Faults:

So very very much : (

Air conditioning - when working is barely noticeable.

Electrics - simply amazing. I have learned to keep my sanity by treating it as an adventure.

Speedo goes on and off intermittently. Loose wiring the most probable culprit, but haven't checked properly yet.

Had a weekend where the headlights stopped working - but if you turned the air conditioner on they would work. Now that's character!

Tape deck stopped working, but it was the original, and for the age of the car I think that's acceptable.

Interior lights are very dim due to old connections, and sometimes do not work due to the dimmer switch being dodgy.

Rust - only really on he rear hatch, where it is has reached the point where serious work will need to be done to repair it. Elsewhere it is pretty rust free - which is somewhat rare.

Engine is always unhappy when cold.

Engine - could easily say it is a pain at low revs, but the age of the car needs to be considered. It is wonderful at high revs - I mean wonderful. You can rev it to hell and back and it just wants more. Beautiful engine noise and nice and smooth. Given this and its size it would be a big ask with the technology at the time to expect it to have loads of low down torque. Don't expect to drag people off and its fine, and as I said the engine is more than happy for you to have a good time once you get going. Only other note on the engine is economy - actually pretty good if driven sensibly, although naturally enough if you rev it enough it will cost a fortune.

General Comments:

Yes, a lot can go wrong with the car.

No, its not that hard to fix.

This car handles brilliantly. I went to test drive new lancers, pulsars etc, and was flabbergasted at how bad the handling was in comparison.

It may not be the fastest car out there - but the feeling and control is amazing. This is really a car you can drive at ten tenths and feel comfortable in what she will do and how she will respond.

Its always going to be a matter of taste, and I wouldn't recommend it as your only car due to its faults, but it is a fantastic runabout with real handling and performance if you want to have a lot of fun on a budget.