Faults:

As soon as I bought the car, the front and rear bushings and control arms basically went bust and needed replacement. Not bad for a car with over 200 thousand km.

The central alarm and locking system is dead and needs replacing (€500 cost).

General Comments:

Great car. Totally underrated. Seems very reliable. Smooth, easy to drive, perfectly equipped, fantastically designed seats. Roomy and comfortable.

The engine is extremely quiet, you can't tell it's running. I can tell it was designed by Porsche.

The gearbox is a masterpiece in accuracy and control, extremely smooth and no jerkiness when you cruise, accelerate or decelerate. It takes a bit of practice to learn what is the "sweet spot" for accelerating. Flooring it really yields no extra "punch", yet if you step on the accelerator 2/3 of the way down, it will downshift just enough to give you a healthy "oomph" to make any BMW, Benz or Audi blush.

I have no complaints with this car.

We initially bought it as an "in between", to be sold as soon as we found something better, but user ratings for this model are higher than most Volvos, so I'm not sure if we'll be selling it any time soon :)

Highly recommended if you want something comfortable and easy on maintenance. Careful with gas mileage, it isn't exactly an "economy" sedan :)

Faults:

Minor oil leak somewhere in EGR system... (smell burnout oil, but the car doesn't take oil).

Mysterious clunking in the front end.

Not very reliable brakes. Worst ABS system ever, and the traction control system is completely useless in more than 1 inch of snow.

Engine light lights up time to time.

General Comments:

Very comfortable ride.

Great torque for the more hilly terrains.

Very good paint.

Extremely reliable, unless you don't maintain it, then it's a nightmare!

Decent audio system for a Chevy.

Have routine maintenance done every 6 months, and I have no doubt the car will run for many, many years.

Faults:

The right heated exterior mirror broke by itself on a very cold day. Otherwise, 100% reliable.

General Comments:

A marvellous car! Awesome. Luxury, comfort and many features! Not a 0-60 champion, but a great transportation. Good paint quality as well. No rattles inside.

Faults:

Window on the side of co-driver sometimes works, sometimes does not work (this problem appeared at 17,000 km)

Plastic around the button on the gear shift fell off.

General Comments:

The car is very good, without any bigger defect. The interior is very comfortable, even for those high-growth, and is particularly good equipped, with air conditioning, leather seats, excellent radio with CD, light alloy wheels, parking sensors, electric seats with heating and much, much more. Safety equipment is also full with six airbags, anti-lock brakes and traction control. Best of all, all that comes as standard.

Comfortable interior and large trunk, with the amount of equipment certainly are the biggest advantages of this car.

The gasoline engine with six cylinders is paired with five speed automatic transmission, and consumes quite a lot of gas. In urban conditions, with no problems exceeds 13-14 liters per 100 km, while on freeway, it is possible to achieve some 9 to 10 liters per 100 km, which is, for a car of this size and strength, quite acceptable.

The engine is adequately powerful, although it may sometimes feel that it needs a little stronger squeeze on the gas pedal in order to achieve good acceleration. However, throw in a kick down, and the car accelerates great, and passing is no problem. Noise insulation in the interior is very good, only at high speeds you can silently hear the engine, but, considering the very nice sound that makes, it is not a defect.

The biggest drawback is not really with the car, but the service, which does not provide the best quality services. Regular servicing costs could also be smaller.

All in all, the Epica is a great car, without some flaws, probably some annoying things, like broken co-drivers windows and plastic on the gear shift, but these faults should not occur while the car is still under warranty. The benefits should include comfortable, spacious interior, excellent equipment and the purchase price, which was significantly less than similarly equipped European rivals.

A specific defect would be the high fuel consumption.