Faults:

Rear brake cylinders leaked at 50000 miles. Wobble from steering wheel that rebalancing failed to totally cure.

Rear door lock broke.

Needed pair of replacement steering bushes at 18000 miles (which Citroen paid for due to age of car).

General Comments:

Quick enough in general driving with enough performance to cruise at 80 mph all day long. Economy excellent at 55-60 mpg. Refined, quiet long distance car with a good ride. Handling stodgy, probably not helped by the weight of the diesel engine. Has been generally very reliable and cheap to run.

Faults:

The anti-roll link arms have been replaced.

I have had numerous brake problems with the car. The brake discs have been replaced twice. The hand-brake cable snapped. And just before I sold the car I had to replace the brake pipes.

The temperature gauge over-read the water temperature, giving the impression that the car was running hot.

The fuel injection jets always seemed to be blocked, requiring constant cleaning.

The catalytic converter blew at 55000 miles.

The alternator belt went at 82000 miles.

General Comments:

The main reason I bought the Citroen was the fantastic ride and handling, and it didn't disappoint. The car turned in around bends like a track car. The steering was perfectly weighted, and even though it was a powered set-up, there was some feel through the rim.

I did have constant brake problems which caused a lot of expense. The disc seemed especially susceptible to wear. this apparently is a very common Peugeot / Citroen problem.

One irritating problem was the dashboard temperature gauge. When running the car (especially at high speeds) the needle was just below the red zone. Having changed the coolant and then the radiator without resolving the problem, it became apparent that it was the gauge as the engine was not displaying any signs of overheating. I also had a couple of radiator hoses leak.

Performance was tardy. It seemed that the fuel injection system was constantly been clogged by dirt from the fuel tank, especially when the car was low on fuel. This let to lumpy running of the engine and a lack of power. A shot of fuel injection cleaner in the tank seemed to clear the jets, but I was never able to fully resolve the problem.

Fuel consumption was excellent, I was always getting above 40 MPG.

Changing a wheel is a nightmare. The tool to undue the spare wheel from the frame securing it to the boot floor is a piece of unbelievably inept design!

The car always started first time during my tenure which is all you can ask really!

Faults:

Rear brakes stick on when reversing.

Silencer has corroded through.

Alarm is on the blink, always has been, probably always will be!

Eats handbrake cables.

General Comments:

This car is surprisingly fast especially once you get the turbo going, wheelspins at the slightest provocation in the wet!

It handles brilliantly specially round corners, the result is heavy front tyre wear.

The suspension is a little soft, but then makes it very comfortable, the occasional 200 mile journey after 9 hours on your feet at work is surprisingly comfortable.

The bodywork is a bit thin, and this version has no rubbing strips on the doors, as a result I have several dings along the sides from other doors being opened into mine.

Faults:

Idle control actuator faulty when I bought the car.

Rear light bulbs go fairly frequently.

General Comments:

This is my first car, and what a first car. Although not startlingly fast, its performance is more than adequate for me, as I'm only 17. It still surprises some people, and sounds great too. Needs revving to get the best out of it, though, which isn't a problem because it sounds good up the rev range.

The seats are very comfortable with good support.

The ride is not as refined as some, but is better than most cars of this size. Not as smooth as hydro-equipped Citroens, but it's still very impressive.

There is lots of body roll in the corners, but the car grips and grips, and lets you push on very nicely. Tendency for the back end to go slippery if you lift off mid-way through. But generally the handling is brilliant - it's a fun car to drive.

Equipment is excellent for what I paid, with PAS, electric front windows & electric sunroof, body coloured bumpers, front fog lights and an airbag.

Engine can run out of puff on the motorway if there's a few people in the car, needing a change down, but other than that it's a great cruiser, there's no shake or body vibration and the car will mix it with the big Audi's and BMW's in the outside lane. With just me on board she accelerates from 60-80mph quite quickly (not that I've ever done that sort of speed on our British motorways ;) )

Very good value - bought the car for £2700 and it still only has 27k on the clock with a full service history. I don't know of many other cars which can offer that sort of value.

The best bit is this car is so underrated. It's nippy, comfy, fun to drive, good value for money, and well equipped, if a bit dated to look at. The problem is its image - but if you can't see past that, you'd be missing out on a heck of a lot.

Faults:

Nothing, despite 50K motoring in two years.

General Comments:

Dead boring utility. But comfortable, utterly reliable and 60mpg on the motorway - even with four on board.

Big load space and practical seating arrangements make the car very versatile.

Electric everything, including the sunroof isn't bad in such a cheap car.

Faults:

Headlight adjustment needed attention.

Fuel pump potentiometer failure (unable to rev above 2000rpm!) - replaced free.

Water Leaks near sunroof controls (repaired same place three times!) - fixed under warranty but took 4 days in the end. I'm glad I wasn't paying the labour!!

Vicious downchange from auto 'box' at times (just like a manual without a clutch).

Performance very poor for engine size: wife's Rover 216Sli Auto (1993) leaves it for dead - dealer claim cars are tuned for torque.

25mpg avg up to now - I know from the fuelcard statements.

Alarm goes off without provocation from time to time.

General Comments:

Nice drive, good on the motorway - quiet and cruises happily at 90-100.

More comfortable than any other car in its class - even after 7 hours.

Good load carrying ability with rear seats down - due to height in cabin.

Excellent handling if you don't mind the body roll. (I used to have a 2CV with scrape marks on the door handles so it suits me!!)

Stereo very good too.

Another 25BHP would make this a GREAT car.

Citroen 'assist' don't do what their name suggests!