Faults:

The Ticos are said to be generally well-built by the Uzbek factory which now produces them.

In fact, I was told by an Uzbek friend that in their home country they are used as taxis - and do up to 300 000 km before overhaul.

Mine was as solid as they get - not a single fault noted in 30 000 km of driving, apart from the battery which died because of old age.

General Comments:

A Tico would make a nice urban get-around for somebody on a very tight budget.

It can be parked literally anywhere, it seems to be able to do almost without fuel at all, it is nippy and cheap, cheap, cheap.

It will never get stolen or broken into, but the downside to this is that you shouldn't expect it to attract that nice-looking 20-year-old female hitchhiker.

You would not believe it, but this tiny motor actually has an air conditioner and even a factory fitted stereo.

Both are totally and utterly useless though. With the A/C on, driving a Tico becomes a slow and solemn process, with traffic lights acceleration akin to that of a donkey. And the stereo will happily accompany your commutes with lots of hissing and crackling sounds - but hardly any "well-defined treble" or "deep bass".

The car accelerates nicely up to about 60 kph, but do not expect it to be capable of dealing with motorways. It feels ill at ease at speeds above 100 kph.

In fact, it seems to be willing to lift off the ground as soon as you pass the 100 kph mark. Not a nice thing at all.