Faults:

The main problem is the paintwork, which has faded badly. I wrote to Honda, but they weren't interested. For this reason, I would never buy red again.

The only other problems were the airbag warning lights had to be replaced, which Honda paid half for, and the washer motor had to be replaced, which costs £75. Also, I think the clutch will need replacing soon.

General Comments:

I love it. It is so reliable. I don't think it will ever let me down.

It's a nice drive, smooth running, the engine is almost silent.

Nice air con and radio quality, though I had to add my own CD player, as it had only cassette.

Low on petrol, insurance and tax.

Faults:

Replaced a worn rear wheel bearing at 40k miles. Parts: ~€170.

The paintwork is very soft and prone to chipping quite badly (bonnet especially). The car colour is flat Milano Red.

Paint fading to pink on bonnet edges and roofline and would requires respray to fix - the red paint is beneath a coat of lacquer.

The rear axle is rusting quite badly at either end. It will need to be removed, treated and repainted.

Replacing front pads and worn discs at 54k miles from normal wear and tear I expect. Parts ~€200.

The wheel well in the boot is now filling up with water quite frequently. Apparently it is an issue with sealant in a joint in or near the roofline, water gets in and trickles down. It will require some of the interior to be removed to access and reseal the joint.

Steel wheels corroding badly, likely due to brake dust.

Battery needed replacing after 5 years.

Not happened to me but there were reports of gearbox bearing failing on early models, I expect if it hasn't happened now, it probably won't but if it does, it'll be another expensive bill.

General Comments:

At 54k miles and seven years old the car has passed two NCT (MOT) tests. No issues with brakes, suspension or exhaust emissions.

Fuel economy was/is outstanding for its time with an average 47mpg, capable of over 50mpg if driven with economy in mind.

At odds with the great fuel economy is that the servicing will be quite expensive if you are doing high mileage. ~Engine valve checks required at 24k mile intervals and need a lot of mechanic time/hours. 24k mile service could well be in excess of €400 at a main dealer! On the plus side, the engine uses a timing chain so there is no expensive timing belt replacement required.

12k service - oil and filter.

24k service - oil, filter, spark plugs x8, air filter, valve check and adjustment.

Love the flexible interior layout, and the rear seats can be folded up in seconds to create a storage space behind the front seats, or folded down in a minute to create a massive estate like load area.

The stereo radio is an integrated design, non-theft and non-replaceable. A point worth noting as my 2002 model Jazz came with a pretty redundant cassette player and no CD or audio input for an MP3 player! Yes, in 2002!

S spec came with the above stereo as well as front electric windows and electric mirrors(heated). Mine also came with some pretty useful bump or rubbing strips on the sides and bumper corners, and also fitted mudflaps.

Faults:

Absolutely nothing.

General Comments:

I live and work in London. I therefore need a car that can easily be parked, and gives reasonable MPG round town. So I need a small car.

However I also spend my holidays driving across Europe. I therefore need a car that is comfortable hour after hour after hour, and is capable of being loaded to the roof with me, my wife, all our clobber and half a tonne of French wine. So I need a big car.

In the past, and on the basis that small cars can't be made to be bigger, I have run big cars and put up with the petrol bills and parking difficulties when not on holiday.

Then, two years ago, my Ford Scorpio broke a wheel while on holiday, and the replacement hire car provided was a Vauxhall Meriva - and suddenly I realised that it was possible to carry a lot of stuff in what was - at least outwardly - a small car.

So when my Scorpio finally died a year ago, my first thought was to get a Meriva, but then I remembered that actually driving the Meriva was horribly uncomfortable and - on further researching the car - I found that the Top Gear Reader's Survey didn't rate then particularly highly in terms of long term reliability either.

Then a friend told me that Honda made a similar car called the Jazz, and that had come in the top ten of the TGRS.

So now I own one. And it is breathtaking.

It does everything that a small car should - returns decent fuel economy (40ish round town and high forties on the open road). It is also very easy to park, and it is nimble and agile.

On the other hand it also does everything a big car should - comfortable for miles upon miles of motorway, with decent air-con and stereo, and capable of cruising at 80 for hours at a time, with still enough in reserve to overtake if required.

Furthermore - and I can scarcely believe this myself given the size of the thing - it holds over 1300 litres with the back seats down. But even with the seats in place, the boot is pretty big and you can fold up the rear squabs. Even when I've had people the back, they say there's enough room - even behind me and I'm 6'3".

There are two tiny criticisms, the suspension is pretty tough and can jar on bad roads, and there's a fair bit of road noise from the tyres at speed (although the stereo is up to drowning it out). I would hold however, that these are not that serious when just about every other car in the size bracket has the same problems, but without the advantages.

Finally, it's worth remembering which company built it. Yes, Honda means that the servicing is a little pricey (£400 last time), but on the other hand it also means bullet proof reliability. According to the car's history, the only things beyond consumables and routine service items that has ever needed changing in 62000 miles was the bulb in the boot's light.

Rather says it all really.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This vehicle is extremely versatile, has loads of space and comfortable seats.

Ride a bit firm especially at low speeds, but it handles well, no roll to speak of.

Nicely assembled and very well equipped.