General Comments:
I got this car at an auction for around $2300 (just over $1000 American) and it had several previous owners, so I wasn't expecting too much. However, it's previous owners had obviously taken a lot of care- for a ten year old car, it was in near perfect condition.
The car itself handles quite well, and can go pretty fast for a 1500cc. I was toying with the idea of getting a 2000cc one instead, but at twice the price it wasn't really worth it.
The cars interior is very spacious, although the car itself is quite large, so it's not a big surprise.
The cars layout is... different. The indicator switch is on the opposite side to most cars in this country, which took a bit of getting used to. Pulling the indicator in flashes your lights to high beam, pushing it away locks it into position. several switches for doing various things, but once I got used to it, it was a lot easier to drive than other cars I have had experience with.
One of the first things I noticed is that this is pretty much a do-it-yourself car. Electric nothing, not even power steering. While this makes the car less prone to breaking down, it does make it a little tricky when your doing anything intricate at low speed. Certainly not a car for wimps, you'll need a good pair of arms to drive this one in comfort.
The air conditioning is impressive to say the least. For some reason the two middle vents only shoot hot air, while the outside pair shoot cold. And unlike most Japanese cars, hot is actually hot, and straight away as well. nothing like turning the car on in the middle of winter and getting a good hot blast in the face. (get your mind out of the gutter for a second, please)
The car handles well round corners, and is quite a smooth ride. I haven't exactly been pushing it to the limit, but I could go for quite a while before getting uncomfortable.
The car itself looks quite nice, with smooth lines and it's little kite logo thingy on the front.
The car is quite economical, and can run on an oily rag, as my dad would say.
If I have one problem, it's that the car tends to vibrate if you don't have your foot on the accelerator. Even in neutral. It isn't very noticeable, but it is there.
24th Jun 2002, 01:24
My 1988 5 door hatch le mans 1.5L manual has a little rattle at any revs below 850rpm, but that's alright mine good too, sometimes can seem too thirsty, but its sweet.