2000 Peugeot 306 GTi-6 from UK and Ireland - Comments

I bought this car as a ticking time bomb. I got lumbered with repairs totaling £2000 in the first month.

Alarm system needed total replacement at 38000 miles (not under Pug warranty).

Tyre's are continuously being replaced, whilst the balancing is constantly being redone.

Battery has disconnected from the wires as a result of corrosion.

The gti6 has its ups and downs in that if you want a real hardcore driving experience, you can't look & get further than this.

Some of the standard equipment such as the Clarion stereo leaves a lot to be desired, and I do believe the exhaust tail end could of been better image wise. However, standard equipment is plentiful with Leather / Alacantra seats, rain sensor wipers, A/C, steering wheel stereo control.

The interior has plenty of equipment, its just that I feel the quality is not what you would expect from an £18k car in year 2000. The shape of the dash looks low budget, the glove box can't fit a CD in it, the central console has some flimsy silver plastic surrounding the A/C knobs and the instrument panel holding the speedo' and temp gauges just look rather apathetic.

I love the seats, the look of the car, the power, the handling, the mature discreet look of one potential track day car.

The acceleration in 1st gear I personally find is lame when comparing it to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th. I would guess a comfortable 7.4 seconds to 60mph from a standing start and a confirmed at least 145mph top end. Drive this car around a track day circuit, and I'm absolutely sure it will leave some known sports cars in its wake. An Audi TT could be a prime example of this. The all round performance of this car for the money I paid is truly unbelievable. There is nothing on the market that can compare. The handling is just awesome when pushed to the limit, and leaves you thinking 'just how hard can you push this car before it does loose itself?'.

The exhaust note is crisp and gives a slight burble noise under idle mode, and a lairy note when pushing through the gears. This is 6 gears by the way, and all of which are truly a pleasure to be handling. I could not go out tomorrow and buy a 5 gear car after this.

If you do decide to purchase this car, a lot of money will be spent in regards to low fuel consumption (about 22mpg if regularly driven hard & about 30mpg is not), service, tyre's and quite possibly insurance being a group 16. As a young guy myself, I prefer to to make the sacrifice and keep this absolute monster for one great driving experience I don't think could be replaced in the same price bracket.

Like many young owners of sporty cars, you are suffering from delusions.

The Autocar road test of a 306 2.0 GTi-6 found 0-60 in 7.9 and a top speed of 130 mph. Why would yours be any faster?

You would need 30% more power to reach a true 145 mph.

Don't believe your speedo.

Figures from same source for Audi TT are 7.8 and 134 mph.

So it's close, but not close enough to leave it in your wake.

You will never take this car on a track, if you have any sense, that would just ruin the tyres and brakes.

Very nice car, all the same. Don't break it.

I read your comments with interest, and quite clearly see that you have never driven a gti6 before.

130mph top end? Behave - I reached 145mph on a disused runway; fact. Your statistics are being read from a book, and if I was to go by that measure, I could also take statistics from Evo magazine of 7.2 seconds to 60mph.

FYI - there are different kerb weights throughout the gti6 phases, and as such should make a noticeable difference both 0-60 & top end figures. The P3 gti6 weighs in at approx 1265kg, some major difference when comparing it to a TT for example!

As for the Audi TT remark, I can confirm this also due to racing quite a few of them. On a straight line against the 225, there is not much between both. But a 180 TT, I can assure you a Gti6 would comfortably pass without sweat, and on a track would obliterate. A 225 would be a bit harder, but I couldn't personally see a 6 loosing to a 225 round a track circuit somehow. My suggestion is to drive a gti6 and see for yourself as quite obviously you're a novice in the world of sports cars.

And what did Evo magazine claim for top speed?

All I'm saying is, don't rely on your speedometer as an accurate indicator of your car's top speed.

Only sports cars I've owned are 1995 BMW850i, ten years ago, Jaguar XKR and a 2002 Merc 500SL, so I guess I'm a novice where sports cars are concerned.

All of this when I was in Germany where the top speed can be occasionally exploited.

It's a frustrating waste of time having a fast car in the UK.

The 306 GTI-6 is twice the car the TT is as a driving tool, regardless of petty arguments about 0-60 times. To be brutally honest, the GTI-6 is not a particularly quick car in the greater scheme of things, but that chassis is to die for. I haven't driven another front wheel drive car that combines such amazing front end bite, throttle adjustability and steering feel. It can be pushed to the limit, and slightly beyond, in total confidence. A TT, 180 or 225PS, wouldn't be left for dead on a typical British B-road.

