Monday 19th January 2015

Peugeot 306 Rallye: PH Carpool

Look away Matt, someone's rather enjoying their 306 Rallye

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Name: Dion Price
Car: Peugeot 306 Rallye
Owned since: January 2013
Previously owned: Currently: BMW E60 M5, BMW E86 Z4 M Coupe (one of 18 made in Alpine White), BMW E46 M3 Convertible. Previously: M3s, Boxsters, BMW 328Ci, Mini Cooper (original), Renault 19 16v, Vauxhall Corsa (2.0-litre 16v transplant)

Pure as the driven snow and all that

Why I bought it:
"My older brother had a silver 306 GTI-6 when they were new and that car was simply fantastic. The 306 Rallye has always been the reference point over the years as being the ultimate front-wheel drive car so when I was in the market for a bit of a play car/track toy it was the obvious choice. Of all the hot hatches I have driven and owned over the years the 306 Rallye is by far and away the best handling FWD machine I have experienced, in the dry at least!"

What I wish I'd known:
"The Rallye didn't take much researching for me as I was already well aware of its reputation and there had been a standard version in the family before. The shape of the car has dated well but the famously schizophrenic French electronics have not! The fact that the Rallye has had much of its electronics removed (air-con, windows, etc) versus the GTI-6 is only a blessing in my eyes as sooner or later they will, and do, go wrong.

"When the electronic gremlins appear they often have a sense of humour about it though and don't simply stop working. The rear wiper on my car, for example, is basically possessed as it randomly activates when the mood takes it. This can mean it swishes around like an over-excited Labrador's tail when it hasn't rained for weeks or simply remains dormant in a thunderstorm regardless of any furious button twiddling by the driver."

Great condition but it gets used properly too

Things I love:
"It's a time machine! You can't help but feel like a teenage hooligan again every time you get in the car. It is so basic and raw it really allows you to get right back to roots of a pure driving experience. I'm sure that 'feeling' is talked about a lot in car manufacturer marketing meetings these days but you really don't have to look far to find the real deal in a Rallye.

"The car's handling is fantastic in the dry and now that I have had it on track a few times I know how to pull it back from beyond its limits without it all ending in a ball of flame. It's beautifully balanced and progressive, allowing you to drop in some fantastic lap times against much more modern, not to mention powerful, machinery."

Things I hate:
"Other than the dodgy electronics the wet weather handling is lethal if you are not totally switched on at all times. I own three BMW M cars and the Rallye's rear has stepped out on me more times than all of the M cars combined, and with a lot less notice. This is fun to master on track but when I am tooling along to the train station at 7am, these unexpected little surprises wake you up faster than a triple espresso!"

A proper purist's hot hatch this one

Costs:
"The Rallye is cheap as chips to run! Insurance is reasonable, fuel economy hovers around 35mpg as long as you are not hooning around too much and, as it is so light, the car doesn't consume brakes and tyres anywhere near as fast as a normal car even when being tracked four or five times a year. The wonderfully named Curb Side Autos looks after the Rallye mechanically and also cosmetically. I have had all four wheels dipped and refurbished and the driver's seat bolster re-covered of late and the car looks all the better for it."

Where I've been:
"In addition to a few track days here and there, all of which have been great, the car also doubles up as train station car park conveyance and general runabout. As much as I try, I seem to drive it the most out of all of my cars, especially in the winter. The car is simply way too much fun to keep it just for track days, even when tooling back and forth to work its fantastic. When picking which car to drive I find my hand uncontrollably gravitating towards the simple outline of the Peugeot key."

What next?
"Even though they hardly ever come up in the classifieds now (and have increased in value as such) I won't be selling it. There is simply nothing else that even comes close for money. Other than sorting the comedy rear wiper and putting some new tyres on it this year, it doesn't need anything else doing to it, and that is the beauty of the Rallye, its success comes from what it has had removed so it does seem a little foolish to start bolting stuff on to it!"

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[Limpet]

XSi, Rallye and GTI-6 are all brilliant handling cars. I got really annoyed when the motoring journos of the time kept saying the Focus mk1 had usurped the 306 as class handling benchmark. It hadn't. The Focus was good, but wasn't as good as the Pug.

I have never driven another FWD car where both ends of the car felt so involved in the proceedings. The rear didn't dumbly follow, it could be used to trim the line, or even steer the car completely and you didn't need to be a powerfully built driving God to do it.

Great cars.

Edited by Limpet on Monday 19th January 09:17

[Limpet]

iloveboost said:

If I had a car FWD go sideways off throttle, or coming off throttle, I'd want to sell it! How do you not get scared when a car goes sideways? Have you driven on track a lot?

This only happens when you're pushing on. It doesn't occur when pootling about locally.

Also you can feather the throttle rather than lift which gets the tail moving about but without a full on slide. It sounds scary but it's actually wonderfully intuitive, with the whole attitude of the car responding as much to throttle as steering wheel.

I am not a brilliant driver, I don't race, but I was able to enjoy this for several years without any road departures, or even major brown trouser moments.