The Peugeot 306

Introduction

After driving about in various diesel Peugeot 106 models, my chum at the Peugeot dealership let me borrow a base model Peugeot 306 XN. I remember the car very well. It was a red five door, about 2,500 miles on the clock, and powered by the PSA group’s 1·4 litre petrol engine, with 75 PS. I was impressed, for the most part, with the 306 1·4, so duly booked a test drive in an XNd. The salesman was all too happy to oblige, of course.

The day arrived, I turned up, but before we went out to the XNd he told me that I should also try their newly delivered 306 DTurbo. It was black, with alloy wheels, and of course, brand spanking new. But the model in my budget was the XNd, so this was the one I tried. First.

Now Peugeot diesels always sound loud from the outside, especially when cold, and this one was much louder than my Fiesta. But once inside, it was a lot quieter, and on the move it was great. I was very impressed. Performance was okay - in some respects, better than I had expected, in others worse. It didn’t have the boomy diesel charge that my Fiesta had, but was much more refined about it. It felt slower, but one glance at the speedo showed that it wasn’t.

I bought it back, enthused about it. So I was sent out in the 306 DTurbo.

Despite only having another 22 PS, the (XUD) DTurbo is a world away from the XNd in terms of performance. Like all turbodiesels, it only shows it’s true performance when asked to pull hard from a comparatively low engine speed in a high gear: such as from 45 in fourth. The 306 turbodiesel is one rapid diesel, and looking at the in-gear times, it’s pretty good for a “warm hatch” full stop. Unfortunately, the dealership’s trick backfired. I didn’t want an “atmo” diesel 306 after trying the turbo, and I couldn’t afford even the base XRdt, so I therefore wasn’t going to go part of the way there.

Engines

When first launched, Peugeot’s 306 came with a choice of five engines - three petrol units, a 1·4, a 1·6 and a 1·8 (all eight valve engines) and two diesels, the “atmo” 1·9d and the turbocharged 1·9d-tc. To drive, these engines fell into two categories. The slower duo - the 1·4 and the 1·9d perform reasonably well. On paper, the 1·6, 1·8 and 1·9 turbodiesel look very well matched with broadly similar acceleration times to 60 and top speeds. The two petrol engines feel similar on the road - the 1·8 is a little bit quicker, but it is also thirstier and was only available in the higher specification models.

Later on, Peugeot added two 2·0 petrol engines, the eight valve XSi donk with 123 PS, and the sixteen valve 155 PS unit that saw service on the Volcane 16V and Peugeot 306 S16. Later, Peugeot modified the sixteen valve engine, upping the power to 167 PS, added a six speed gearbox and the Peugeot 306 GTi-6 was born. I’ve tried the GTi-6 and whilst it is quick, it certainly doesn’t feel as quick as a car with 167 PS should.

Later on, the 1·8 and 2·0 litre eight valve units were replaced with sixteen valve version taken from the Peugeot 406. These donks produce more power than their eight valve predecessors, and make for a perkier drive.

Finally, the 1·9 litre turbodiesel engine was replaced with the much newer 2·0 HDI unit. Peugeot only used the 90 PS version in the 306 (a genuine pity), but it proved to be slightly quicker than the 1·9 litre as well as recording around 10 mpg more in the same conditions.

Interior

When the Peugeot 306 was first released, many people commented that the interior was a bit of a disappointment. There’s sufficient space for the class (although modern competitors have far more room), but the quality is a bit of a disappointment. In terms of driver environment, again, the 306 is acceptable if not outstanding. Some people have reported that they found the seats a bit uncomfortable on a long drive, but I have never found this an issue (in fairness, I’ve only ever had a model with sports seats on a long drive).

Ride & Handling

It’s a Peugeot, so it has fluid handling, a supple ride, and bags of grip, right?

Yes: they have a very fluid drive that flatters the driver, yet cossets him or her at the same time. The GTi-6, as you might expect, is rather stiffly set up, but it also suffers from an overly large turning circle (thanks to that six speed gearbox). Compared to the most of the competition, models lower down the list ride and handle better than the competition.

Tackle a corner too quickly, and the front drifts wide, but backing off can usually get the tail to slip out. The stiffer the suspension set up, the more abrupt the oversteer is: I would imagine that the GTi-6 would be a big of a handful if you overcooked it.

Exterior

Although the shape is starting to get a little bit dated, I still think that the 306 looks elegant, especially from the front. It’s a rather neat design - a wheel at each corner - and it shares a look with the 106. The newer 306 models are also reasonably smart looking cars, but not as pretty as the original.

Equipment

The 306 is equipped on a par with most of the competition, but in most cases, notably less than the Citroen ZX / Xsara (which is a car made of essentially the same bits). Many later models come with air conditioning and anti-lock brakes, and most have front fog lamps (which the owners seem happy to use). Many of the earlier cars had sunroofs fitted as standard.

I like the Peugeot 306 for its diesel engines, handling, ride and looks. But I dislike the cost new, the interior build, service costs and the fact that the turbodiesels are not all that economical