The TT is a looker, and it's beautifully made, but you need more than a warmed over Golf chassis to keep up with a car like the Pug.

Not wishing to sound petty; but a 2002 Merc 500SL?? I don't think so. Maybe a SL500 perhaps? For an absolute sports enthusiast, you would have thought that being anal about the actual and precise Mercedes Benz would have been a priority.

To still assume that a 2.0l 170ps 1265kg 16v car can't reach no more than 130mph is bewildering. I have reached 130mph on normal roads for heaven sake with at least 2500 revs left approx in 6th gear.

I don't want to sound as though I am completely biased towards a gti6, and that is why I stuck in a lot of negative points and a more subtle acceleration time. In the scheme of things, the gti6 is slow when comparing it to a 172 cup or 182 cup even, but for its day and still miraculously in todays modern era with front wheel drive cars hitting past the 200bhp mark, the gti6 is not far behind at all. But when comparing the all round ability of handling, performance etc, I know which is the best hot hatch most likely ever created. Others missed the point about the definition of a hot hatch, and the TT missed the point completely with its pathetic engine range and pathetic handling of what is supposedly defined as a sports car. Something which I can confirm due to driving one quite often. Hope this clarifies my original post in its entirety.

I don't think any of you guys know what a sports car is!!! A 306 GTi-6 is not a sports car. It's a performance car a hot hatch. A 6 doesn't stand a chance with a Civic type R and as far as Audi TT go they ain't much kop anyway and by no means are they traditional sports cars. The 6 has better handling and the larger TT may be faster, but I still reckon the 6 is no competition. Personally I don't believe Peageut made a decent car!!!

In response to the 2nd August posting:

It's a red herring to say that you still had 2500 rpm left to the red line.

Or are you suggesting the car has the power to reach a further 2500 rpm in 6th which would be an extra 53 mph to reach 183 mph?

Cars are usually geared for relaxed cruising in top gear and to exceed their power peak in the next lower gear for reasonable acceleration.

Obviously the car can't do that.

I know you don't like to accept it.

You believe the speedo is accurate, but unless you are going down a very steep hill or have a very strong tailwind, the car won't do more than a TRUE 130 mph.

Even a tiny Merc SLK 320 with 215 HP can only reach 149 mph.

5th August post - what are you on about. I quite clearly stated that it was a hot hatch. Where did I also mention anything to do with a type R? Your opinion is unconstructive in its entirety. To claim Pug has never made any decent cars is anything, but astonishing. How about the 205 1.9 gti? or better still, the 306 gti6 which is the car that supposedly had to be better than the predecessor, and was successful in doing so according to Top Gear and one of the best cars ever made.

The bottom line is; don't comment on the GTi6 unless you have driven one.

8th August post - 6th gear offers acceleration from approx 28mph all the way past the 130mph mark easy. You are trying to work out how it can manage getting past 130mph. What I suggest with your knowledge and wisdom of sports cars is to look up an identical car that offers approximately 170ps from a 2.0l engine and weighs around 1265kg. I have, and I certainly see cars top end figures way beyond 130mph!!!

The bottom line is, I've driven my car way beyond 130mph, other gti6 drivers would back me up, and with the additional fact you have never driven one. Don't comment until you have proof. Better still - ask the Peugeot garage what they think!

Almost everybody knows speedos overread at the top end just to make people feel their car is fast.

When Autocar road test a car, they take the average of 2 runs in opposite directions so as to compensate for wind and gradient. They use accurate measuring equipment.

So, if Autocar say the top speed of their car was 130 mph, then that's its top speed.

To get an increase in speed of 10% requires an increase in power of 30%.

And why ask a bunch of other people when all they'll do is the same as you - rely on the car's optimistic speedometer.

If you've run the car between mile-markers over a few miles and used a stop watch, in both directions, then you can be sure you've got a reasonable idea of the car's top speed.

At 130 mph the engine is buzzing at 130/21.5 = 6000 rpm.

What's the red-line?

And the people who work in the garage generally do not know anything of such esoteric matters as horsepower/speed requirements.

It's fine to talk about your car in an enthusiastic manner, but when you say it is "better than a so-and-so", and make outrageous claims for top speed, then you invite ridicule.

I'm thinking about buying a 306,can't decide which is better as I have been in both a 306 G.T.I-6 and a 306 RALLY?Can anyone help me decide, as they both have a great deal of power and performance?

The rallye is a lighter version of the 6. ie no eletric windows aircon etc. No difference in engine, gearbox etc, so in theory should be faster then a gti6.

Make sure that the cambelt+tensioners have been done.