PEUGEOT 306 Models/Series Timeline, Specifications & Photos

Peugeot scored an important success on the European compact segment with the 306 when it launched it in 1993, and, four years later, it refreshed the lineup with the so-called Phase 2. That's its way of calling the facelift.

The 306 was available with five types of bodyworks available for those times, from a three- and five-door hatchback to a sedan, a station wagon, and a cabriolet. All of them received a new front fascia that resembled the 406, which was also a successful model.

Designed to be a low-budget convertible, the 306 Cabrio was more than just a young-oriented vehicle. It was a leisure one, excellent for the French Riviera and also for in-city usage. The redesigned front bumper sported two round fog lamps in the apron, flanking the oval-shaped lower grille, while the upper one placed between the headlights was interrupted by the carmaker's badge. At the back, the smoked lenses over the reversing lamps took their inspiration from the tuning trend, which significantly grew in the mid-'90s.

Inside, there was still room enough for two passengers at the front while the rear ones had to handle the situation with care due to insufficient legroom for grown-ups. Yet, children could sit there with no real difficulties.

Under the hood, Peugeot introduced a choice of five new, Euro3 engines. Only two of them were available with an automatic transmission.

The compact hatchback from Peugeot stepped back with its numbering system and named the 306 after the 309. It was launched in 1993 and in 1996 it received its first facelift for the whole range.

Peugeot 306 was a simple compact French car, built to cope with everyday tasks around town. It was fitted with economical engines and it was affordable. On the other hand, the three-door version was used in two opposite directions. One for the delivery teams and one for those who needed a sportier and affordable compact car. It was cheaper than the Golf and more spirited than other competitors.

The three-door version was available with the same engine choices as the five-door, except for the top of the range GTI. It was also offered in a “Rally” special edition, which was lighter and more agile. The 1996 model featured a redesigned front grille, headlights, and bumpers. The taillights were visually enhanced as well.

Inside, the same plain dashboard as in any other 306, but with a new design for the instrument cluster on the GTI version. In France, a commercial version with seats only in the front was available, but it kept the side windows in place.

Under the hood, there was a choice of eight engines available: five were with gasoline and three were diesel. The most spirited one, the GTI, offered 135 hp and it was mated to a six-speed gearbox. It was unusual for those times to see an affordable, compact-sized vehicle with that kind of transmission. But it was the base for race-cars. It won on rallies and on endurance races.

The compact hatchback from Peugeot stepped back with its numbering system and named the 306 after the 309, and it introduced it in 1993. Three years later, it received its first facelift for the entire range.

Peugeot 306 was a simple, compact French car, built to cope with everyday tasks around town. It was fitted with economical engines, and it was affordable. It was good for young families and offered enough interior room for up to five passengers for short distances. For long trips, it was good only for four.

The facelifted version featured different headlights, with rounded edges and an angry look. The raked windshield and the clean, rounded lines were a step forward from its predecessor. A new bumper with a "smiley face" lower grille and encased fog-lights was introduced. Unlike the 3-door version, the front doors were shorter to leave enough room for the rear ones.

Inside, the lines were sweetened with rounded edges instead of clear cuts. On the center stack, Peugeot installed the HVAC controls and the audio system. It didn't seem like its designer broke a sweat to make a completely new design.

There was a choice of eight engines available under the hood: five were with gasoline, and three were diesel. The most spirited one, the GTI, offered 135 hp, and it was mated to a six-speed gearbox. It was unusual for those times to see an affordable, compact-sized vehicle with that kind of transmission.

Peugeot introduced the 306 lineup in 1993, and in May 1997, it refreshed the lineup, updating the design and the drivetrain for the compact-sized vehicle.

The sedan version came on the market in 1994 as an addition aimed at those who didn't want to mix the cabin with the luggage compartment. And, just like the rest of the 306 range, it got updated in 1997 for the so-called Phase 2 of the car, or facelift, as we know it.

Even though it was a mundane vehicle, it didn't have to look like that. So Peugeot added more styling to the car's front fascia. Thus, the new headlights featured clear turn signals and rounded edges in a more organic shape. It was still the bio-design era. Under the one-slatted grille, the automaker placed the reworked bumper that sported a smiley lower grille that complemented the cooling area for the engine. From its profile, depending on the trim level, the sedan received body-colored door mirrors and handles. At the back, Peugeot offered an option for a rear windscreen wiper, which was unusual for a sedan. Finally, on the rear fascia, the carmaker installed smoked taillights instead of the clear ones previously used.

There were fewer hard edges and angular shapes in the car's interior. In addition, Peugeot installed the HVAC controls and a new sound system on the center stack. But the seats were the same as on its predecessor and, obviously, no leather seats were available.

Under the hood, Peugeot installed a wide choice of engines, ranging from 69 hp to 112 hp. An automatic transmission was available for the 1.8-liter, 8-valve powerplant but not for the 16-valve version.

Along with the facelifted version of the 306 range, Peugeot also introduced a new body version for its small-segment contender: the station wagon.

The 306 ranked in the top ten best-selling vehicles in the UK since 1994, so the refreshed version should keep those selling figures up. It did, but only until the end of 1998. One of its problems was the trunk space, and that's why Peugeot tried to fix that with a station wagon version.

The facelifted version featured different headlights, with rounded edges and an angry look that matched the front fascia of the successful Peugeot 406. The raked windshield and the clean, rounded lines were a step forward from its predecessor. Peugeot introduced a new bumper with a "smiley face" lower grille and encased fog lights. Behind the rear doors, which were identical to those installed on the five-door hatchback and the sedan, the carmaker installed a wide window. Thanks to the darkened D-pillars, the carmaker created the image of a wrapped-around glass area. At the back, the tailgate was flanked by new taillights with a vertical, rounded shape.

