Faults:

Well as I write this review my 306 is in the garage again... shorty will be on its 3rd gearbox because I managed to break the diff in the orginal one, then an oil seal within the box broke, leaving me with an oily clutch and no drive.

Apart from the problem with the gear box, it's been a good car and has started every time. All I have to change is the tyres and wipers.

General Comments:

First looks of the car are amazing. It looks great in the silvery blue, standard with alloys and electrics all round.

Performance ain't bad either, with its 1.6 8V producing 100bhp (same engine in the new shape VTR), apart from my Pug is the same weight as 3 VTRs.

The handling is pretty good for a small family car; you can get 3 wheel oversteer if you really push into a roundabout.

I would recommend the Peugeot 306 to any young driver that likes all the toys and wants a good looking car. Can't wait till I can get insured on a 306 GTI-6.

Faults:

Car worked generally well, until one day at the gas station, I started to send down the electric window to tell the attendant to fill the tank, and the window dropped into the door never to rise again, at least until a very expensive dealer fix.

General Comments:

Even though it was a small car from the outside, it was not cramped at all inside.

The car was also built like a tank. I unfortunately know this because I was in 3 accidents with it where the other party came out much worse than I did in their japanese cars.

Faults:

Accelerator cable needed adjusting.

New brake pads and discs.

Rear wiper motor blew.

General Comments:

What a great car!

Diesel economy means I can get up to 65MPG if I drive carefully.

Well done peugeot, what a great engine. It feels like a good petrol engine. I can overtake when I want to, 0-60 is good, and it feels like it wants to go forever.

Only problem is that rear wiper (still faulty!)

My car has done 140,000 miles and still has a lot to give.

Faults:

External temperature reading gives comical results. 49°C for example on a cold (but sunny) December morning. Probably just the thermistor gone in the passenger mirror, but I can live with it.

Carpet needed to be re-seated around the sill trims where it had started to pull away.

Gearbox crunches into 2nd when cold, but fine when warm.

General Comments:

Good, but not stunning performance. Engine doesn't rev very happily for a multivalve unit. Old 8 valve was a better engine in my opinion. Didn't lose much up top, but pulled far harder in the midrange.

Chassis beyond criticism. Turns in sharply, steerable on the throttle, quick and talkative steering and a lovely smooth ride. Will keep up with pretty much anything on a good B-road. Very difficult car to drive sensibly when the going gets twisty.

Good reliability, but interior quality is poor. Chassis and engine both still pin sharp after 53k.

Still looks good - much prettier than the 307 that replaced it.

Lowish running costs thanks to reasonable insurance, and >30 mpg in most daily driving circumstances.

Probably Peugeot's last "proper" drivers car before they lost the plot. Good, sensibly priced ones sell within hours of being advertised - it took me 3 weeks to find this one.

Had I wanted to pay a grand over CAP retail or settle for a dog (or in some cases both), I could have found one quicker. Lots of rough and comically overpriced ones about too so be careful.

This was the fifth I looked at, but patience paid off. It's been a good car, and entertains me no end on my dull commute to work.