Post - 205, Pre - 307 (Peugeot 306 Meridian 1.4 5dr)

Member Name: Jdm1021

Product:	Peugeot 306 Meridian 1.4 5dr
Date:	18/05/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Economical, Nice handling, Nice looking

Disadvantages: Reliability

The legendary Peugeot 205 was cult classic and an era defining car. From the controversial television advert where it outran the helicopter to it's huge success in the rally world the 205 was an instant hit and production ran for almost 15 years.

Then came the 306.......

Now don't get me wrong the 306 is a fairly good car, competitevely priced, good handling and probably still one of the better selling small cars of the 90's but my experience has not been a good one!!
You're probably waiting for me to launch into a tirade about everything that has gone wrong for me with this car but I'm going to flip the script and do my best to concentrate on the positives! I'm not going to go into too much technical detail as I don't think that is what would attract the average 306 buyer.

I'll start off with the engine. As desribed above I am going to talk about the 1.4 petrol model. As 1.4 engines go, this is actually not bad at all. I wouldn't call it fast by any stretch of the imagination but for town driving it has above average acceleration and if you didn't go near a dual carriageway you would probably think it was 'nippy'. Anything over 40mph though and you notice things getting a bit 'rougher'. On the motorway you will really struggle with anything over 80mph. It is quite economical however and I don't know the mpg but I do know that £20 would be a bad week on petrol for me with a 10 mile round trip to work during the week .

The handling is also quite responsive and I'll be honest it is better than an awful lot of small cars, the roll on the corners is noticeable but considering all 306 cars on the road these days are at least 10 years old the handling is still good and provides a nice solid ride. The ride itself would not be classed as sporty but it is not that smooth either and you will feel the bumps. The brakes are also well above par.

The looks speak for themselves and would generally be classed as quite sporty. It has some nice skirts and the exterior trim is all body coloured in the phase 3 version that I have.The Peugeot alloys that are available suit it perfectly and are definitely recommonded. As with all cars there are plenty of aftermarket styling products available and some really do compliment the 306 well. If you can find a subtle sun strip and a shark fin aerial it really brings out the natural aggresive looks of the car. If you look on one of the many 306 websites there are plenty of examples around.

Moving inside then and this is where the car excells for me as it is an integral part of the driving experience. It is very comfortable. It has half leather seats all round and the front seats have side supports to keep you in your seat on those fast corners. It has a good factory sound system and it also has a stereo control toggle on the steering column whch was quite high tech back then. The other controls are all where you would expect them to be and everything has an ergronomic feel to it. My only gripe was the lack of bottle holder but.... how bad??
As small cars go, it is actually quite roomy inside and it could not be faulted for it's use of space. The boot is also quite spacious and I know that is high up the list of considerations.

All in all this is quite a good car on paper but unfortuntely it has been let down for me on it's reliability as I have had to replace half of the engine in the 2 years I've had it. This could be down to neglect by the previous owners but this view has been endorsed by enough mechanics for me to accept it.

The 205 is still considered the best hot hatch around but the 306 was a worth successor.

Then came the 307.........

Summary: All told, hot little hatch

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