Faults:

The thermostat and water pump went at the same time, which in turn then blew the head gasket. This caused some major internal problems with the engine. The K series is well known for the heads going, but have had no problem with it since then. And have done a further 15000 miles!

The boot catch is slightly faulty as it illuminates the boot open light. Although it's securely closed, this can cause problems with the alarm going off!

Exhausts knocks, even though I have had it replaced!

General Comments:

The most fun I have ever had in a car!! Performance is incredible from 0-60, and the understated looks give the person next to you at the lights no idea that you are about to tear away from them!! Also very involving drive, a bit skittery when really pushed round corners but predictable and fun.

Few bad points, not the build quality of an Audi.

Not very much space for the size of the car.

Interior looks a little dated, although the half leather seats are excellent.

Also exceptionally good fuel economy thanks to the VVC engine.

Faults:

Very slight rust patch on tail gate lock.

A bit heavy on fuel.

General Comments:

Very good car, reliable, quick.

I have only had the car a few months and already covered over 7000 miles in it, mainly on national limit roads.

I have never had a problem with it and so far it is the best car I have had.

Faults:

At 53,000 miles - new alternator as the old one intermittently stopped charging then died completely. ~£200 as the alternator was quite expensive to source: garage thought the alternator was new to the 25 and very few had gone wrong so far.

At 54,100 miles - new front brake pads as the calipers were sticking and a new oil seal on the NS drive shaft due to a slight leak. £100 sorted that.

At 59,000 miles - tail pipe just before back box had rusted badly and cracked (ten thousand miles over gritted winter roads in the UK does that to anything..). New back box fitted for £60.

General Comments:

I bought this car purely on the strengths of my '94 214, a car which truly astounded me with how good it was.

I do up to 30,000 miles a year so an economical engine was a must. The 1.4 K-series in the 25 returned an average 45MPG during the summer and 42-43MPG during winter on my 100 mile a day commute. Of course, the 84PS limiter helped keep costs down by ensuring I could never open the throttle completely. I never got around to removing the limiter to get the full 105PS/103bhp. The car never failed to start and the only engine related problem was the alternator. Never lost a drop of oil or water.

Performance on the 84ps engine certainly felt down compared with the 105, but not enough to upset the driving feel. The K series is happy to go to the red line on request and good use of gears keeps the car moving briskly. The only real complaint I have with performance is climbing hills on motorways - loose any speed in 5th (e.g. get stuck behind a lorry) and you'll need 4th to get back up to 70mph.

Handling - a real highlight. The 25's suspension and steering are spot on. There is an excellent balance between comfort and road holding, the car feeling just as good on a bumpy rural B road as it is being driven at speed around a tight corner. I managed to loose traction only once, hitting a roundabout too fast on a dark, freshly gritted winter road. The back end broke smoothly away and was well under control (until I caught the kerb and bounced around.. but that's not the car's fault).

Brake action is good - they do feel soft, but happily lock up the wheels if needed (no, there was no ABS on mine). Now I don't have the 25 I find I miss its nice gradual application of the brakes. My current car has sharp brakes which again stop the car wonderfully, but make crawling in traffic more of a chore than it already is.

Clutch action is light and smooth, with a gradual bite.

The gear change is near perfect, smooth and precise. No play in the stick. But! Like most R65 gearboxes, reverse was a pain. In this particular car, I had to double declutch nearly every time to get reverse.

The exterior looks I can't fault. The door panels seem a bit thin, but visually it all seems to work really well. All the alloys available look really good too - not sure what mine were called but were 15" and looked great. Okay, it did look like it sat quite high on them but that's because it did - if you want low down get a ZR.

The interior is nice enough and I certainly found it fine for long distance driving, but there are some points to note:

* There isn't much room in the foot well. There is a footrest next to the clutch, but to use it you must put your foot under the pedal unless you have really small feet.

* You feel like you're sitting high up in the car. Quickly got use to it.

* I found the radio a little too far away to reach easily - the traffic information button on the right is close enough, but I had to stretch for the volume. The car had the basic single CD unit, a bit of a blocky design, but more than capable of the job!

* The in-door vents for demisting the side windows have disappeared from the 25. I found the side windows getting misted up occasionally and had to resort to using the side face vents to do the job. Certainly something from the Mk2 214 I missed.

* The rear seat backs fold down, but the bottom part of the seat doesn't fold up. Apart from that there's quite a nice boot space to play with. And the trick of being able to drop the parcel shelf down behind the seats is a lovely touch! Very useful!

* When I bought the car, it was rattle free. After 5,000 miles the NS rear seatbelt cover rattled, but was easily fixed. By the time 60,000 miles came around, there was a slight rattle from the B column next to my head. Didn't find the source of that one, didn't really look.

In general, the 1.4 84PS 25 is not a remarkable car, but better than many similar cars on the road today. Now, put a faster engine in it and you'll have something completely different.. I'd love a go in a ZR120/160...

Would I recommend the car to others? Yes. Unless you want something bigger or something faster, I would suggest you give one a test drive. You might not be able to get one soon.