Faults:

Cracked front number plate, due to poor mounting.

Rear washer pump broke, though replacement from Peugeot dealer cost less than Halfords.

Drivers seat was worn on purchase and needed taping up.

Drivers seat worked loose on mountings.

Developed a tendency to stall at low revs, cured by cleaning throttle butterfly.

General Comments:

This car has a deserved reputation as being one of the best hot hatches of the 1980's.

Most of the legends about this car are true; the standard engine is in quite a high state of tune producing more bang per buck than a lot of its rivals. The handling is superb and you do get lift off over-steer. Brilliant fun to get on a four wheel drift, although obviously not on her majesty's high way ;).

The styling is sharp even today, and the interior doesn't look bad and is as comfortable as a favorite old arm chair. The bright red carpets however are not to every ones taste.

The major fly in the ointment with this car is the refinement. There are constant squeaks and rattles from the interior and the switches and dials have a cheap feel. Tick-over and low speeds are notorious for being 'lumpy'. The closer ratio gearbox on the 1.6 whilst great fun makes motorway work a bit of a chore, and has some effect on the miles per gallon.

For the price good ones are going for these days you cannot go far wrong. As with all performance cars be careful buying and make sure you get a good one, especially in this case as they not well enough built to cope with neglect or heavy abuse.

Faults:

Absolutely nothing had gone wrong with this car in the time I drove it, and I really gave it a beating.

Mind you, the brakes seemed like they were sticking a little, not sure though.

General Comments:

I bought this car as a run around whilst my xsi 306 was off the road, I paid 400 for it with GTI wheels and mouldings, it looked gorgeous in red. what a rocket!! wiped the floor with 1600 GTI's and used to give the 1900s a run. it had a power boost valve, K&N filters and I think a high lift cam also, when the 306 was back on the road, it was no where near as fast, and that's a 2.0 16v!! and the noise from it, sounded like a jet plane. couldnt not recommend this car more highly, for the insurance, you will not find a better/faster car.

Faults:

Both suspension arms failed last MOT; made a huge difference to the handling when done.

Wear on driver's seat bolster.

Starter motor.

Differential bearings are starting to whine.

General Comments:

It goes like slippery snot. It's the twin carb model, which is apparently slower than the later ones, rubbish, but the MPG rarely sees the nice side of 35 MPG. It doesn't have much torque, but I'm often surprised when I look at the speedo.

It had GTI alloys fitted when I bought it, which help it to handle like no other car I have driven. Roundabouts and country roads especially bring a cheesy grin to my face.

It's bloody noisy above 75mph. Stick to country roads.

The interior is held together with sticky backed plastic. It rattles, but nothing falls off, but that's not why you buy a car like this.

The best £380 I have spent, and the insurance is dirt cheap (try Elephant.co.uk)