Faults:

Body work has a tendency to bubble.

Doors started to creak really badly.

Thumping sound when cornering at high speeds.

General Comments:

The leather interior and air-con make for a nice looking and comfortable interior.

White dials are also a nice touch.

Performance is not earth shattering, but my previous car was quicker so I wasn't expecting much.

Handling is quite nice and the power steering is slightly firmer than the previous motor, which gives a more direct feel.

OK on the twists and turns, but more of a cruising machine.

Nice body-kit, nothing too aggressive.

Faults:

Boot lock broken, I currently use the electric release to open it.

Electric boot release became intermittent, had to add an earth strap from the tailgate to the main car body to fix this problem. (The car normally uses the tailgate hinges as an earth connection, bad design idea by Ford!).

Multifunction switch (indicator switch) failed suddenly while driving home one night resulting in no rear tail lights. (£80 from ford for new unit)

Erratic idle speed, varies between about 800-1200 rpm depending on whether there's an 'r' in the month!

PATS led (under the clock) went intermittent, had to remove dashboard just to get at it. Just needed re-soldering.

All 4 tyres keep going down slowly. About 2-10 psi per week depending on which tyre. I guess it may be the alloys corroded around the tyre beading and leaking air.

General Comments:

The car has 115bhp, but dosen't feel very quick at all really. I think it must be a bit too heavy.

All I seem to be doing with this car too is filling it with petrol, Can't seem to get above about 25mpg no matter how careful I drive it. Very poor, its costing me a fortune in fuel!

On the good side though the car is very comfortable and is nice to drive, even though its not a quick or sporty ride.

Has air-con, ABS, leather seats, and nice looking alloy wheels.

Car looks good from all angles except from the front though, where it just looks like a bottom of the range Escort!

Faults:

Had to replace the clutch.

General Comments:

This car was fantastic. It Was not as fast as you would expect a Gti to be, however it was reliable, economical and looked great when kitted out. I put 17's on mine, lowered it, Cd player, air filter and stainless exhaust. Then an uninsured driver drove up the back of me and wrote it off!

Faults:

The rear view mirror constantly fell off. In the end I simply did not bother to stick it back up.

The drivers seat fold down cable broke. I did not fix it as I never used it.

The rear lights kept on failing due to moisture on the boot electrical connection plates. Kept at bay with WD40.

After driving in the wet it would often stall when waiting at lights or junctions and sometimes would not start due to damp getting in the ignition parts. This was treated 12 times by a main ford dealer and never cured.

General Comments:

God I hated this car! This car was so basic I am surprised they even bothered to fit seats!

A horrid thing to drive with no power steering or ABS, on a 1997 car!

Infact the only good thing I will say about it is that it was very economical and it kept me dry in the rain... If it started!

It would be a good first buy if you are new to motoring, but to be honest you would be better off buying a Clio or similar instead of this rubbish!