1999 Peugeot 306 Meridian HDi from UK and Ireland - Comments

Radio reception terrible.

Airbag warning light flashed occasionally.

Bucketloads of torque, throttle response of a good petrol engine, and 56 mpg. "Real road" performance is not a million miles away from the Rover 216GTi I had before, and the car will do around 750 miles before the 13 gallon fuel tank needs refilling.

The HDi engine is brilliant, and works amazingly well in this light car. The car also handles superbly, and is surprisingly good fun to drive on a twisty road. The engine's massive and useable torque means even a quick hot hatch needs a hard thrashing if it is to pull away from this car on a twisty road.

Faults have been minor, and not worthy of major complaint. A pretty, fun and amazingly economical little car which can do so much more than the boring commute for which many people will buy it. Insurance is a steal as well.

Put your anti-diesel prejudices aside and try one. A little tip - on the test drive, stick it in 5th at 70 mph, nail the throttle and try to get your head around how quickly it tops the ton, what kind of machinery has just shrunk in the rear view mirror, and how you're still doing 50+mpg. I still can't believe I've fallen for a diesel!

I am very interested in buying a 99/00/01 306 HDi DTurbo, please could someone let me know whether it has a trip computer (showing mpg etc) and also what the gauge in the rev counter is for, is a turbo gauge for the diesel? if so why have I seen it on 1.8GLX petrol versions? Also does the HDi Meridian and DTurbo have standard side airbags?

Thanks, I've driven the 406, 90 HDi Rapier and 110 HDi LX and they were both fantastic I hope the 306 is as good.

On HDi models, as well as most "non sporting" variants, the gauge in the rev counter is a simple oil level indicator which shows the oil level on the dipstick when the ignition is first switched on. Once the engine has been running for about 5 seconds, the gauge returns to the "off" position and performs no further function.

On the XSi, GTi-6 and Rallye models, this gauge has two functions. It reads the oil level as before, but once the engine is running, it becomes either an oil pressure or oil temperature gauge depending on model and year.

As for driving pleasure, I still believe the 306 can hand out a beating to anything in its class. Even the Focus can't match the 306 for sheer fun and agility on a twisty road, and the Golf and Astra feel positively prehistoric in comparison. If you liked the 405, you'll love the 306!! They're not always the most durable of cars though, so buy carefully and get a good warranty! Get a good one, and you'll see 150,000 miles without any major problems. Buy a bad one, and you'll be lucky to see 15 miles between breakdowns! Hell of a car though.

Great cars, I have had 2 of them so far. First one was a 1995 DT superb car owned it for 2 years it cost me a total of £560 quid not bad for 2 years motoring, Got an HDi now and its awesome, OK so not that quick, but 4th gear from 40-90 you can take almost anything on. Very good car. They don't come with trip computers at all and the gage is for oil level when car is in ignition stage one. Not sure about 700+ miles per tank, but I get between 550 and 630 depending on how hard I drive it :)

Has anyone had any problems with the Auto windscreen wipers on the 306 HDI Meridian, mine work for about 2 minutes then go mad. Peugeot say it depends on the type of rain? Does anyone have any idea how I can over ride them.

Also my ECU (Engine Control Unit) went at 50,000 miles has anyone else had this problem on the HDI. I had the car chipped to 115 BHP at 10,000 miles, could this have caused the ECU to go.

Chipping could theoretically cause ECU problems as it reprograms (or replaces, depending on type) the main processor on the ECU's board. I've heard of mechanical failures caused by chipping (if 115bhp was that easy to achieve reliably, Peugeot would have offered it at the factory and made a nice £2k mark up on it) but never ECU problems.

Most chips come with a warranty to protect against this kind of thing, so talk to them.

In relation to the ECU failure and V reg 306 Hdi, following a 2 mile sprint in 5th at near max revs my engine died, Orange dash light; ignition key unable to turn engine over. Coasted down to garage forecourt using handbrake, (no brake servo). Garage diagnosed ECU failure. I Lifted plastic engine cover and noticed a couple of puddles of diesel in cylinder head recesses below weeping high pressure fuel unions. Tightened these up, restarted engine, dash warning light remained on for 15 miles before going out. No problems for past 20000 miles.

I also have wiper problem with it not self cancelling at correct end of travel position when switching off or wash/wipe mode.