1991 Citroen AX GT review from UK and Ireland

Apart from having a pheasant head butt and dent the bonnet at 60mph, not too many.

Starter motor packed up, some little silly electrical component that blew and totally disabled the car.

Dodgy refitting of the rear window.

Central locking motor failed.

Electric window motor bracket fell to pieces.

Bloody marvellous car. It weighs as much as a Mini with a driver, the engine is as hard as nails and it loves to go fast. For a silly little french car, it's pretty damn good for performance. Extremely good fun to drive. It could worry a Westfield up a hill.

The AX GT is definitely not for the motorway though. With the revs sitting at around 4000rpm at 60mph it sounds a little stressed. It's not too thirsty on petrol if you manage to keep your foot off the floor and it is much quicker than most of the local boy racer's Novas and Corsas that chug around McDonalds car parks.

The handling could be better. The slim and expensive tyres (around 65 quid each!!) tend not to grip well in the wet, and the power to weight ratio usually makes you wheelspin when turning corners at speed.

The interior is comfortable, but squeaky. The seats are supporting and will hold you in place, but the seat position can be a little tight under the steering wheel for some.

The all plastic dash and interior trim make plenty of noise when the car moves and are quite easily broken when removed, but are nicely styled and match the car's aggressive looks.

Surprising amounts of boot space, more than enough for loads of speakers or shopping or whatever takes your fancy (the speakers do it for me).

The bodywork of the car is very flimsy and will dent easily, though rust has never been a problem.... Except on the alloys! The wheels are laquered, and it will flake and look very tacky. The body kit finishes off the car very well, although the painted plastic tends to fade badly after time.

The AXGT is not a serious sport car, it's just sheer fun to drive. In fact John Prescot would clock up a few points on his licence with one of these, just as I have.

The acceleration pins you against the seat, and it doesn't stop pulling till it reaches its top speed of around 105mph. With modifications to the engine this car could get scary.

I would recommend you get an expericnced fitter to fit the rear window if it breaks, because the window holds the bootlid in place so if it breaks, the bootlid shoots out behind the bumper and is a serious job for the fitter to repair properly.

I would recommend this car to anyone who needs a nippy little town car to run around in and wants to have a serious good time driving.