Faults:

Head gasket blew at 35,000 miles.

New radiator at 37,000 miles.

New radiator at 85,000 miles.

New radiator at 145,000 miles.

Gear box replaced at 140,000 miles as fifth gear fell off!

All suspension bushes replaced on regular basis, when the rear ones are worn they steer the front of the car.

Air filter too close to the ground on the near side, sucked up water and blew up the engine.

Seats badly worn.

Clutch pedal never returned to proper position.

Massive electrical problems due to silly route of wiring loom.

Alarm problems, three units fitted, all faulty.

Alarm relay mounted on driver's door pillar, relay switch damaged due to vibrations of door closing resulting in more problems with the alarm.

Very poor starting.

General Comments:

When the suspension is properly set up, the car handles very well. Change the standard suspension bushes for the rally specification bushes, they are harder, wear better and give a far more positive drive.

Very good torque.

Acceleration performance greatly altered by the timing.

Good all round visibility.

Good positioning of radio controls, light switches etc.

Much too expensive to maintain given the performance that you get in return for the money you invest.

Faults:

Driver's window fell out (apparently a common problem).

Occasional water leaks around the roof area affecting the electric sunroof.

Central locking on the remote somewhat dodgy, but since the sensor is located with the sunroof motor it could well be rain water related, I've yet to track the problem down.

Lambda sensor needed replacing at 70,000.

General Comments:

By far the most inviting aspect of the XSi is it's superb road-holding, I've yet to have the back slide at all, and any over-zealousness is easily corrected. Tyre-wear is somewhat heavy though, so it's definitely worth forking out the extra cash for decent boots.

Performance wise-not quite up with the S16 or GTi-6, but for £4k less who's complaining.

Faults:

At about 36,000 miles, I noticed that the car would tend to stall, (possibly twice a month); i.e. no revs to pull the car, quite dangerous! Idle speed problem, either too low or too high. Dealer replaced E-PROM, (micro-chip) twice, but to no avail. Changed air-filters, fuel filters, checked cables. The car was brought back to the main dealer, under warranty, 16 times in 12 months. After all new parts were put in the car, it performed 10 times better, but problem was never fixed.

Radiator fan-motor burnt out; new one will cost IR£220 to replace, and that's before labour costs. Still haven't got it done.

Parts are VERY expensive from main dealers, shop around.

General Comments:

Excellent car to drive, with fabulous handling.

Replaced 13" steel wheels, for D-Turbo 14" alloys (from 165/75 R13 to 185/60 R14). This improved the handling dramatically, but decreased the comfort a little.

Basic interior, but it's laid out well. XN model's got powered assisted steering, and a remote controlled stereo with 4 speakers.

It's my first car, and all-in-all I love it.