RE: Shed of the Week | Peugeot 306 XSi
Discussion
..What a great shed! I had the Autocar road test for this back in the day and 0-60 was in the region of 8.5 secs and 0-100 in around 25, so this car basically has (had) similar straight-line pace to the two newer warm hatches featured in the previous two SOTWs.
..also, if you look at the values of warm 205s such as the XS, I definitely think a clean XSI like this is worth preserving. A really nice car tbh. Well done Shed
CarlosSainz100 said:
Gareth1974 said:
A 306 XSi was the first ‘performance’ car I ever bought, back was I was 22 - M354 UMT, it was 6 months old when I got it.
Mine was the phase one version which I feel looked better than today’s shed.
The figures don’t sound remotely impressive these days though, although back then it felt quite fast, but the best thing about it was the way it handled.
It also was the car I’ve kept the longest (7 years), and the only car I regret selling, as would quite like to have it in the garage now.
Unfortunately the DVLA checker says it was last mot'd in 2010 ??Mine was the phase one version which I feel looked better than today’s shed.
The figures don’t sound remotely impressive these days though, although back then it felt quite fast, but the best thing about it was the way it handled.
It also was the car I’ve kept the longest (7 years), and the only car I regret selling, as would quite like to have it in the garage now.
itcaptainslow said:
Now that is nice. If I were in the market for a new daily purchases would be made...
Anyone who hasn’t driven a decent condition 306, even a bog spec one, really needs to. They really are lovely things to drive!
They are/were an excellent drive. I had a very early one ‘N’ reg diesel base spec brand new in 1996, only had it a few weeks as it was hired in until my co-car arrived (Cavalier, nowhere near as good). Can’t think on anything I’ve had since being so composed at speed on bumpy B roads.Anyone who hasn’t driven a decent condition 306, even a bog spec one, really needs to. They really are lovely things to drive!
can't remember said:
Hot hatch? It's not even warm. Struggling to see how an old middle of the road Pug is worth more than £500 to anyone other than a collector of the beige.
I suspect you haven't driven one. Not so many years back, you actually had to "drive" cars to go fast. Now you simply need to "lease" cars with huge power outputs and auto / DSG gearboxes to go however fast you like, whenever you like. Just because it doesn't have 400bhp and do 0-60 in 4 secs doesn't make it bad. Things have moved on, that's all.Agree with the comment that the Phase 1 cars look better though: more edgy.
Fun fact: you could order an XSi with steel wheels and horrendous wheel trims, as one of my customers once did. He soon saw the error of his ways and fitted some alloys. Also the handbrake cables were very short and it could be hard to release the handbrake with rear seat passengers in place.
My best friend went from a white J reg Nova SR (probably the best car he's owned in terms of reliablility and fun) to a red M reg one of these.
It looked superb and drove and handled superbly but, unfortunately, it was an absolute dog and dreadfully unreliable. He had several oil leaks, lots of electrical gremlins (the wiring for the electric windows was particularly bad IIRC) but the final straw was when the brake disks started rusting from the inside out and he got shot of it.
It looked superb and drove and handled superbly but, unfortunately, it was an absolute dog and dreadfully unreliable. He had several oil leaks, lots of electrical gremlins (the wiring for the electric windows was particularly bad IIRC) but the final straw was when the brake disks started rusting from the inside out and he got shot of it.
Absolutely fantastic. I ran one for about a year before buying a house, which meant an inevitable sale...
Main was low mileage which meant it had a fair few issues:
-Lumpy idle that was cured by a new lambda sensor
-Constant hot running, even though the thermostat was replaced
-Annoyingly bad FM signal not cured by new aerial
-Heavy clutch pedal
But, to be fair it was French!
However on the run, it was excellent, engine was fantastic especially once it was spun up and singing high on the rev range. Super comfy seats as well.
My first taste of a proper handling car.
Great shed, on a proper roll this year, and fantastic write as ever...
