Faults:

The climate control lever does not move past floor selection. It feels like its path is being obstructed or the cable isn't long enough... know what I mean?

General Comments:

I had a new 1989 Ford Escort GT and loved it in my college days. I purchased this 1995 GT from the original owner who was 80 years old and had been running synthetic oil on the motor since it was new.

For a small car it's great. Not a vette by any means - the 5 speed manual and 1.8 L combo is surprisingly peppy - and at 2500 or so she moves along pretty good. I have taken her to 90 MPH and the car still wants to go - it feels most comfortable (and safe) below the 80 MPH range. Overall it's a cheap to buy, cheap to operate, cute litte car.

Faults:

No malfunctions have occurred, but there is a very slight leak from the oil pan which I noticed prior to purchasing the car, it has not become significantly worse during the past year.

The radiator developed a minor leak at 85,000 which was quickly remedied with some powdered sealant lubricant.

General Comments:

This vehicle is in showroom condition and rides better than our 1999 Mercury Villager van, an attribute which may be attributable to these Pep Boys house brand radials which are made by Cooper.

I remain perplexed as to why these struts have not required replacement, maybe it has something to do with the car's light weight.

Ford should have dumped these automatic seat shoulder restraints long ago, but that feature is a carry over from the Mazda heritage.

Faults:

Alternator failed at about 40,000 miles.

Gear shift lock broke at about 54,000 miles. had to use the manual override every time I wanted to drive.

The engine TOTALLY BROKE at 58,000 miles. It had regular maintenance, oil changes, tune-ups, etc. But at 58,000 miles, it died while I was on the freeway. Crank shaft or piston _broke_, and I was faced with replacing the engine or the car. I chose to replace the CAR.

General Comments:

I think this car sucks. I had it nearly 6 years, 58,000 miles and it died on me. Cars these days really ought to last longer than that!

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This car toped out at over 165mph at a track day last year thanks to its 540bhp. It also hits 60 in 4.1secs so I've no complaints other than the cost of the conversion - £25,000+. The wife won't see this will she?

Faults:

Nothing so far, but it's fairly new (to me)...

General Comments:

All things considered, this car is great. It has a good amount of pep (especially after 4K RPM), high-torque, quick response engine (for beating those Honda's!), great styling (with the exception of the orange reflectors on the back), almost perfect comfort, and a relatively low running cost. Also, there is a lot more cargo space than you would think from looking at the car.

Unfortunately, the fuel economy is a bit higher that what I would expect for the car(about 10L/100km). I think I need to take it in for a tune-up, perhaps they can pinpoint something that's causing this.

Also, when travelling at high speeds (and accelerating, but this is a good thing!), the car tends to be very noisy.

The seats are a bit hard, as well.

There is a flat spot between first and second gear because of the automatic (yuck) transmission.