Peugeot 306 Hatchback (1993 - 2001) 1.9 D Turbo 5d (SR) (96) Owner Review

Have had two of these little beasts, they are by far the most superb car I've ever owned. Incredibly reliable, hard-working, feisty once the turbo kicks in, efficient, easy to service, sensibly laid out, good for tall people AND short people - I'm only 5'2" and I can get comfy and still see round the A-pillar (not easy in newer cars as they've got wider) and several of my friends are a foot taller and still have no issues, comfy seats, more than enough interior gubbins and driver information and none of the pesky new stuff that tells you what gear to be in or beeps at you when you go near some long grass. If you want to be a rebel you can even drive it with the doors open and your seatbelt off and it won’t mind, although I wouldn’t recommend it. The engine is brilliant, it'll go forever with very little attention or servicing. Maintenance is easy-peasy too, everything is easy to get at and work on so a full oil change, oil, air and fuel filter change plus glow plugs will take me less than half an hour of work with just enough time for a tea while the oil drains! Bits are pretty cheap but are sadly now getting harder to find, the worst bit is trying to figure out what bits you need as Peugeot have no idea what they put on each car, you just have to take it to pieces first and figure it out. I get 45-50mpg out of mine as standard and I don't drive it particularly conservatively! My first one did 205,000 miles before some cretin wrote it off, current one is just over 70,000 so just about run in :) The boot is sizeable, the boot lid is very wide so you can use the space too. The rear seat cushion is liftable and also removable so the rear seats go truly flat. The parcel shelf is easily removable as the speakers just disconnect from the body, and talking of music the factory fit audio setup is also surprisingly good. The visibility is excellent – there is a lot of glass so it allows you to see all around. The headlights are good, any car over 10 years old will have a earth issue with the back light clusters but a 10-minute modification will fix that with no trouble at all. I’ve driven other versions and have sadly found them all lacking in comparison – petrol Phase 1’s seem to be a bit feeble, the 2.0 HDi engine can be a pain to service and Phase 2 onward have a much bulkier, more intrusive interior. So my glowing review is only for the Phase 1 306 with the 1.9 turbo diesel XUD engine. If I have to add something negative to make this a more balanced review I would say that the only two things I would change are 1) the turning circle as it’s akin to a small planet and 2) there are no cup holders. That's it, other than that these little wonders are perfect.