Comfy, reliable, and a good classic
Top of the engine was full of black sludge, and had to be cleaned out.
That's it.
A very good car. The engine is bullet proof, and the body will rot if you don't keep on top of looking after it.
I highly recommend one any day.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 18th October, 2010
Best car bl produced
Fuel filter blocked under r/h wheel not listed to be changed in service book other wise no problems at all a brilliant economical car.
A very swift economical car which if road conditions allowed would go off the speedometer overall comfort was OK and very easy for the home mechanic to service.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 31st December, 2007
A very cheap and reliable runabout
Heater matrix valve malfunctioned and was removed so heating is no on all the time. Trued to find replacement, but now discontinued by Rover and not readily available second hand.
Exhaust (rear section) fell off. Replacement obtained and fitted.
CV joints are getting noisy.
Uses a lot of oil.
Oil emulsifies on inside of oil filler cap.
Bearing in mind the year of this car it is incredibly well made and is in no doubt due to its Honda pedigree.
It drives well.
It is comfortable.
It returns about 30mpg around town.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 17th February, 2005
Fantastic, great, superb, lovely
Nothing its great, I bought this car today, its had two previous owners has only covered 90000 miles, I drove it over 2000 miles home today & I am in love, what a great car.
I cannot praise this superb car enough.
The fuel economy is fantastic.
The ride is great.
It performs well on the motorway & on country lanes.
A bit plasticky, but its 22 years old & was cheap so I don't care.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd November, 2004
Ugly Rocket
No problems at all.
This car lacked style, however it drove really well, and was quick up to 100mph. Beat a lot of hot hatches away from the lights. Gear ratios were very well spaced for acceleration. It was 100% reliable. When I bought the car it had one lady owner from new & was like brand new. I only paid £240 for it. The only reason I don't have it anymore is because someone wrote it off for me.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 14th March, 2004
Fast, reliable, comfy and cheap
33,000: rear door lock button fell into door panel (quite easily remedied).
33,000: Heated rear screen only working on 3 bars (not bothered to fix).
33,000: Driver's mirror vibrates (not uncommon, not fixed).
35,000: CV joints replaced after starting to click.
Surprisingly quick. Will cruise at 70 all day.
Very comfortable. Controls well laid out except for HRW and rear fog switches which demand a bit of a fumble.
Good road feel, no PAS, but steering plenty light enough. A joy to drive.
Well ahead of its time.
So good I bought another two!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 23rd February, 2004
Under-rated
Carb diaphragms split at circa 30000.
Ignition switch jammed solid at 25000 leading to starter-motor failure.
Dropped an inlet valve at 40000.
Fuel pump failed at circa 50000.
If you can put up with the image and bland looks, you get a nippy, comfortable well-built car that is leagues ahead of its Astra/Escort contemporaries.
Its Honda engine a was torquey and free-revving little thing.
The chassis is fairly refined and the steering is sharp which makes it entertaining to drive.
My abiding memories of owning one were that it was exceptionally smooth and very tightly built. More BMW than BL.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 5th October, 2003
Fast car if you want to go to the scrapheap
Everything. Here is a list
The coil.
The wheels.
The exhaust fell off.
The electrics went wrong.
The flimsy seat covers split.
The clutch.
The boot leaked so badly there may as well not have been one.
And more...
This may be my driving style, but my old astra never went wrong.
This car is very quick for its age and for its engine size.
It drives very smoothly and the acceleration isn't half bad either.
Other than that there is not many good things to say about it. It cost well too much to run (Having to get new parts all of the time.) It just was not worth it.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 2nd October, 2003
I'm 28 and I remember about 10 years ago, my mate getting one of these as his first car. We all took the mickey (pensioner jokes etc etc), but to be honest, it was a great little car. For a 1300, it absolutely flew, and was actually really good fun to drive.
Haven't seen one on the road now for about three years which is weird when you think they used to be everywhere.
27th Mar 2004, 13:45
You bought a 20 year old car - do you seriously expect nothing to be wrong with it?