Faults:

The dashboard is cracked.

The clutch thrust bearing is noisy.

The rubber coupling on the rear differential allows annoying amounts of torque reaction to affect the smoothness of gear-changes.

The rocker cover gaskets leak.

The sump gasket leaks.

The cruise control vacuum feed to the actuator capsule split.

General Comments:

The vehicle is in very good mechanical condition, given its age.

Fuel consumption is in line with expectations of a V8 pulling 2000kg's of metal around.

The vehicle is about as aerodynamic as a house brick, and can be affected by side wind.

The interior of the vehicle is supremely quiet, especially on the highway.

All of the problems with the vehicle are minor, and although some of them are time consuming to fix, the parts are relatively cheap and easy to obtain.

The vehicle is not exactly quick, however it has satisfactory performance, considering the sheer weight the engine has to pull.

The comfort levels are a class leader.

The suspension is well sorted and offers substantial benefits over the independent front axles of its competitors.

The 2 door wagon style is aesthetically pleasing, pity they are discontinued.

The dealer service is both expensive, time consuming and of a generally poor standard.

There are a number of private firms, which offer superior service.

Faults:

On delivery the horn only worked intermittently. Reported to the dealer at each service. Still had same fault in 2001.

The vehicle danced all over the road until the dealer replaced the original steering damper with an aftermarket one.

At approx 35000 Km the front brake pads wore down to the metal.

The front shock absorbers & the front coil springs needed replacing at about40000 Km.

The vehicle wore tires out at a prodigious rate. This vehicle wore out four & a half sets of tires in 11300 Km.

When the vehicle was about 15 months old, it broke down. The starter motor pinion had failed to disengage the ring gear (on the flywheel) ; this caused the starter to act as an uncontrolled generator. That is until it had melted the battery & the starter itself. Cost of starter replacement was in excess of $1500 plus labor.

The battery was not available in Australia, so a smaller battery was fitted, but this required fabrication of a new battery retainer.

Shortly after this the handbrake cable seized solid. Of course when the handbrake was applied & required removal of the cable before the vehicle could be moved. Cable cost a little more than $150.

The front hubs started leaking at about 85000 Km & needed new seals.

The next failure was the death of this vehicle. Traveling along the highway, It pulled violently to the right. We narrowly missed on coming traffic, but in so doing the vehicle slid out of control, hit a small embankment & rolled. My wife & I were lucky not to be seriously hurt. The disco was a write off. When it was pulled on to the back of the recovery vehicle, only three of the wheels would turn. The front right wheel was locked solid. I checked the condition of the wheel rim, but could not see anything that might stop the wheel from turning. It was my conclusion that a wheel bearing had failed.

General Comments:

Service costs are steep. Costs of parts are vicious.

Despite hard seats they are reasonably comfortable on a long trip.

Fuel efficiency is good, but this becomes a small factor in the overall running costs.

A bit of a slug when loaded on the hills.