Faults:

Coolant leak from presumably a fitting, when consulting dealer and having the car looked at I was told there was nothing wrong with it. I still have to top up the coolant with approximately a pint every two to three weeks.

As a result of the above the heater suffers from air bubbles therefore cold air comes out when heater is positioned "hot".

With water on the roof and the windows down, a lack of guttering means water is fond of dripping into the car, as I found out it's not a good idea to try to dry the door card off with your sleeve as the lock buttons are fragile "snap!"

General Comments:

The small problems I've had with the car have not put me off, they are after all only small problems.

The 150BHP motor is really quick provided you squeeze it hard, with 16v lag it gives you no power below about 3800RPM. The power is married very well to the precise handling and it becomes almost too tempting to drive VERY quickly.

The sports suspension and sports or bucket seats do give you a very firm ride, and with a lack of head restraint you can't relax very easily.

It's a drivers car and you certainly know your driving it.

The motor linked to the trip computer gives you unbelievable fuel returns when driving the way you probably should, I've seen figures of 46.5 MPG on a half hour trip before.

Faults:

New battery at 30,000 miles, but nothing else to report.

General Comments:

A great economical vehicle which regularly returns 55 miles per gallon. Trim is plastic looking but I bought the car for the economy, not the looks. Nice load space in the rear though rear leg-room is cramped for an adult.

Superb dealer, always helpful, never patronising and service costs are reasonable as major services occur at 20,000 and oil change at 10,000 miles.

Quick for a diesel and cruises happily all day at 80mph.

Faults:

Exhaust heat shield started rattling, door pin snapped off when pressed to lock doors.

General Comments:

Quick enough to see off XR3i's and the like but doesn't like being revved high. Handling neat, but when pushed hard results in understeer. Would not mind a go in the new 1.8 turbo, maybe it would like being driven a bit harder.

Faults:

Twice within the first year the spark plugs went and had to be relaced. The dealers didn't seem at all surprised and replaced them straight away. The second time they replaced them they put in a new type of plug. Haven't had any problems since.

The upholstery in the 1 litre is very light in colour and stains very easily. There was no option on the upholstery when buying it.

General Comments:

The body is good and solid but is maybe just a bit heavy for the 1 litre engine. The suspension is quite soft and therefore the car has quite a bit of bodyroll.

Overall it is a good car, especially as a first car. Perhaps it is driven a bit hard by myself for the small engine.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong.

General Comments:

Fantastic fun to drive, especially on winding country roads, holds the road excellently. My advice, forget the Golf GTi, get one of these, price tag is a huge plus.

Faults:

Central Locking stopped working due to loose conection. Pain but sorted under warrenty.

General Comments:

Great car! So good I've just gone and ordered the 1999 16v version, for that little bit more power!

Faults:

Nothing as yet. Have had this car since April of this year and I have had no trouble with it. Have six thousand miles up on it already and it seems to be coming into its own.

General Comments:

Very reliable. Approx 48-49 miles to the gallon. Suggest metallic green when purchasing. Easily dented though. Dealer service excellent.