Faults:

The check engine light came on repeatedly for cylinder 3 misfire.

Brakes and rotors wear out quickly, braking is poor.

Exhaust always rots away, exhaust parts are expensive.

Blows blue smoke cloud on startup.

Frame is rotting away at driver's side, front wheel area.

Gas filler tube rotted away - too expensive to buy a new one, made my own out of PVC.

Parts are way too expensive on this car.

General Comments:

This car is good on gas, has a roomy hatch but rides hard.

The frame doesn't hold up to winter weather and rots away. The exhaust also rots away with road salt.

Faults:

A synchro & bearing went out on transmission at 35k miles, causing tranny to slip out of 5th gear unless the shifter was lightly held in place. Use a piece of surgical tubing tied to the cup holder to slip over and hold the shifter in 5th until was able to get it repaired. Cost $550 to repair.

Wiring harness shorted at 28k miles where the harness goes thru the firewall. Common failure point according to dealer. Lost headlights when in low beam position, but was able to use a combination of parking light position (to get tail lights on) and the headlights would stay on - and the high beam position worked as normal. Cost $600 to repair.

Carpet very light duty, wore hole from heel near pedals in a couple years. Recommend buying aftermarket floor mats (I did, but too late to save the front driver's side carpeting).

General Comments:

The car has been an overall excellent value. Reliable and a joy at the gas pump. This car is the only vehicle I've ever owned that delivers equal or better than the rated hwy/city mileage (with the air conditioning off).

With the air on, with combination city/hwy driving - 32 mpg, with the air off, combination city/hwy - 36 mpg. Running at 60 mph on interstate highway it flirts with 40 mpg. It's hard to be that disciplined - I tend to swing up towards 70 mph on a longer drive and get 36-38 mpg at that speed, depending on terrain.

Not a real comfortable ride but livable, wouldn't recommend the backseat to anyone over 5'6", with the back seat folded down it can haul an amazing amount of cargo - as much as most full size cars.

I've read that this isn't a good car for distances and people mentioned the 10.3 gal gas tank as a limitation. Assuming you aren't driving in the mountains and not exceeding the speed limit, you can cruise for up to 350 miles before having to stop for gas. I stop at 275-300 miles as a rule, leaving the last couple gallons as a safety margin.

It isn't great on comfort but even at today's gas prices (US $4.25) you can make a 1,000 mile round trip for under $120 in gas.