Faults:

This has been a great car, mechanically sound. It's the small stuff that gets expensive.

I have replaced headlights on both sides 3 times.

The CV joints needed replacing, but not until about 120,000 miles.

The interior has given me problems, things breaking off or just falling off.

The driver's window mechanism refuses to work, have replaced it 2 times at least and had to have the window put back on track several more times.

The only reason it is sitting now is that the rack and pinion is out of it.

General Comments:

The car handles great, I was very impressed with the steering and cornering abilities. Driving it was a dream, and the suspension was so firm, you never felt a bump.

I was in my car for over 100,000 miles in the first 4 years and it was super comfortable. The seats are great. I do need to replace my driver's seat now though, it has a hole that rips my clothing.

Faults:

Driver's side door handle broke, easily fixed though, passenger side armrest popped off, another easy fix.

Front A/C, heat vents very loose.

Replaced CV joints and tie-rod ends at 168,000 miles.

Alternator every 2 years.

Paint on trunk lid started peeling off.

All this started at 160,000 miles.

General Comments:

Great car, has never broken down on me yet to this day.

Has excellent power for a 4 cylinder engine.

A/C is ice cold and the original sound system still sounds pretty good these days.

Faults:

Nothing mechanically so far, it does need the normal maintenance though. Tires and struts, things like that.

The head liner in the interior of the roof of the car is starting to fall in a couple of places.

Plastic parts of interior look great and the seats are still in really nice condition. I was very pleased with that.

The door latches seem to stick sometimes, but not always.

New battery right after purchase. The old one was really past due for replacement.

General Comments:

I was on a tight budget when I went to look for a used car. This one was just in on a trade in and was not even detailed yet. The dealer wanted $1500 for it and I paid $1200. Looking it up online in the condition it is in now, it is worth about $3000.

I was very pleased with the price and how mechanically sound it seems to be having almost 200,000 miles on it with the original engine and transmission.

Pricing the shocks and struts, the parts for this car seem to be easy to find and are not in the high range of price for car parts.

I think as long as these cars are up-kept and maintained well, they will be reliable for many years and stay looking nice as well.

To sum up I am pretty happy with this car so far and I am looking forward to taking road trips in it, good gas mileage also.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car since we have owned it, except the headliner which is starting to sag.

Regular maintenance can easily be done by DIY. Since nothing breaks, repair costs are a minimum.

General Comments:

This is my wife's car and she truly loves it. The car sits outside all year here in Wisconsin and it always starts and runs smoothly for her. Handling is precise and nimble and goes through the snow with ease. Reliability and ease of use rate very high with her.

After 11 years it's still tight with no rattles or creaks.

I find the comfort, practicality and cost of ownership of the car make it a very good vehicle for urban use. A high percentage of my neighbors have this model or its sister, the Toyota Corolla, and are logging upwards of 300,000 miles of trouble-free driving. I am very glad I bought this car.