306 HDi question

[PocketFighter]

Are they any good? New job (still with ECP) potentially forces sale of my 1.8 Meridian, meaning I will have to get a diesel... 60mile commute a day...

Would it be worth looking at a HDi? Really love my 306 (as does the missus) and reluctant to sell it...

[RetroPug]

I've never driven one, but the general consensus is that yes, they are very good.
Good MPG, cheap remaps for more power & economy, other than being a diesel they are the same as other 306s etc.

Can't see why not if you love 306s and want economy tbh.
Plenty of modifications you can do to make them better for touring. Sound deadening and damping for one as I have done in my project thread, heated seats etc. A high-spec one would be great for commuting on a budget.

[Poodle]

You won't regret the change, i don't think. It'll probably feel quicker than the 1.8 due to the way the power is delivered and with the added economy and ease of tuning...

[highwayman306]

YES YES YES YES !!!!!!

great fun, great economy, look after it and it looks after you, get it stage 1 and even better economy!

Just don't use Q-drive parts on it and use decent oil filters and oil then you're laughing

HDi boys, am I right?

[Iceman299]

YES YES YES YES !!!!!!

great fun, great economy, look after it and it looks after you, get it stage 1 and even better economy!

Just don't use Q-drive parts on it and use decent oil filters and oil then you're laughing

HDi boys, am I right?

You wink that many times again and you'll owe me dinner and a movie!

But yeah, they're aight lol every car has it's fair share of common issues

[PocketFighter]

Good info, thank you, anyone know what kind of mileage I should get on a HDi? Also, does the HDi have a turbo?!

---

Oh as for Q drive parts, don't worry as a sales advisor at ECP I only recommend TWR or Lemforder lol

[Iceman299]

Yes they have a turbo and from what i've read they're pretty strong engines. Most will be around 100-150k miles, but you can find really low mileage examples.

[Toms306]

Not sure I'd want to do 60 mile commutes in any 306 tbh. But if you do, the HDi does make sense. Should be getting around 55mpg (650 miles to a tank) and if you find a Y reg or newer then cheap tax as well. Yes it has a turbo...but not a big enough one to feel. Don't be expecting a kick as the turbo boosts lol, stage 1 remap makes them a little more pokey and is really a necessity imo, but still not overly quick.

Wait for all the 'buy an XUD' posts.

[Iceman299]

I find them really comfortable on long commutes. Even when i go to London, a 2 hour drive feels like nothing.

The turbo isn't big but if you've never owned a turbo/turbo diesel before, you'll feel the difference in torque. Speaking from experience lol

[Toms306]

Comfort is down to the person really, I even find most modern cars uncomfortable tbh (but they appear to fill the seats with concrete and fit low profile tyres...stupid safety and emissions crap) but no one else seems to have a problem with them!

I went straight from a 1.8 petrol (which felt like a rocket after the 1.4) to a Golf GT TDI 130 with a tonne of near-instant VNT torque lol... Was just over a year later I got my first HDi...it seemed like a petrol in comparison haha.

[chylledapps]

Not sure I'd want to do 60 mile commutes in any 306 tbh.  But if you do, the HDi does make sense.  Should be getting around 55mpg (650 miles to a tank) and if you find a Y reg or newer then cheap tax as well.  Yes it has a turbo...but not a big enough one to feel.  Don't be expecting a kick as the turbo boosts lol, stage 1 remap makes them a little more pokey and is really a necessity imo, but still not overly quick.

Wait for all the 'buy an XUD' posts.

No feel to the turbo? Come off Hyde park corner onto Park Lane and put your foot down in 2nd to feel the turbo kick in and piss off the cabbies

In all seriousness though, I only pootle around London and average 38mpg, on the odd run out to Bournemouth or Manc it seems to do around 50mpg at a steady 80mph.

Just added an armrest but other than that standard spec is very comfy

[PocketFighter]

Lol some of the responses are brilliant, I personally find the 306 comfy, 450 mile round trip and was perfectly fine.

The only reason I asked about the turbo is because I have never, since working at epc, had someone ask for a turbo for one of these, unlike my other choice, Audi A4, the turbo seems to be a common fault on them (well most from VAG cars)

My current journey is an 11mile commute a day, so the 1.8 has been fantastic, but is juicy as it's constant stop start so only avg around 300mile to the tank unless I do a long haul

[Seb_Ryan]

Lol some of the responses are brilliant, I personally find the 306 comfy, 450 mile round trip and was perfectly fine.

