The Peugeot 306 was Europe's standard issue compact hatchback.
Watch any movie set in Europe in the 1990s and 2000s and you're bound to see a dinged up 306 snuggled along the cobblestone boulevards of Paris or Rome.
This example has made its way to North America, where it was never officially offered. Peugeot pulled all operations out of the U.S. and Canada in 1991 after years of abysmal sales. But that didn't mean they didn't make good cars.
Back in Europe, they continued to thrive. The 306 replaced the 309 (yes, the model numbers descended). It was produced from 1993-2002 resulting in over 2 million units made.
The layout was simple but refined and built on decades of Peugeot's experience in making small cars. A front-mounted 4-cylinder engine powered the front wheels. Hatchback, sedan, wagon and convertible body styles were available.
Styling is simple and clean, but the slanted triangular headlights and taillights give the car a more Japanese than French feel. Perhaps that's because a lot of the stiff competition in the econobox segment was coming out of that region. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Unfortunately, BMW made this same mistake to the extreme when they took Chris Bangle aboard and Japanesized their designs, too.
Still, there's something way cooler about this than your average Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus, cars readily available here for a long time and in plentiful numbers. Maybe it's just because we never got it officially. You always want what you can't have.
The seller states this is the rare Roland Garros Edition, named so after the nickname for the French Open tennis tournament, which in turn was named after a famous French aviator. I couldn't find out exactly how many were made, but one source has estimated only about 400. The only cosmetic differences were special green paint, after the green of a tennis court I presume. Under the hood is a four-banger mated to a stick shift.
They mention it's never been run in the winter (despite being located in Canada) and is rust-free, a huge plus. They say it runs good and is in good shape. They list the mileage as 180,000 which is probably in kilometers and equals about 111k miles.
Find it here on ebay in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for a Buy-It-Now of $5,500 and the Make An Offer option as well.
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