Faults:

Squeaky seat belt clasp. Fixed with 3 in 1 oil.

General Comments:

Very early stages as yet, I intend to up-date as I pile the miles on. Had the car 10 weeks, done 3300 miles, no problems. I broke the car in as per instructions, after 1500 miles when I'd thrashed it through the gears a couple of times, I changed the oil and oil filter, genuine parts.

Comfy on long journeys, easy to drive, wife loves it, and fast for a 1350cc. I drive the car quite fast, normally taking it to 4000 rpm in each gear once it's warmed up, sitting at about 3500 RPM in top gear mostly, or more when roads allow. This kind of driving returns about 40-43 mpg, but only since the car loosened up. Third gear is a bit strange, at 40 mph it just doesn't want to seem to pull so hard as one might think. Although once above 50 mph it pulls well enough. If you want to go past something quick at 40 mph or below, you have to go down to second gear and rev it to the red line about 55 mph, up to third and it pulls really well. Fourth and Fifth gears, are like 3.5 and 4.5 respectively, which is good when overtaking going from third to fourth, the car is right in the torque range still. Top gear at 60 mph is about 2800 RPM, whereas on my '02 Punto, 60 mph was 2400 RPM.

The car is great, much better than a Punto. 5 year warranty, first 3 services free (3 years or 30 thousand miles) I'm told the warranty also covers the exhaust! 3 years RAC.

The paintwork needed a good polish after a week or so, I put this down to not getting a good grade of polish from the dealer, it made a good deal of difference to look of the car.

Beyond 90-100 mph the wee car feels light, it will do more I reckon, but it was a windy day. As low as 80 mph, when on an open road with a gust of wind, the car blows off line slightly.

The CD player is very good, it never jumps even on an old farm road. I tested the ABS and boy is it good!

No wonder there are so many smiley faces on the Getz forum, it's a great car.

Faults:

At about 9,000 miles, it 'stuttered' (lost power) on my commute one morning, and the 'engine check' light came on. However, it picked up again after a couple of seconds and has been OK since.

There is an occasional creak from the nearside dash / wheel-arch area which I cannot trace. Annoying, but not that bad!

Neither reported to dealer - you know they won't believe you, don't you?!

General Comments:

Inoffensive, modern-looking exterior. Smooth, easy shape to clean!

Interior about what you'd expect - some cheap-looking plastics, but all works well. Good stereo, and some nice little touches, like the headlights that switch off when you exit the car - you can't leave them on accidentally.

Roomy, but with a word of caution: If you want the auto (like me), and the dealer doesn't have one in stock, make sure you test-drive a manual CDX with factory sunroof. This sunroof - which isn't even a proper one - steals headroom to the extent that even I find it tight (I'm 5'10"). Yes, the seat adjusts (nicely) for height, but it's as low as it'll go! So make sure you fit before you buy! I didn't, because I didn't know about the sunroof issue, and it's the only aspect of this car with which I am really dissatisfied.

Also, the clutch footrest (?!) is huge. I removed it!

Otherwise, adequate space for people and luggage (for a supermini).

Power-wise, with 4-up there isn't much! Much worse than my old Suzuki Ignis, but that car was over 400lb lighter, so it's obviously a power-to-weight ratio thing. It's OK provided you're usually alone or only carry one passenger, and you're not in a hurry!

Mpg has improved from poor to reasonable in 10,000 miles. Around 32mpg on my commute (see below), over 40mpg at 60mph cruise, approaching that at motorway speed.

The auto box is quiet, smooth and impressive. Takes about 7-8 miles to warm up enough to change into top, which is a very high gear. About 27/28mph per 1000rpm. Also doesn't hit that top gear much under 50mph, so sometimes never gets into it on my commute (14 miles). But you wouldn't know it - the car is quiet provided you don't hammer it. And if you want to hammer it, you don't buy an automatic Getz, do you?!

I find it handles and rides well, provided the tyres are not inflated to car-dealer levels (40-plus psi...!!!). 30psi all round seems about right. The steering's quick, and the car's easy to place on the road.

Don't suppose residuals are up to much, and as I paid 10k for what is perceived as a budget car, I'm not expecting much in Dec.2006. However, I'll have had free servicing, and the 5 year warranty might help a bit. I'd expect to get £3k - 3.5k, which is no better or worse than various other similar cars.