Faults:

Heat shield needed spot welding back on twice. The interior sensor is faulty and needs to be disarmed before locking. This cannot be fixed apparently. The head gasket blew at 60,000 and the clutch went at the same time. Rear brake pads and disks needed to be replaced 6 months after its service. Knocking noise from the front which cannot be remedied according to the dealer. Belt tension within the engine needed to be sorted as it was rattling. Water leaking into the car through the interior light, via the aerial. Tracking and alignment needed to be sorted. New exhaust was required at MOT.

General Comments:

This car is fun to drive and will match most off the lights!

Handles OK, but not as good as most say.

Uncomfortable if you are 6ft or over.

Can be made to look awesome and still looks great unmodified.

Very high insurance on my VTS so go for the VTR if you have too.

Invest in a good sound system including new speakers etc.

If you are determined to get one, please get it from a dealer!

If I sound like I hate the car, I don't! I just wish it was as reliable as it is fun and wish the bodywork was not paper thin. I am only telling the truth so do not be fooled, listen to an expert!

Faults:

Power steering failure - after 3 years (rectified by a trusted local non franchised garage).

Rubber seal on sunroof (evostick sorted it).

General Comments:

Having owned the car from new, covering 53k miles in almost four and half years, I can report that overall it has provided very reliable and economic motoring.

Although my main gripes are the cramped drivers foot-well, off set pedals and a too small accelerator pedal. The 1.1 60bhp engine is nippy enough around town and on most A roads, but the lack of power can be a pain on motorway runs and whenever a burst of rapid acceleration is required.

The standard kit on the SX included electric front windows, remote central locking (the fob is a little flimsy and doesn't work at anymore than a few feet away from the car - even with new batteries fitted), power steering, slide/tilt manually operated sunroof, tinted glass, front fog lights and a 4 speaker RDS radio cassette.

The build quality has been a surprise (for a small French car anyway) the bodywork and interior remains solid with no major squeaks or rattles from the dash.

My replacement for the Saxo is a new Pug 307. Having test driven the 307 the shortfalls of the Saxo become much more apparent (given that the design harks back to the mid 90's this shouldn't be a surprise) however, should your main priority be a cheap reliable car you can't fail with a Saxo 1.1Sx.

Faults:

Heater-blower and rear-window demister stopped working (apparently due to faulty ignition switch).

Air-bag warning light keeps flashing.

General Comments:

The car is generally pleasant, although the driving position could be more comfortable.

It's not the quietest of cars - more bumps and rattles than my previous car (Nissan Micra).