Faults:

Timing chain snapped, destroying the engine; faultless until that point.

General Comments:

Fast, reliable (apart from weak timing chains!), can't say enough good things about this car. Now a rare sight on the road, it was only a few years ago I had mine, but now looking to buy another. The body kit wasn't the best looking, I preferred the standard Carlton in CDX or Diplomat spec, but a GSi 24v is the one to have; such good memories.

Cruise control still worked after all those years and mileage, but I did not use it much. Spent most of my time on A-roads in the north of Scotland, leaving many a boy racer in their hot hatches, devoid of any comfort or luxury, in the dust. 0-60 in 7 seconds and a top speed of 150mph might be an average executive car's performance nowadays, but this car just feels so fast, the manual gearbox was the best but I've heard even the autos are fast; just a bit harder to induce drifting though :)

Loved it; shame the timing belt went writing off the engine. If you are ever considering buying one of these classics, do get this checked out (they make a noise when they are weak; the engine should be smooth and silent) or consider a 3.0 12v, which I believe did not suffer from this problem.

Faults:

Well the fuel pump recently went; it's £210 including VAT from a main dealer... and the air con gave up on a life a few months ago; that's too much to repair, so I didn't bother. Living up north it's not a problem to be honest.

General Comments:

A 2.0L automatic - it's much better than that bloody 1.3 Escort that we had... and with its sport mode, it does generally beat the ass of most of the new Mercs and BMW's. Considering its had 285,000 on the clock, it's pretty good.. believe it or not it's beaten an xr3i in its day... now its mainly used for taking relatives on days out.. unfortunately.

Having said that, it's the best car I've ever owned, and probably will ever own. I just wish Vauxhall would make it again.

Faults:

Indicator stalk has packed in.

General Comments:

This car is cavernous, I have the estate variant. The dog loves it, and he needs space in the back being a lurcher cross. The interior is like brand new and the car has done over 88000 miles, you wouldn't know looking at the seats. I would recommend this car to anyone thinking of buying one. Mine cost £300 and it's the best money I've ever spent on a car. It makes my old Rover look cheap and shabby, the Rover had covered similar miles.

Faults:

New radiator at 95,000.

Expansion tank at 98,000.

Fuel regulator at 93,000.

Nothing else apart from consumables.

General Comments:

The best car I have owned, or am likely to own.

Comfortable, great design, cavernous boot, not bad consumption for a big 2-litre and looks gorgeous in satin red.

I would have to spend £25k+ to get the same toys in a recent car (it has electric everything except A/C).

If you get hold of a good one, just make sure you get some waxoyl or similar in the doors and on the under-bonnet chassis rails.

I can fully believe the starship mileages quoted on other reviews as my car sounds the same as when I bought it. At 100k it seems to be just run-in!

Can't see me changing it for years.