Faults:

Window regulators are weak (cheap/easy fix though).

Clutch cable/adjuster failed.

Noisy cambelt tensioner.

Sticking rear brake caliper.

Drivers seat bolster and base wear quickly.

General Comments:

These cars aren't actually that fast on paper, but feel a lot quicker.

The handling is superb, but the steering could be a bit sharper.

Expect a harsh ride (built to handle, not for comfort).

Fuel economy terrible for a small car (27 MPG average).

Very practical all rounder (good load space with the rear seats folded or can seat 4 adults fairly comfortably - 5 at a squeeze).

The front wings are made of fairly thin metal so suffer from light panel dents very easily (DON'T lean here).

VW parts (combination of Golf and Polo) so servicing and parts are cheap.

Very simple little car and very well built.

Dashboard can rattle a bit, especially on rough roads.

VERY strong cars - I rolled my first one, a GTi not a Cupra (aquaplaned on dual carriageway) at 55mph. Went over at least 3 times and slid 50 metres on its roof. I walked away from that with cuts to the back of my hand from the sunroof glass breaking (not a problem on the Cupra as they don't have sunroofs).

The front seats are not that comfortable on a long journey.

Faults:

A rattling noise has been coming from the exhaust/manifold when increasing the rev's and I've been told that it is normal noise for any car of that type?

Has this happened to anyone else?

General Comments:

Easy to drive.

Very quick off the mark.

Very reliable.

Faults:

Catalyst broke after a few months (replaced under warranty).

Clutch cable pedal connector broke, requiring an AA call-out and visit to the dealer for a replacement cable (a new design apparently).

One of the HT leads failed a few weeks after the 3 year warranty expired, causing engine misfire. According to the dealer this was due to a design fault and therefore all four HT leads were replaced at extortionate cost.

Distributor replaced due to screeching bearing. This happened a few months after the 3 year warranty expired.

Driver's side electric window mechanism broke (cable rusted through). This also happened a few months after the warranty had expired. Passenger's side looks to be going the same way.

Clutch cable replaced again at 42,000 miles due to excessive stiffness.

Gearbox has started to get noisy since about 35,000 miles (sounds like a bearing). Second gear is occasionally difficult to engage.

Engine idles unevenly for a few seconds on warm start and is also difficult to start if stalled. All attempts to rectify these problems have so far failed.

Sunroof rattles intermittently.

General Comments:

The engine pulls well from about 2,250rpm, but isn't particularly powerful at higher revs. Fuel economy is good (around 35mpg) if driven sensibly.

Handling is good, the trade-off being a fairly firm and noisy ride. The power steering has lots of feel, but is light enough at low speed.

Fairly roomy even if you're over 6 feet tall. The boot is quite a good size, and with the back seats folded it will swallow a huge amount of stuff. No boot light though, which is stupid. We retro-fitted one with a tilt sensor.

"Sports style" seats in the 'S' model aren't very comfortable on long journeys.

Air-powered central locking makes an interesting "farting" noise.

The poor reliability of our particular example has disappointed us. We expected better from a supposedly reliable Volkswagen-based car. Annoyingly, most of the faults have occurred since the warranty expired.

The dealers in our area (Devon) were unhelpful, incompetent and expensive. Once the warranty expired we found a good specialist garage locally instead.