Faults:

Carburettor was faulty and could never be set up correctly.

Headlamps would only come on if you kicked the fuse box.

Outer o/s door handle kept working loose.

Water pipe for rear screen washer kept dropping out, resulting in a wet parcel shelf if unnoticed.

Kept cutting out in cold, damp weather, finally tracked to icing in carb jet, but never cured.

General Comments:

It was hard to enjoy driving this car as you never knew when it was going to let you down.

It also had an annoying trait of constantly "missing", as if a plug was failing or a wire was loose, however several trips to reputable tuners never cured it.

To it's credit, for a Fiat it was absolutely rust free!

Faults:

Head gasket went and wrecked the engine.

Radiator leaked a lot.

CV joint worn.

Wheel alignment kept going off.

General Comments:

Cheap to buy, run and insure.

Plenty of room inside both in front and in rear.

Large boot space.

Poor interior styling (brown, nice!!)

Bad dashboard layout, too many big switches instead of steering wheel stalks.

Gear change was very vague.

Faults:

I had to replace the clutch, but that is not really a fault.

The inlet manifold gasket was leaking and needed replacing.

Boost hose split.

The gearbox needs replacing, but if I didn't own it, it would be OK!

General Comments:

This is a very fast, fun car to drive.

This is a very noisy and rattly car to drive. Its got a harsh ride.

Handles OK at best, but very predictable.

The brakes are adequate if good pads are used.

Its very economical for the performance it gives. Its very reliable.

Its easy to modify and the engine will last a long time, its very strong.

You have to be easy on the gearbox.

Faults:

It has rust, but mechanically? There has been nothing so far... but it has a disconcerting habit of occasionally losing power and stopping. After ten minutes rest its fine again. No one can tell me why.

General Comments:

The car does around 40 mpg in the winter and 60 mpg in the summer. It is comfortable, speedy for the size, and fun to drive.

Faults:

The interior is immaculate, but the rear arches are looking a bit worse for wear, but generally body is good for year.

Rear brake shoes needed adjustment.

Passenger side electric window does not work.

Central locking also failed.

General Comments:

The car is quick for its size, and surprises many a smoky hot hatch owner at the lights.

Steering is spot on, and razor sharp handling makes it all the more fun to drive, despite it having those skinny 13 inch wheels!

Dodgy electrics are annoying, but fairly easy to fix. Engines are harsh at high revs, but plenty of mid range fun around town.

5 speed gearbox makes for ample cruising ability as well. Will sit at 70 MPH at just over three thousand revs. Not bad for a 1.3!

Slightly weird driving position, though pedals are well laid out, and distanced well for us drivers with big feet.

Faults:

Electrical fault while driving at night caused total shutdown of engine and lights. However restarted immediately and I was able to carry on my journey. This never occurred again while I owned it.

Rust around factory-fitted sunroof, which necessitated three trips to the panel-beater over five years.

Front seat upholstery wore through at 100,000 km.

Plastic clip attaching rear compartment cover to hatch door snapped.

Body roll significant.

General Comments:

An extremely reliable and fuel-efficient car which achieved 42 miles per gallon on the open road.

Lacked a bit of power especially in upper revs and never got up to its claimed maximum speed of 165 km/h.

Nice tall driving position although sunroof limits headroom. I am 179 cm in height and my head scraped the ceiling.