when it is switched on.

Fan belt broke 1500 miles after its 60,000 mile service.

General Comments:

It is a cheap runner and is still fun to drive.

The driving position is excellent, but the use of plastic trim lets down the dashboard.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th May, 2001

31st Jul 2001, 14:44

Let me know if you resolved the air con problem. I just bought the very same car today and the air con won't work!

Cheers.

14th Jul 2003, 10:39

I think I have a similar problem with my 65,000 mile 306, the a/c appears to be on, but the air coming out is not cold!

1997 Peugeot 306 GTi-6 2.0 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

The best hot hatch

Faults:

Nothing has needed replacing though the clutch seems to become very stiff when in traffic.

Power steering has also put in a few pounds, though the geometry and pump are fine.

General Comments:

Very quick once the revs have climbed above 3500rpm with great engine noise.

The ride quality is great at low and high speeds, but the turning circle is terrible.

Clutch is quite hard work in traffic.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 6th May, 2001

1997 Peugeot 306 D Turbo 1.9 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Group 5 insurance sports hatch..

Faults:

Air bag light decides to sit there flashing on occasions - common fault with the sensor, nothing really to worry about - just annoying having a orange light on your dash flashing away...

Poor interior build quality.

Condensation in the fog lamps.

General Comments:

Very nice GTi alternative - looks basically the same...

Sounds like a bus when you start it up - but once going you hardly notice it's a diesel...

Sports seats are a nice touch.

The general performance is good, when the turbo kicks in you can feel the acceleration - fun car to drive...

Handling is excellent.

Fuel economy isn't as good as I expected (usually get around 35 - 40mpg), but if you use the turbo sparingly then it gets a little higher...

Insurance is low.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd May, 2001

21st Nov 2002, 08:31

I believe the review was a little bit tight. Me and my girlfriend have got one and it's a dream. a lovely little car that can go if you want it to. Peugeot built this one right first time.

4th Sep 2008, 15:57

I agree with the other comment. I've had my 306 for over a year now and it has given me no problems and drives awesome. Quite suprising considering it has 145000 miles on the clock.

1997 Peugeot 306 Roadster 2.0 from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Electric roof playing up once or twice.

Leaking fuel pipe clip.

General Comments:

To describe this car in only a few words would be "excellent fun and a real head turner".

Apart from the roof refusing to co-operate a couple of times and a pain in the bum dealer I have had no problems whatsoever with this car.

The hard top is a very fiddly beast and weighs a tonne (thankfully you only have to wrestle with it once a year).

If you think this one is cheap to run forget it, the fuel figures say about 24 - 42 mpg, no way! especially with the hard top on.

To put it an easy way, for £10 around town I get between 55 - 65 miles, on a run it's pretty good though.

Handling OK, performance is nippy enough, build quality surprisingly good with virtually no rattles at all so very good for a convertible.

It looks the business with the roof on or off and turns heads none stop with the hard top on!

So all in all if you`ve got about £12000 or so to play with then go and buy one, get the updated looking car, (it's miles better).

The cost of petrol is no reason to be put off, trust me, these cars are fantastic especially in roadster form.

Try to spend the extra to get the roadster over the normal convertible, you'll be so glad you did when winter comes, besides you get a coupe (with hard top on) and a convertible for summer. So two cars for the price of one!! Yippeee!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 25th March, 2001