Inside, the designers sweetened the lines with rounded edges instead of angular lines. On the center stack, Peugeot installed the HVAC controls and the audio system. It didn't seem like its designer broke a sweat to make a completely new design. The car's most significant advantage was the 442 liters (15.6 cu-ft) trunk space. With the rear seats folded down, that volume increased to an astonishing 1,512 liters (53.4 cu-ft).

There was a choice of seven engines available under the hood: five were with gasoline, and three were diesel. Depending on the trim level and powerplant, the carmaker offered a five-speed manual transmission as standard or a four-speed automatic.

The French compact-class vehicle was one of the best-sellers in Europe and for a good reason. In its entire lifespan between 1993 and 2002 it was sold in nearly 3 million units. In 1997, the car went through a major facelift, which affected the design, engines, and interior.

The 306 GTI-6 was the top of the line trim and featured bucket seats, white dials for the tachometer and speedometer, a sporty steering-wheel and an enhanced suspension. Also, it had more safety features than other versions of the 306.

The base platform was kept the same, but the bumpers, headlights, and taillights were changed. One of the most noticeable changes was the introduction of the turn-signal indicators inside the headlights, instead of the outside location onto a different lamp. Light-alloy wheels were offered as standard on the higher trim levels and more powerful engines, like on the 306 Gti-6 version. It was the sportiest version of them all, and it was considered the true replacement for the older Peugeot 205 GTI, a rally-legend in its era.

The power came from a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine with four cylinders. The introduction of a twin-cam with 16 valves (DOHC system) led to 164 hp, which was a lot for that era. The 306 GTI-6 was the base model for the rally version 306-Maxi for the F2 category, which paved the way for the World Rally Championship title.

In 1993, Peugeot introduced the 306 range that replaced the 309 lineup and, in the following year, it revealed the open-top version.

Like its predecessor, the 306 was often compared to the 205 model, which was a legend for the French carmaker. Peugeot tried to make things better and, since the 205 was available in a rag-top version, it created a convertible version for the 306 as well.

With the open-top version, the 306 lineup was complete. The compact vehicle was available as a 3- and 5-door hatchback, a sedan, a station wagon, and a cabriolet. At the front, it featured the new design language of the French Lion, with angled headlights and a pair of narrow cuts in the grille. Pininfarina designed the convertible and offered reasonable solutions to conceive the retractable fabric roof between the rear seats and the trunk. It managed to develop the car without the need of a B-pillar or a visible safety arch.

Inside, the design team put together a varied range of colors and materials better suited to be exposed to direct sunlight. The dashboard featured an angular-looking center stack with the audio controls and the ventilation system easy to reach. Its high-bolstered seats offered good lateral support, but there was little legroom for the rear passengers.

Peugeot installed a choice of three engines under the 306's hood. All of them were paired as standard to a 5-speed manual, while a 4-speed automatic was on the options list.

Created as a successor to the 306, the 309 came on the market with a new and improved design concept that helped the French automaker take a slice from the VW Golf's compact-segment pie.

Peugeot was ready for a major change in its design language and replaced the nine-year-old 309 with the 306 lineup in 1993. In addition, it offered it in a few bodywork versions, including the sporty, 3-door one.

There was a new design language for the French carmaker, who suddenly remembered that its badge was a lion and put the feline-eye-shaped headlights on the car. It looked miles away from most of its competitors who insisted on squared or round headlamps. The hood left a small gap underneath, above the bumper, for the grille. From its profile, the longer doors and the shape of the rear windows resembled the glorious 205, but in a modern manner. Finally, at the back, the raked-forward tailgate featured a cut for the taillights. Even though that made access to the trunk more difficult, it improved the car's look.

Inside, Peugeot took a different approach than on the 309. Thus, the center stack and the instrument cluster were under the same roof. In addition, the sound system was placed above the HVAC controls, thus improving the car's ergonomics. Finally, depending on the trim level and engine version, the 306 featured bucket seats or sports seats for the GTI version, which proved to be a true hot-hatch.

The 306 was based on the same platform as the Citroen ZX, which has been on the market since 1991. Thus, Peugeot had plenty of time to fix any mistakes it made during the chassis' development. In addition, the French automaker offered the 306 with a wide choice of gasoline and diesel engines.

Peugeot introduced the 306 in 1993 as a replacement for the nine-year-old 309 and was built on the same platform as the Citroen ZX.

At the beginning of the '90s, the hatchback market was on an ascending trend, and the French carmaker was good at it. After the 306 experience, Peugeot understood that the era of big, expensive, curved rear windows was gone and changed the entire concept. That led to a more dynamic look of its vehicles and marked a step away from the overall domestic look.

There was a new design language for the French carmaker, who suddenly remembered that its badge was a lion and put the feline-eye-shaped headlights on the car. It looked miles away from most of its competitors who insisted on squared or round headlamps. The hood left a small gap underneath, above the bumper, for the grille. Its raked-forward tailgate was another important improvement since it didn't feature an additional tail behind the rear window. It was a proper two-box hatchback.

Inside, the carmaker understood the importance of a center stack and built the dashboard with that center element incorporated under the same roof as the instrument panel. All the controls from it were easier to reach by the driver. Moreover, Peugeot understood that the radio controls are more important than the climate controls and placed the cassette player above them. The front seats were comfort-oriented, while the bench was suitable for three children or two adults, as long as the front occupants were not too tall.

Under the hood, Peugeot installed a wide engine choice ranged between 60 hp and 155 hp. The latter was more potent than the acclaimed VW Golf GTI.