1994 Peugeot 306 XRDT review from UK and Ireland

Had to replace rear subframe, due to seriously worn trailing arm bearings. I've been told this is a common fault with older 306's now. £100 for used part and fitted myself.

Despite its age and miles, the car looks good. The styling is still pretty sleek and inoffensive in 2006, the handling is superb, and still outhandles many modern cars.

The engine is a real cracker, my engine came out of a 200k+ car, and still can surprise a few reps in brand new Mondeo's and Audi's! It really is an exceptional diesel for its time, the turbo is quite fierce, which takes some getting used to, but it's nice to suddenly pull away from whatever little oik is trying to race you in a 1.2 Clio when they see that you're driving an elderly, and slightly tatty diesel.

There is buckets of torque, so overtaking isn't to much of an issue. *Allegedly* the engine is pretty easy to bring up to about 115BHP by simply fiddling a few screws. (Do your own research :-) )

Around town, it's not so much fun, as you normally can't rev the engine high enough to provoke the turbo into doing something! But it's not too bad!

The interior on my model has worn well, despite rapidly heading towards a stonking 200,000 miles. The electrics still work on my model, but occasionally a window winds itself down, or it refuses to lock.

For a twelve year old car, it has electric windows/electric sunroof/remote central locking/alarm and steering column controls for the stereo, which I think is pretty neat for a £500 banger!

The clutch is extremely heavy, and I like it, but it takes a bit of mastering, probably not the best clutch for learning to drive with.

The steering is poised and accurate.

The cabin looks a little dated, but it's well laid out, and the car feels quite "big" on the inside.