Faults:

Original battery replaced at 90k. That's it.

General Comments:

The packaging of this little car is amazing. It will carry 4 large adults comfortably. Alternatively the rear seats fold compactly away in a variety of configurations, allowing you to fit just about anything into the back of the car that doesn't exceed its footprint on the pavement.

The lively 1500cc VTEC engine in such a light little body gives it very nippy performance. The CVT transmission can be configured to mimic a traditional auto through seven stepped gears, shifted manually with the steering wheel paddles or just left to do its own thing. Once you accept and adopt a slightly different driving style to get the best out of the CVT, it is a very effective gearbox and allows the little Honda to happily run down the motorway at 100km/h showing just 1800 RPM. This results in stunning fuel economy. About 6.5 liters per 100kms in urban stop/start, and on the open road I have seen that drop to 5.5. That's deeply impressive from a car nearly 10 years old now.

Servicing is easy to do yourself and consumables are very cheap. 10 dollars for an oil filter...

It is impeccably put together, no squeaks or rattles. Great paint, panel fit and finish. The interior is made of very good quality plastics and nice high grade fabrics; it feels very upmarket for a city car. It has climate control, and electrics. Do wish it had cruise though.

Handling is sharp enough to nip around town with confidence, the ride for such a little car is excellent. It's surprisingly good on the open road too, and we now often use it over our V6 Mondeo for long trips due to its economy and comfort. The electric steering does not communicate much, but it's super accurate.

It's been a great car so far. Fun, brilliantly versatile, super cheap to run and typical Honda reliability and economy. They must be one of the best value used vehicles available in NZ.