After five and a half years of Peugeot ownership, I'm off. I'm picking up a Skoda Fabia vRS tomorrow.
Some final thoughts:
I grew to love my 306DTurbo after a shaky start (mostly because it was a larger car than my previous Corsa, and its mpg was nowhere near as good as Peugeot's claims). It handled really well, and the engine was a revelation after my previous experiences with diesel engines. The first time I test drove the 90bhp HDi, I thought I was in a petrol engined car; it revved so quickly & smoothly with no turbo lag.
After three years, when I came to test-drive other cars, I'd get back into my 306 & think, "they don't compare to this, why don't I just keep it?". However the lure of a shiny new motor always beckons, and I test drove a 307 DTurbo. Regretfully, I didn't take an unaccompanied drive; I had the salesman sitting next to me. I don't know about you, but I can never get a true feel for a car when you have someone sitting next to you; you can't thrash it around quite as much as one would like, or spend ten minutes in a lay-by trying to get the seating position just right. So my 307 test drive resulted in me thinking, "well, it'll do. It can't be any worse than my 306, so I'll take it". The additional 'toys' (5-CD player, trip computer, cruise control, etc) played a part in persuading me. That and the deal being offered by the dealer was only good for that day (a classic salesman trick, I know, but I got suckered into it).
Virtually from the moment I took delivery, I regretted it. The 110bhp engine does not feel as powerful as the 90bhp version in the 306. Its handling, while still being good, isn't quite up to 306 standards. There have been a number of electronic niggles (odometer reading incorrectly, CD changer only lasts a year, etc.). The mpg is even worse than the 306's (since new it's averaged just under 40mpg- this is approaching petrol standards). No wonder it performs badly in customer satisfaction surveys if my experience is anything to go by.
The 307's faults aren't anything glaring or out of the ordinary; it's just that it's got nothing to make you want to own one. It performs perfectly adequately if you want something to get you from A to B, but then so do many others. It drives and handles perfectly adequately, but then so do many others. It looks attractive on the outside, and the interior is roomy enough, but then so are many others. In seeking to build a mainstream car, Peugeot lost the 306's je ne sais quoi.
The Fabia seems to have everything I want in a car; it's a small car (I don't like larger cars, they feel big and lumbering, and there's usually only me in it anyway) with a powerful diesel engine (I've grown to love the low down torque of a diesel engine compared to the high revs needed to get anything out of a petrol), and it comes with all the 'toys' I think are essential (air-con, ESP, cruise control) without some of the ones that are more trouble than they're worth on the Peugeot (automatic wipers that either go on fast in slight drizzle, or don't wipe enough in heavy rain; automatic lights that go on and off as I'm passing under bridges- people think I'm flashing them). Only time will tell of course whether I love or hate my new car, but at this moment, I don't think I'll regret leaving Peugeot.
Bye-bye.