Faults:

The CV joints needed replacing at roughly 300,000kms.

Head gasket has blown twice; once at 250,000km, and again at 340,000.

Plastic clear coat on paint is peeling off.

General Comments:

The car has a lot of torque, needs to be shifted into second gear by no later than 20km/h. Engine retains its torque through all the gears, and top end speed is still satisfactory.

The gates for the manual can be a little close, and easy to shift from 2nd to 5th, or 5th to second.

Seats are still comfortable, and the interior has not really aged, except for basic wear and tear. The tape/radio works fine, and sound is good with the 4 speakers.

The speedo and tacho are both easy to read, and clearly visible.

Fuel economy is great, about 100km/10L if driven properly, great for a 21 year old car.

Small size makes it easy to handle and manoeuvre.

Would easily suit a learner driver.

Faults:

CV joints @240k

Air conditioning wasn't working when bought and I haven't had it re-gassed as wasn't sure if could in view of age.

General Comments:

This is a great car! It's very reliable and easy to drive with good positive handling. It's size means it is easy to park - which is a great advantage in the city. Does more than 400km to the tank about town so fuel consumption is not bad at all.

Electric windows all round - very good for a car of this age - and the seats are comfortable.

Bodywork has stood the test of time with no rust anywhere.

Faults:

So far, nothing has gone wrong. I find that the volume of the indicators is too low and I can't hear it going. I also need to change the radio as it does not pick up FM in Australia. It is a National radio and was fitted to the Japanese model.

General Comments:

I'm very happy with the car except for the points mentioned above. Can anyone suggest any remedies?

Faults:

There was an oil leak in the sump, which caused copious amounts of refilling for 2,000KM.

Previous owner had replaced the driveshaft.

General Comments:

I am extremely pleased with the performance of the Conch, as I like to nickname the machine.

The interior aesthetics have been timeless, since the mid 90's and age is now appearing abruptly as I write this.

Good sounding 4 speaker stereo. Although C-QUAM AM stereo feature is now useless, since many Australian radio stations stopped using their C-QUAM modulated transmitters.

Criticism of the car points towards its fuel consumption, which eats the stuff in less than the business week, five days.

Average acceleration is sluggish, but if properly encouraged with the right foot, can yield some interesting results when jumping out of the emergency lane on the Eastern FWY.

I feel that the choice of engine this car was permitted with, in Australia, was inadequate, as it really struggles when carrying four adults and heavy luggage.

The B20A 2.0 DOHC engine, from the 1988 Honda Prelude, would've been a better choice for a 4CL family car of this nature, as its torque would've done this car some justice in the heavy passenger carrying class.

While I have my criticisms about the D16Z's performance, I do enjoy having fun with my Conch, if the lily livered drivers who feel that the 100KM/H sign means 85KM/H don't invade the freeways.

I love to mash the accelerator down, as the rapidly advancing revolutions of the motor keep the automatic gearbox from shifting until it reaches the rev limiter (6500RP/M). 4000RP/M is about where the D16Z's torque shows up.

The maximum speed I have reached in the Conch has been 160KM/H, which is all-right as far as I'm concerned, although some day I may consider options in the distant future.