Wolf in sheeps clothing
Errr.. nothing.
The performance of this little conversion is awesome. The power to weight ratio is absolutely brill. What's best is when passers-by hear the dump valve, cause you can read their minds "Dump valve... Nova?!?!"
It's the best £3000 I ever spent.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 29th August, 2000
A solid lukewarm hatch with potential
The only 2 things that have gone wrong were warped brake discs and a dodgy fuel cutoff relay (the car kept cutting out without warning which wasn't good on the M11 roundabout in rush hour!). However I only owned the car a short time, so couldn't say if anything else was seriously wrong.
In the short time I owned the car, I had a lot of fun in it. The performance wasn't breathtaking (and not a patch on my XR2i 1.8 16v that I own now, which it is often put in the same class as), however it was pretty constant and would pull from most gears, positively. Although I always felt that I was waiting for the power band and it never came.
Much better than the Nova GTE, it felt more refined and better built.
Handled really well, although not well enough to stop me losing it on a country lane and flipping it into a ditch!! It looked the part as well (before I modified the A and B pillars of course!!!)
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 27th August, 2000
A cheap first car, but don't expect to much from it
New radiator, water pump, brake calipers and discs, brake pads, head gasket and cambelt. Cambelt snapped at 40 mph shattering the cam followers, this required 8 new valves, cam followers, head gasket and new cambelt.
Four weeks after the car was repaired it was STOLEN!!!
A fun car to drive. However, beware of the sporty SR models that have been badly treated as these prove to be expensive to repair. Security on these cars is very poor.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 22nd July, 2000
One mean pocket rocket
Rear shocks.
These should have been built as standard with a 2 litre turbo engine (wicked).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 21st July, 2000
A fun car to drive
The only problems that I have had with the car is both CV boots had to be replaced, apart from that general maintenance keeps the car in good condition.
Great first car, fast off the mark, not bad on the straight and an excellent fun car to drive around town and the country lanes.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 31st May, 2000
Shame about the 'Boy Racer' image
This was our second 'run-about' car which proved reliable and cheap to run. Unfortunately Nova's have a 'boy racer' image and our car was the target of several attempts at removing wheel covers, trim etc. causing us to decide to sell the car on as we feared it would eventually get stolen. The 'Nova Boys' in our society are absolute ginks and I take great pleasure in burning them off at every opportunity that I get in my main car, a Calibra, or the 2 ltr Cavalier I previously had. As with horses, it's not the car/animal that's at fault but the type of people that associate themselves with them!!
A good reliable car and reasonably comfortable with four up. Nothing serious to put right although I noticed the dealer seemed much less interested in servicing the Nova compared to my Cavalier or Calibra.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 5th May, 2000
A superb car which can be easily modified
Gearbox.
Everyone should own one, especially Ford owners who should wake up and smell the crap.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 12th April, 2000
Cutting out in the wet (coil problem), handbrake seizing on, over-zealous Transit van in rear passenger side!!
Perfect stealth car as it's not a GTE/GSi from the outside but has the power to surprise many a hot-hatch. 15 inch alloys and 60mm suspension help it go round corners although these make the ride more than a little harsh - still bloody good fun though!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 13th May, 1999
N/S wheel bearing.
O/S hand brake cable.
Yes, it's diesel, but it's damn quick.
I have owned this car for 18 months and it still surprises me sometimes with its turn of speed.
I used to have a 1.2 and this TD is much easier on fuel.
Fantastic car. Can't really fault it much, maybe a bit iffy handling when pushed hard, that's about it.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 7th February, 1999
Nothing really, except the paintwork (flame red) has faded at an accelerating rate causing the car to look rather pink.
Modifications carried out to my Nova include a magnex exhaust system which I would recommend to any Nova owner (excellent tonation = greater respectability from other motorists). Five spoke alloy wheels improve that already eye-catching design. Lastly, investment towards an alarm system can prove to be advantageous.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th July, 1998
Original Carb had faulty automatic choke but remedied this by fitting a Weber 32/34DTML conversion (Much better!)
Slight rust on side repeaters but easy to sort.
Great car, makes a great rip with a GSi backbox fitted on to the standard system. Nice induction from Ramair bolt on unit too !
Fast off the mark, lots of torque 115MPH (Speedo reading) on the flat.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 31st May, 1998