The only reason I asked about the turbo is because I have never, since working at epc, had someone ask for a turbo for one of these, unlike my other choice, Audi A4, the turbo seems to be a common fault on them (well most from VAG cars)

My current journey is an 11mile commute a day, so the 1.8 has been fantastic, but is juicy as it's constant stop start so only avg around 300mile to the tank unless I do a long haul

Youll find thats because people dont wanna put a brand new turbo on that costs over half the price of the car lol

[Iceman299]

^ was going to be my exact response lol 
i'd rather scrap the car and buy another. Will still be a few hundred ££ better off than going to ECP for a replacement turbo lol

[Toms306]

Yeah, used HDi turbos are easy to find and cost £20... But they use archaic technology so are obviously much cheaper than anything VNT. They don't seem to fail that often though, which is good because they're a complete arse to change, I'd change a Golf turbo over a HDi any day!

Also HDi's are terrible on fuel in stop start traffic btw, petrols are better for town driving.

[PocketFighter]

Granted turbos can be cheap to found etc, just thinking outside the box as never had a car with turbo before, I suppose it might be worth keep the motorbike as back up just in case...

New job won't be stop start luckily, well not on the way there anyway, home time might be different story however!

Anything to look out for on the engines??

[Poodle]

You do get a kick from the turbo, Tom just buys lemons as a matter of course. If you can't feel it kick at about 2k then you're looking at a dead maf or possibly turbo.

Common problems include crank pulley (plenty of vids on youtube) and starting/cutting out issues. Foot to the floor acceleration in 4th from about 30 up to the national limit will usually highlight any cutting out problems. The only other things i can think of are noisy turbos and lift pumps, if you can easily hear it over the engine it probably needs replacing.

[Piggy]

Gotta love an xud...but I would plump for a hdi as a commuter, esp with a stg1 map.
Defo feel the boost and it will feel really responsive and quick compared to the 1.8

[bashbarnard]

I use my xud for everything. I commute 35 miles a day in it and often drive 4\500 mile trips in it. I find it fine to drive long distance. In all fairness though for a commuter any diesel will do you.

[PocketFighter]

Sounds good then, seem like relatively solid engines...

I'll be honest, I don't have a clue with the differences between XUD or HDi engines, I assumed they were the same engines...but clearly not!

To be fair as long as I have a car that handles well like my 1.8 but can do the mileage, I'm happy! But I do have to prepare myself for costs lol never owned a diesel so don't know how to run one!

[Paul_13]

XUD - very basic primitive engine but can make bloody good power out of them. Have a habit of the conrods popping out the block and saying hello

HDI - much more refined and nicer to drive in my opinion, although I get more mpg out the XUD when I'm not putting my foot down (td04)

[highwayman306]

XUD - easy to tinker on (non-ecu)

HDi or DW10TD - bitch to tinker on (ecu)

[highwayman306]

ice, you never take me out any more! You gotta start treating me more like a lady and less of a whore

[Matt-Rallye]

HDi daily drivers for the win! did 100 miles a day in mine with little to no issues besides wear and tear suspension parts.

Also dont listen to tom, he seems to of owned 1000's of 306's and yet never actually experienced one properly

[Poodle]

If you're getting more mpg from your xud, then the hdi is broken lol.

Both engines are pretty bombproof compared to most other engines on the market, even when they do go wrong it's rarely expensive to fix.

[toseland]

Not sure I'd want to do 60 mile commutes in any 306 tbh.  But if you do, the HDi does make sense.  Should be getting around 55mpg (650 miles to a tank) and if you find a Y reg or newer then cheap tax as well.  Yes it has a turbo...but not a big enough one to feel.  Don't be expecting a kick as the turbo boosts lol, stage 1 remap makes them a little more pokey and is really a necessity imo, but still not overly quick.

Wait for all the 'buy an XUD' posts.

This coming from the person who would find a problem with a brand new Rolls Royce Phantom,  hand finished in the trim of your choice, with free fuel for life!

[RetroPug]

If you're getting more mpg from your xud, then the hdi is broken lol.

Both engines are pretty bombproof compared to most other engines on the market, even when they do go wrong it's rarely expensive to fix.

Agree, and as with any 306 your absolute maximum engine repair bill is the few hundred quid for a new enigne.

[procta]

I have had mine for 8 years now and I couldn't have asked for a better car! needs a few things tbh,
But I cannot knock her!

[Paul_13]

If you're getting more mpg from your xud, then the hdi is broken lol.

Both engines are pretty bombproof compared to most other engines on the market, even when they do go wrong it's rarely expensive to fix.

I think it's more the problem of having about 250kg of tools in the boot

[highwayman306]

Yep, tools in the back do not help...i usually have a workmate/bench on the back seats too that weighs close to a tonne

18MPG for the win....jokes