| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8 Manual |
| Performance marks | 10 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
7.6 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 41000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 71000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Mazda 323 |
Summary:
The best value and fun in one car - ever!
Faults:
Brakes needed replacing.
Rain leaks under the front doors.
General Comments:
I have driven 211 cars - and this is by the far the best!!! I could hardly be happier with a purchase of any car.
Fuel consumption only marginally more than my Mazda 323, quick on the road, good looks and safe feel.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th May, 2001
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 16v Manual |
| Performance marks | 9 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 8 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 7 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
7.4 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 15500 miles |
| Most recent distance | 17300 miles |
| Previous car | Peugeot 205 |
Summary:
Very quick sporty hatchback
Faults:
Front tyres had to be replaced (not the cheapest, shop around!).
Had to get the tracking done as the car pulled to the left slightly.
Replace a few wiper blades.
Slight wind noise from the doors, more so on the passenger side.
General Comments:
Have had the car for three months and it is a very nice sporty hatchback. Better build quality than the older 205 GTi's but could be a little better.
Only wear and tear components have been replaced, but they pretty much needed doing when I purchased the car.
The gear box can be stiff into 2nd from cold. Have found that leaving the car for a few minutes to warm up gets around this.
Be prepared for this car to fly when the rev counter gets above 3000RPM.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th May, 2001
FAO Possible 306 GTI-6 Drivers:
The car had a major fit the other day: wouldn't start, lights flashing, alarm going off, locks not working!. Powersteering went and the brake pedal locked (very difficult to tow with just a handbrake and tight steering).
Tried jumping the car from a Toyota MR2 (mates car), but didn't help.
Breakdown service diagnosed a DEAD battery (only 3.5 yrs old).
Changed the battery, 60 quid later and all seems fine, don't know why it wouldn't jump start though, maybe faulty leads!
I'll tell you why it would not jump start - the battery terminals make a poor contact. I doubt your battery was dead - all you needed to do was tighten the terminals slightly and the car would have sprung back to life. I have had similar problems with mine.
Besides that - 3.5 years is plenty old for a battery - normally need to replace them by at least 4 years.
306 Electrics:
As previously mentioned check the terminals aren't hindered by too much grease etc.
IMPORTANT: The earth point (where the negative lead to the battery joins the body) is prone to a bad connection on these cars, take it off and clean the contacts so you don't have to call the AA at 2am on a Sunday morning!
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2000 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 petrol Manual |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 8 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 4 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
7.4 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 12500 miles |
| Most recent distance | 39000 miles |
| Previous car | Peugeot 405 Mi16 |
Summary:
Satisfying drive and looks good too
Faults:
1st and 2nd syncromesh replaced.
3rd and 4th syncromesh replaced.
Water pipe leak to the thermostat housing.
Heater matrix leak.
Front tyres needed replacing every 9000 miles.
General Comments:
Excellent sports hatch for day to day use. Has great flexibilty throughout the rev range, however, the gearbox needs to be used frequently due to the short ratios. Great handling - probably the best around for this sort of money.
This car can take quite a bit of stick without too much complaint. I know because mine was driven very hard.
Very rewarding to drive but not as fast as it could / should have been.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 10th April, 2001
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 Manual |
| Performance marks | 9 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 4 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 3 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
6.0 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 30000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 35000 miles |
Summary:
Stonking !!!
Faults:
The driver door seal was leaking water into the driver's foot-well quite badly. Every time it rained, there was a puddle of water 1 inch thick. **
The clip holding the cable to engage reverse came off within a day of driving the car. An annoying little problem which is easily resolved, but when you can't reverse in a multi-storey car park, try explaining to the person waiting behind you.
Air bag failure warning light came on (which meant replacement of the driver's side air bag).*
The C.D. stacker not working.*
*Fixed by dealer
** Required two trips to the dealer.
General Comments:
The car is fantastic, it handles like a dream on rails, and is very quick when necessary. The 6 Speed 'box is quick, with short throws and a joy to use, especially coupled lots of low end torque available from the engine.
So I've had problems with the build quality, it's a Peugeot, what do you expect? The Dealer sorted it out, after a bit of hassling, but I wouldn't say that badgering a dealer was unique to Peugeot.
In terms of value for money, why pay the premium for a Golf or S3? When you can have the prettiest and best car in its class (as voted by Autocar and several other magazines).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 22nd March, 2001
I will tell you why it's worth paying the premium for a Golf or S3. They are more reliable and vastly better built. Also because people know this, the second hand values are solid, meaning you get that premium back to put into the next car.
Car magazines like Autocar just drive cars, they don't own them and have to pay the bills. I've had French and German cars and the latter are far less hassle to own, even though the best French cars can be better to drive. I will never go back to French cars - VW's are not perfect but my Peugeots were a nightmare.