Faults:

Rear seat back lock not latching properly on one side.

General Comments:

Delighted with the car so far. I had become bored with driving an automatic and was so chuffed with a 1.6 Golf that I hired in Great Britain recently that I decided to buy the closest thing to it in Colombia. The current Golf is not yet on sale here so I bought the Bora (Jetta in UK and US, but Bora in Colombia, as the Mk IV Jetta is still sold here).

I had ordered the car in black, but the dealer reported some problems with the import papers from Mexico for the only black one they had in stock, so they offered me a blue or grey one and kindly said that they would throw in locally fitted Argentine leather upholstery, so I plumped for the blue one.

I have had it for ten days and am delighted with it so far. The roadholding in particular is superb and the engine is very torquey, which makes for fine handling in the mountainous terrain around Bogota. Petrol consumption is not hugely impressive, thanks to the altitude of Bogota (2,650 metres above sea level), but I am saving hand over fist when compared to the 4.0 Ford Explorer I had previously.

As is recommendable for a country with security concerns, my dark blue Bora does not attract attention, yet the car is a delight to drive: very nippy and supremely comfortable. A bit pipe and slippers on the outside and somewhat austere on the inside, but it suits me down to the ground (I am 34, going on 70).