I have owned my Gti-6 now for little over 1 year and I can say that it is most involving drive I have ever experienced. I have therefore been compelled to write this review and buyers guide in the hope that it can be of help to potential buyers and to dismiss a lot of the myths and rumours out there in other guides and on the internet.
The Engine: The Gti-6 has a 2.0l normally aspirated 16valve 4 cylinder engine that puts out 167BHP at 6500rpm. It generates 193Nm of torque at 5500 rpm and revs all the way to 7300rpm!! Most importantly, the Gti-6 was the first mass produced car to utilise a 6-speed gearbox!
The Rallye: Peugeot actually produced two cars that used the 167BHP engine and 6-speed gearbox. The GTi-6, was introduced in 1996 and replaced the 155BHP 5-speed S-16. The 306 Rallye, introduced in 1998, is actually a lightweight, stripped out Gti-6, using the same mechanical underpinnings but losing luxuries such as electric windows, sun roof, leather seats, air conditioning and fog lights to name a few. This makes the Rallye 52Kg lighter than the 6, giving it a slightly faster 0-60 time.
History: During the Gti-6s lifetime (1997 - 2002) Peugeot have made several revamps. The Phase 1 Gti-6 (01/02/1996 - 01/02/1998) was introduced with, ABS, air con, part leather seats, drivers airbag, 15" Peugeot Cyclone alloys, side skirts
and spoiler. The phase 2 (01/02/1998 - 01/06/1999) has the addition of passenger and side airbags, leather/alcantara sports seats and a CD autochanger as well as receiving the facelighted 306 headlights, grille, front bumper, rear bumper, boot hatch and rear lights. The Phase 3 (the latest revision) includes crystal clear headlights and fogs, colour coded side strips and side skirts and various small interior updates. It is important to note however, that Peugeot did not rigidly stick to these dates and there are quite a few 6s out there that have a mix of phase1/phase2 parts and similarly phase2/phase3 parts.
Performance: The 2litre na engine pumps out 167BHP. This can propel the car to 60 in around 7.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 140MPH. The Rallye fairs slightly better with its lower weight and can get to 60 in 6.9. The reason these figures appear to differ in a lot of reviews of the car is entirely Peugeot's fault. Peugeot's stated 0-60 time for the Gti-6 is 8.5 seconds, however, the small print in the Peugeot literature states that this 0-60 time is for a full laden car with passengers and luggage. I've been told that Peugeot deliberately gave these figures as an attempt to the reduce the cars insurance rating down to group16. With a 0-60 time of around 7 and a half seconds the 6 is quick but no dragster. Both 1st and 2nd gears are long, infact you can almost get to 70MPH in 2nd before hitting the limiter. 3rd gear is where exciting things start to happen. Take this car out onto country lanes and I promise the superb handling and speed will bring a smile to your face.
Handling: As mentioned, the Gti-6 really excels on cornering. The rear of the car features passive rear steering which means it can handle corners a lot better than other FWD cars. Infact, on the twisties the 6 can put many higher powered and more expensive cars to shame. It really takes a 4WD car with turbos or superchargers to beat this little hot hatch. Fans of the legendary 205 Gti will testify to Peugeots great hot hatch status and the 306 Gti-6 and Rallye pick up where the 205 Gti left off. Unfortunately Peugeot don't seem to have bothered making another great hot hatch as both the 206 and 307 are rather disappointing. Lets hope the 207 and 308 make up for this!!! ONE WORD OF WARNING. The passive rear steer on the 306 Gti-6 and rallye can catch out less experienced drivers. The passive setup can make the car behave more like a RWD car and induces lift off oversteer when cornering hard. My advice = Don't lift off the accelerator when corning hard. The back will slide out and you will end up in a hedge. To correct a slide, turn the wheel to the direction you want to travel and hit the accelerator (make sure you are in the correct gear and your revs are high). The car will straighten up and you'll be able to continue on with only slightly damp pants and a big smirk.
Disadvantages: 1. Reliability - This is a French car, not German. Face the facts people! It is going to break at some point. Some owners have relatively hassle free ownership (myself included) others seem to have an endless list of things they need to do (however in experience these people are sports car enthusiasts, hence why they bought the 6, and are always seeking perfection). When things do go wrong, they aren't too expensive to repair compared to some other makes and there are plenty of cheap parts to be found from motorfactors, such as GSF. Excellent advice is on hand from Peugeot enthusiasts when things do go wrong and there is even a dedicated 306 Gti-6 and Rallye Owners Forum. Generally, if something goes wrong they will know about it and how to fix. 2. Cambelt failure - Unfortunately these cars do suffer from cambelt failures and when it happens, it usually ruins the whole engine (rockers and valves break and all 16 need replacing or else tapping occurs, the head warps when removed due to the extreme pressures and then wont go back on properly.) Ideally the cambelt should be replaced every 40k miles instead of the Peugeot recommended 70k. Stick to this and you will be fine. 3. No Haynes manual - Not for the 2.0l 16v engine, other parts shared with the rest of the 306 range are covered in the standard 306 Haynes Manual. 4. Fuel consumption - Not really a disadvantage, drive the car like a race driver and it will drink fuel in minutes. Drive it sensibly and it isn't too bad. Come on people. Face the facts! This is a performance car, if you want good fuel consumption buy a diesel! 5. Peugeot - Dealership employees are a bunch of muppets usually and don't know anything. This is usually the case for other makes too.
Buyer's Guide: 1. Check cambelt has been regularly changed. Check for tapping noise from the engine. if this continues then the car has probably suffered cambelt failure at some stage. 2. The clutch is naturally rather heavy so don't let this put you off. 3. Check the door hinges. As the doors are rather large the hinges can get quite worm under the strain. Check the plastic ducting between door and body. This can break and the wires inside can snap. This will stop your electrics such as alarm, central locking, mirrors and windows from working as the circuits are broken. 4. Brakes. This is a fast car so check for wear on the fronts. Easy and cheap to replace from motorfactors. 5. Air Conditioning. Check this is cold as it can need re-gassing and the pipes can corrode. The pipes are extremely hard to find if you need new ones.
Conclusion. A great little hot hatch that's quite rare. Only a handle full of Rallyes made it to the UK so if you find one in good condition, but it at once. Doesn't seem to have fallen into the hands of boy racers so is therefore a quite respectable car to own. Owns previous accolade of "Best Hot Hatch of the Year". Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson raved about the 306 Gti-6 on its launch, quote: "...and now there's the incredible Peugeot 306 Gti-6." These cars are relatively inexpensive to buy now so go out and find one and I guarantee it will put a smile on your face!!!
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Feb 18th, 2006
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