Faults:

Master cylinder locked up all of my brakes. The previous owner put automatic transmission fluid into the master cylinder and caused the lines to expand.

The radiator had a small crack in it, I replaced it.

The driver's side interior door handle has cracked, so it's loose and I have to grab it a certain way.

Glovebox is TINY.

Exterior passenger door handle has broken off.

Trunk will not open because the latch is broken somehow. Just happened in the last few months.

I also had to replace the strut mount because the previous mount dry rotted (20+ years old).

General Comments:

FANTASTIC car. It has carried me cross country in the rain or snow. It's sitting at 207k and I'm about to replace the water pump and timing belt and expect another 100k out of it. The inline four engine is rock solid and will not present you with any major problems, but you will have to maintain it.

I'm 6'2 and fit comfortably in the car with all of my friends in the back. I bought this car for 1200$ and it was a great decision. It is good on acceleration given the class of car, drives smoothly, and handles turns well. My next car will be a Toyota Corolla.

Faults:

Tires had to be replaced, not a fault with the car, but the previous owner.

Driver's side handle is broken on the inside and is somewhat difficult to open. All the door handles are cracked on the inside.

Installed a new radio, and now half the interior lights don't work, though I think the adapter is the issue.

Headlights have yellowed, but still shine bright.

Glove box is beyond useless. The way it's shaped cuts about 1/3 of the usable volume out for no evident reason. It's a pain to fit anything in there.

Trunk won't open with my key, not sure why.

General Comments:

After I had my 1989 Corolla (the review for that is on here) with a 3 speed automatic, I traded it for this one, with a 5 speed manual.

This car is excellent. Easy on gas, has performance when I need it with the 1.8L engine. Reasonably comfortable, though I feel a little low compared to my last one.

I haven't had it too long yet, but it seems like it's a great car.

Faults:

CV joints noisy - replaced.

General Comments:

Bought this one owner 16 year old car in 2009 with just 36K km, in original silver paintwork.

Given its very low mileage, the car was mechanically in excellent condition.

As a preventive measure, the timing belt, engine mounting and hoses were replaced.

Other than these, tyres and batteries, the car has been very reliable and a real joy to drive.

The peppy and torquey 1.6 4A-FE engine is also very smooth and economical. 10km/litre in short-run town use, but improves to 14.5km/litre on inter-state runs at 120km/hr. 100km/hr at 2,200 RPM confers refinement unusual for a small C segment car like this. Pulls away easily even with 5 on-board.

The suspension is somewhat soft, but otherwise comfortable with 14 inch steel rims. With Michelin XM1 rubbers, the ride is extremely quiet.

Build quality is exceptional, even if the materials used do not seem expensive. The fabric, dashboard etc feel solid and well made. They don't call this the mini-Lexus for nothing.

For good reason, Australia continued offering this particular AE101 model right through to 1999 when other markets switched to the AE111 in 1996. I have driven the latter model, which surprisingly is an inferior model with lighter body panels and poorer driving dynamics.

I would buy another one new if they still made this.