D-TURBO

The 306 was developed between 1990 and 1992 ready for 1993. It was a replacement for the Peugeot 309 (which had broken with Peugeot's normal ascending numbering system partly due to it being released before the older and larger Peugeot 305 was axed).

Mechanically, the 306 is virtually identical to the Citroën ZX, which was launched two years before the 306: both cars use the same floorpan and core structure. The 306, with its attractive Peugeot 205 derived Pininfarina styling, was a more successful car than its twin. The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner were also built on the same platform. The chassis used by the 306 and ZX was also used in the ZX's replacement, the Citroën Xsara. The sharing of platforms between Peugeot and Citroën has been parent company PSA Peugeot Citroën policy since the late 1970s, after the Peugeot takeover of the then bankrupt Citroen in the wake of the 1974 oil crisis. The first car being the Peugeot 104 based Citroën Visa and Citroën LNA and Talbot Samba. The policy continues today throughout the Peugeot and Citroën ranges. The entry level Peugeot 107, Citroën C1 and Toyota Aygo though are a Toyota Design, rather than a PSA one.

306 Phase 1[edit]

A bewildering array of different model types were offered during the life of the Phase 1 model, including Genoa, XSS, X, XT, XRdt and Xd. Later were added various 'performance' models, such as the S16, XSi and GTI-6 (petrol) and the D-Turbo S (diesel).The 306 was released in March 1993 as a 3- and 5-door hatchback, with saloon, cabriolet and estate models being introduced later. The estate version was branded as the sw, for "station wagon". The Phase 1 model was known as the N3 in Australia, and introduced in 1994.

All variants of the 306, with the exception of the GTI-6 and cabriolet models, were priced very competitively.