Faults:
Purchased 2 days ago and had nothing but trouble with it... if I had got it from someone closer I'd have taken it back. As it is I cannot return it, so will be getting rid of it ASAP.
Firstly the harsh ride got worse as the miles went by, accompanied by the thing trying to put me in the bushes when going over bumpy road surfaces. This along with the rear hatch banging about really got on my wick.
The gearbox appears to me like stirring soup and you can easily take it out of gear with no force needed... in fact on some potholes along the way it actually did it itself.
Then as I leaned back the whole seat collapsed and sent me flying backwards and almost killed myself trying to keep it in a straight line while lying down in the back. The height adjuster does not work and the whole seat appears loose.
The car was given a fresh MOT, but seems to me a little underhanded deal has gone on between the tester and the dealer, as the ride quality and stability in what's supposed to be a hot hatch is in my opinion dangerous.
Also once home I noted several advisories that I'm wondering could be the cause of said suspension and stability issues... top strut mounts seized, ball joints worn, and offside wheel bearing.
General Comments:
Not what I thought it would be... the engine lacks take off power, but is quite nippy mid range when above 3500RPM... seems slower than my Vectra SRi.
Very cheap and tacky interior trim.
Not yet checked the air con as all we need to do in this neck of the woods if we want to freeze is open the window... will check this if it ever sunshines.
All in all a total waste of money... wish I'd bought an A4 Audi for the same money.
20th Mar 2017, 22:16
Update:
The rattle from the front was a track control arm, a fairly easy replacement, as opposed to the steering rack, which was a larger job than expected. However that all attended to, the car is doing fine now on 98000 ish miles, going well.