Some time around ten years ago, my mother used to get her cars serviced at a garage in Southampton who often supplied her with some interesting loan cars. One of these was a 1999 Peugeot 306.
The Peugeot 306 was the replacement for the Talbot designed 309, and was an larger evolution of the successful 205 range. Built in Britain, as well as in several other places, the 306 sold in large numbers throughout Europe, and went through at least two major facelifts between 1993 and 2002.
Styled by Pininfarina (like the 205), and very much having a family resemblance with the other cars in the range, engines ranged from 1.1 all the way up to 2.0 litres and there were a wide variety of power outputs. These days, most except the exceptional six-speed GTI-6 model are very cheap indeed.
The 1999 306 that my mother sometimes got as a loan car was a 1.8 litre petrol five door in, I believe, the Meridian trim level. As Meridian was the local ITV contractor in the Southern region, this seemed appropriate somehow, especially as their studios used to be in Southampton.
As far as I could see, the trim level included part leather seats (which my mother hated), some nasty fake wood, alloy wheels, electric windows and air conditioning. The dashboard was very, very dated for a late 1990s car, and the quality of materials was poor.
The main reason people bought Peugeots in the 1980s and 1990s, however, was not for the material quality, but for the way they drove. The faster models (the XSI and the GTI-6 in the case of the 306) were renowned for the same poise and chassis balance of the legendary 205 GTI, and the lesser models, especially when equipped with the amazing XUD diesel and turbo diesel engines, still had a certain style about them. (This was only true for the hatchback models, however, with the estate and saloon variants looking somewhat awkward by comparison.)
I was keen to try the 306 out, though, as I had heard a lot about them. This late 'Phase 3' car, with its colour-keyed bumpers and front foglights, certainly looked the best of the different eras of 306 models, and I slipped inside the faux leather driver's seat and took it for a drive.
The first thing I noticed was the terrible driving position, despite having seat height adjustment. Then, when I started the engine, I noticed the stiff and awkward clutch, paired with one of the most horrible manual gearboxes I have had the misfortune to use. The gearbox on the 24 year old Proton 1.3 MPI I used to own, made in 1993, but designed in 1983 (a full 10 years before the 306) is much, much better than this in every way.
I had driven cars with Peugeot Citroen gearboxes before, such as a 1.1 Citroen Saxo and a Rover 214 Si, and they were pretty bad, but nothing could have prepared me for this. The gearstick was almost flopping out of its gate, and each gearchange seemed uncertain. The car had quite high mileage, but even so, the vagueness of the clutch was alarming. The driving position did not help matters, and neither did the spongy brakes.
The handling, supposedly one of the 306's best aspects, did not seem particularly good. The steering was sloppy, and did not provide the feedback I was expecting.
The fact that the remote central locking was broken summed the car up really: a major disappointment. Unless you have the desire to pick up a GTI-6 models, which are sought after, and were well reviewed at the time, I cannot recommend buying a 306.
The Mazda 323F was a better drive, the Rover 400 more comfortable, the Audi A3 had far better quality, and the Honda Civic was far more reliable. Late 1990s cars are now very cheap, in general, but the 306 is not one that has stood the test of time well.
