Faults:

The car has had a fuel starvation fault.

The front valance needs replacing.

The passenger door handle is inoperable.

General Comments:

This car looks like the sensible slow family car, but with the 2 litre engine it handle more like a sports saloon. It has surprised more than one sporty car driver before now.

The interior is well put together and is not likely to fall apart and has more features than some executive saloons.

The heater is a blessing in disguise, you can have cold or hot air on demand.

The boot is enormous for a car of it's size.

The car is built like a tank, even though it is 17 years old I believe it is safer than some modern equivalents.

The only downside to this vehicle is the higher than normal fuel costs, but all in all it is worth the sacrifice.

Faults:

Water pump at 70,000miles.

Three exhausts in five years.

General Comments:

This car has got to be one of the best all rounders ever made. It is built like a tank, has a good performance (engine) and generally doesn't cost a lot to run. Bad points are it handles like a House brick, is heavy on gas and the fuel pump can be noisy. The one I have has gone through four MOT's without failing on a single thing. I can deal with the heavy fuel consumption because of the cheap MOT's it has rewarded me with.

Faults:

Corroded fuse/fuse holder for the petrol pump leading to erratic reliability until the problem was solved by re-fitting.

Rear exhaust rattled on bumps - solved by weld strengthening.

Rear shocks had to be replaced.

General Comments:

A wolf in sheeps clothing above 3000rpm.

Heavy handling at low speeds.

Very high petrol consumption at high RPM (bit obvious!).

No street credibility - less chance of being stolen.

Faults:

Front suspension wore out a number of parts, including steering rack, strut bushes, and spring top holders.

Master cylinder became blocked by the sealing rubber used to locate the reservoir, causing minor braking loss.

Alternator brushes wore out at 198K.

General Comments:

This car still looks new from a distance, and most work colleagues think its less than 5 years old.

The engine was severely abused, as was the suspension by me, despite this the car always started and ran sweet.

Amazingly reliable, possibly helped by continuous use and abuse. These cars don't like to sit unused.

After 200,000 miles its burning a little oil at just over 6000 rpm, so I thought it might be time for an overhaul. So it's in the garage while I bought a spare 360 GLT low mileage (120K) for £550.