Faults:

The clutch needs replacing at 44,000 and an expensive one at that. £300 from the dealer, £275 from an independent garage for the same part!

Wheel bearing needs replacing on rear passenger side - £80.

Brake pads wear out quickly - within 10,000 miles.

Servicing every 6 months is a bit of a joke - £130 each time.

Electric window motors replaced by dealer after 12 months only to be replaced a second time 4 months later.

Electric window is slow now and not under warranty.

Exhaust went at 20,000 miles.

Where the roof-line meets the front windscreen has started to show signs of bubble rust which after 5 years should not happen, but Suzuki have said it will cost over £500 to put right. I am not going to bother as that's about 30% of the value of the car!

General Comments:

The overall look of the car is very dated. More like a 1980's car than from 1998.

Based on the manufacturers stated fuel economy, the car should do a min of 35 mpg whereas I am getting anything from 31 in town to 37 on the motorway. I am sure there is a fault with this car.

The suspension is extremely hard on all surfaces and even the slightest uneven surface in the road causes the CD-Player to stop and once the road smoothens out, it restarts. Very annoying!

The engine is very noisy and even when going at 50-60mph yo have to turn the radio up very high to listen to it at a decent volume.

The road noise is transfered into the cabin and if there is any imperfection in the road, you get to feel it!

Long distance (50miles+) you can forget because at the end of your journey your legs will ache and you will feel tired.

Any type of wind makes this car sway like a HGV on the motorway which makes me very nervous.

In wet weather the demister is not very good and if there is just 1 person in the vehicle, it will take on average 10 minutes to clear the screen before you can drive anywhere.

The switchgear looks very old and the plastics are dire to look at! Too shiny plastic.

I feel that there are much better small cars on the market such as the Renault Clio and Vauxhall Corsa.

I have just completed my Police Traffic Officer training and after having driven Volvo V70's on the motorway and receiving a good wage from the force, I am getting rid of this car and going for a Volvo S40/V40, a much safer package from my experience.