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.