Faults:

I have absolutely nothing gone wrong with this car, but then again I only done about 600 miles in it.

Only problem is there no leg room for the people in the back, but who cares about them when you got a car like this.

General Comments:

I absolute love this car got it for £500 and is in brilliant condition.

People say these are expensive to insure, but I don't think they are am 18 years old with one year no clains and cost me 900 quid which was working out at the same price as a 306 turbo diesel.

This car absolute fly's, but you av to wait till it gets over 3000 rpm before the power kicks in.

Holds the road pretty good, but I ain't pushed it yet am trying to look after it.

Faults:

The starter switch gave up on me, it cost for £6 for a replacement from Eurocarparts. Horrible job, but it miraculously fixed itself before I had to dismantle the ignition barrel & has been fine ever since; probably just a dirty contact.

Nothing else.

General Comments:

Underrated car, I bought it as a runaround for £650 while my quattro undergoes a rebuild and have never regretted it.

It's nippy (0-60 in 8.3 apparently), and shares its engine with the Golf GTI running a twin choke carb, not injection, but is MUCH cheaper to insure, and does 40 MPG on the motorway.

It handles surprisingly well, but the ride can get crashy with cheap tyres. I stuck Bridgestone Potenzas on (£35 from mytyres.co.uk); it cured the problem, and it sticks to the road at 50mph around roundabouts.

The interior is immaculate and well screwed together, like all VAG cars.

Faults:

Touch wood, nothing has gone wrong at all, as yet. Judging by my two previous Volkwagens, very little will!

General Comments:

Supremely reliable, good fun to drive and dirt cheap to run.

Performance is down on that of the manual car, but she's still usefully quick.

The previous owner fitted Leather trim from a Storm, had the windows smoked and fitted far superior suspension.

My second Scirocco, and if not my last (I want to keep her for good), definitely one of the first!

Faults:

Front Suspension failed 5 times so far.

Head gasket & cylinder head.

Battery.

Electric windows.

Everything on the car has failed so far except the interior and the block.

General Comments:

An excellent car which I have owned for 6 years now. It has been my regular daily car and track car and has wracked up 75K like this. Nigh on everything has failed on it at some point, but an average track day (200 track miles) is about 6 months driving normal driving in wear and tear terms and I do about 30 each year!

Easy to fix with relatively simple no - nonsense well thought engineering (I rebuilt the head without any prior experience)

Tough cars, but the steering is heavy and the ride is crashy, but mine is heavily modified with ultra stiff suspension.

To sum up this car has lasted 5 1/2 years longer than any previous car I have owned and put through the same punishment. I love the handling and grip, the fact that the parts are cheap and based on a Golf and therefore plentiful. I love the fact that its not that well respected so they are cheap, but best of all it makes ms smile every mile I do!

Faults:

Reverse Light indicator failed - £20.

Distributor cap & leads packed up, can't really blame the car for this, they were 10 years old.

Apart from this, only mid section of original exhaust has failed. that's it!

General Comments:

I wanted to hate the Scirocco, a change of circumstances led to me driving this car, after 5 years in new company cars.

However, 3 years on I am still driving it and it still refuses to break down.

Performance is good, surprising in fact. The engine is very flexible, pulling from low revs in high gears. It does become harsh beyond 4000 revs - so there's no real incentive to drive fast.

Handling is interesting... somtimes entertaining, usually just dull and heavy (no PAS). Swapped the aging Michelins for Avon ZV1, this made a huge difference to grip and feel of the car.

Steering is very heavy with little feedback.

Ride comfort is not great, you certainly know about the imperfections of the road beneath you.

Economy is superb for the performance - av 37mpg over 3 years.

Rear seats are for toddlers only, but boot is huge & rear seats fold.

Brakes are a joke - bit apparently this is normal. Beware when you drive a modern car again, you'll be sending the passengers through the windscreen when you brake for the first time.

To summarise, it isn't a great car, but it is fantastically reliable, absolutely everything still works. They are ridicuosly cheap second hand and cost little to run (except insurance which is high).

Be prepared for back to basics motoring though - no PAS, ABS electric windows, central locking etc.