Main was low mileage which meant it had a fair few issues:
-Lumpy idle that was cured by a new lambda sensor
-Constant hot running, even though the thermostat was replaced
-Annoyingly bad FM signal not cured by new aerial
-Heavy clutch pedal
But, to be fair it was French!
However on the run, it was excellent, engine was fantastic especially once it was spun up and singing high on the rev range. Super comfy seats as well.
My first taste of a proper handling car.
Great shed, on a proper roll this year, and fantastic write as ever...
I've owned two 306 Rallye's, two Gti6's and 2 Hdi's, one modded to 180bhp. All were quick and handled well, and much quicker than the book figures state, including the standard diesels. I'd be surprised if the Xsi 0-60 is anything more than 9 seconds.
The handling is probably the main selling point for the 306, and if you can look past the dated interior and slightly shoddy build quality of the cabin, they are an excellent car. Probably my best driving and track day memories were all done in 306's.
If you ever fancied it, the Gti6 engine will go straight in, as it's a variation of the same 2.0 Litee XU10 that this car uses.
Despite how nice it is, I'm not sure it's worth more than £1k yet, unless to a very niche buyer. Follow any of the 306 pages on Facebook, and you'll find Gti6's still for sale at around £1500, Rallyes for £2k and even occasional 250bhp supercharged ones for around £4k.
The handling is probably the main selling point for the 306, and if you can look past the dated interior and slightly shoddy build quality of the cabin, they are an excellent car. Probably my best driving and track day memories were all done in 306's.
If you ever fancied it, the Gti6 engine will go straight in, as it's a variation of the same 2.0 Litee XU10 that this car uses.
Despite how nice it is, I'm not sure it's worth more than £1k yet, unless to a very niche buyer. Follow any of the 306 pages on Facebook, and you'll find Gti6's still for sale at around £1500, Rallyes for £2k and even occasional 250bhp supercharged ones for around £4k.
I predict we might see another division of opinion between those who are wondering why everyone is getting excited about an old French rust bucket and those who are old enough to remember when these were new. Similar to when the D-Turbo was SOTW a while back.
I had one as a company car back in the 90's, silver 3 door, think an S reg. My grade at the time didn't stretch to the GTI-6 so the XSi was the next best thing. I absolutely loved it and can only echo the comments on the ride and handling. The only modern car that has come close was the Jag XF (base model on 17" wheels) I had as a company car but obviously that is a barge. The 5 series I have now feels like it has concrete for suspension in comparison!
Put 60k miles on mine in 18 months and was totally reliable despite driving it like a hooligan. It did get stiff clutch and despite going back a couple of times got the "they all do that sir" line. Was very creaky by the time I gave it back but that's probably something to do with the hooligan treatment.
Very tempted by this but because I never had a GTi-6 I would probably stretch the budget to one of those.
I had one as a company car back in the 90's, silver 3 door, think an S reg. My grade at the time didn't stretch to the GTI-6 so the XSi was the next best thing. I absolutely loved it and can only echo the comments on the ride and handling. The only modern car that has come close was the Jag XF (base model on 17" wheels) I had as a company car but obviously that is a barge. The 5 series I have now feels like it has concrete for suspension in comparison!
Put 60k miles on mine in 18 months and was totally reliable despite driving it like a hooligan. It did get stiff clutch and despite going back a couple of times got the "they all do that sir" line. Was very creaky by the time I gave it back but that's probably something to do with the hooligan treatment.
Very tempted by this but because I never had a GTi-6 I would probably stretch the budget to one of those.
I had a 2l convertible in my dream colour combo - pale blue with dark maroon leather interior. I was too inexperienced to comment on the handling, but when I (rarely) see a convertible nowadays I think how they still look good. Very well designed looks in my view.
On the downside, I seem to remember upgrading the speakers without hacking the car about (I didn't) was tricky.
On the downside, I seem to remember upgrading the speakers without hacking the car about (I didn't) was tricky.
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