Faults:

Internal heater valve stuck and casing disintegrated, so leaking water.

Accelerator cable stuck.

Rear suspension shocks and bushes.

Rusty wheel arches - the only really way to repair is to have a professional weld (£300/arch).

General Comments:

The car is very agile and great fun to drive, as it is so responsive, and you feel connected to the road.

Engine is very willing and smooth, with good pulling power at low revs, and economy for the power.

Gearbox shift is a dream.

Front seats are very comfortable.

I have a 1.7 with the Lux pack and metallic paint. Much more reliable and economical than my previous 1997 model, which started to burn oil at 70K.

Very good driving experience - great balance, feel and good road holding/ride combination. Seems very well mechanically designed for a small car, and you do feel that 'feline prowess' shining through - quite an experience.

Not for petrol heads, and no need to mod in any way.

For keeps, once you are at one with the cat!

Faults:

ABS sensors sometimes fail.

General Comments:

Had car 9 years, and not even had to replace a bulb.

This car has never failed to start.

Most reliable car I have ever known.

Faults:

The middle of the exhaust has just begun blowing in a boy racery fashion.

General Comments:

The Puma is my first car, and I held out for a couple years so I got the car I wanted.

I bought it in October, and the test drive was a dream come true.

I recently changed the cambelt, as it had never been done, but I bought it for £1100, so I was perfectly happy to fork out for a cambelt.

Checked for the usual rust; it had some, but it wasn't too bad, and again the price meant it was acceptable. I very often see worse Pumas.

The car is VERY nippy, very responsive steering (People use the phrase 'go kart like' and I totally agree.)

It does however suffer a bit of wind noise at 65+mph from the drivers door seal, but it's not that much.

The car itself is fantastic, but I am disappointed at the exhaust beginning to blow, but the car is 10 years old, what do you expect?

Faults:

New exhaust back box required, but the whole thing had to be replaced upto the cat.

2x new suspension arms.

Coil pack.

Speed sensor.

ABS sensor.

Multiple problems with ECU.

...and all this in less than a year.

General Comments:

Pulls superbly at higher speeds and no slouch from standing start.

Handles like it's on rails.

Interior is a bit cheap, but to be expected for entry level coupe. Don't be expecting Aston luxury; you're buying a ford.

Massive problems with reliability. The car in the space of 4k has had £1400 of work done to it. This has totally marred the joy of owning a very impressive little coupe.

My advice if you want one... pay a bit extra and get a minter. Full service history a MUST.

Faults:

The little knob on the boot lid that holds the cord from the parcel shelf pulled out-replaced by dealer.

Slight imbalance in the front wheels caused by bent wheel rim (!). Wheel replaced.

Rear wheel bearing went noisy at 32000 miles.

General Comments:

I bought this car in Belgium in 2000 for about £4000 less than the UK list price - bargain of the century!

I drive nearly 80 miles per day, so it has done MANY miles and it has never let me down (touching wood as I write this!) The engine is superb, hardly using any oil at at all.

The handling and road holding are wonderful - it's a lot of fun to drive! The only way it could be significantly is if it were rear wheel drive.

It's not the fastest car on the road by any means, but in reality it's fast enough. For the sort of driving I do, I'd be hard pressed to find a car that would get me to my destination significantly quicker.

It's not the best screwed together car I've had - the trim feels rather cheap and there have been a few rattles and buzzes. Having said that, the paintwork is superb-it was flawless when I got it.

As for the rain pouring into the boot when you open it, I regard it as the car having character! You very quickly learn to open the boot slightly for a couple of seconds first.

All in all, a really wonderful coupe that I always enjoy coming back to when I've driven other cars. I'll miss it when eventually I have to sell it.