Peugeot 307 2.0 HDi

I have mixed feelings about the 307.

I bought a 2 year old 5 door HDi hatch with 30K on the clock from a reputable dealer.

We liked the car (and still do) because there is very good space in the back for passengers and the boot is huge. In terms of interior space it's the biggest thing out there (compared to the likes of the Golf, the focus, etc). If you've got a kid and are looking for a hatch, this is great.

The dielsel engine delivers great fuel economy and you can almost forget you're driving a diesel. It handles well, it's easy to drive around town and does the job on the motorways.

The interior trim is fairly cheap looking but the steering mounted radio controls are excellent (although one of the buttons snapped off very easily).

The thing about the looks is that, in any colour other than black, the car looks like an ugly MPV, but in black, it looks smaller, sportier and more stylish. I can't figure out why but it looks like a different car altogether!

But...and oh dear, it's a huge but...307s have a major fault. In fact, its not just 307s. Regular viewers of watchdog will know that Peugeot are on every couple of months. Most recently it has been the 206 (engine cutting out) but the 406 and the 307 are regular guests.

The fault on the 307 is something to do with the ignition not disengaging the starter motor. The motor keeps on going. The thing is, you don't know this - you can't hear it. The first time this problem manifested itself was 4 months after we bought the car; the engine cut out whilst my wife was driving it. Fortunately she was in traffic, not in the far lane on the motorway. The AA mechanic had seen it all before. The car was fixed under warranty.

A couple of months later and the engine caught fire before it had had time to cut out. The car was a write off and my wife seriously shook up. Peugeots reaction to their under warranty car exploding? A rather patronising message saying:"Nothing to do with us mate - claim on your insurance".

Well, the insurers paid up but we weren't happy. We did our research and found out this is a common fault and after 6 months, Peugeot agreed to pay the insurers and so our no-claims is protected but we were without a car for months whilst waiting for a resolution and Peugeot customer services never once apologised or said that this had happened before. As it is we are about £1500 out of pocket since that is the depreciation that the insurers have calculated for 7 months on a 2 yr old car!

In summary, it's a great car and statistically you are unlikely to have a problem BUT the odds of having a problem must be at least 10 times greater than with any other make of car and if you do have a problem, Peugeot will not be sympathetic at all; whatever happens, you will end up out of pocket. And just pray that the car doesn't cut out or catch fire when you're doing 80 in the outsdide lane of a motorway. It's surely not worth the risk for an extra couple inches of boot space.