Faults:

Changed rotors and pads to new OEM-type at 47,000 miles. Cost: $300. Original rotors were warped and so they pulsed when braking. The new ones are perfect after 12,000 miles.

I'm on my third set of tires. They always wear unevenly. Admittedly, I drive the car in a "sporting" manner much of the time.

General Comments:

The seats are typical Japanese -- not very comfortable for cross-country drives, although I've seen worse.

Fuel economy is EPA 32/38 mpg, but all I ever seem to get is around 30 mpg in mixed driving. That's 7.8 l / 100 km for those outside the USA. (I doubt this car was ever available outside the USA.)

Road noise is considerable at 75 mph. Even so, I've done several cross-country drives and would not hesitate to do one again. The car is dead reliable.

I love the suspension on this car. It seems to keep the tires in contact with the road surface, even when cornering hard over uneven pavement.

Faults:

Trunk leaks and fills up with water in heavy rain.

Driver's seat is wearing badly.

General Comments:

This car is extremely reliable and good quality... what you expect from a Honda.

Performance is pretty crap.. you need to rev it high all the time to get any juice. Our old Mazda 323 was much better.

Handling... too much body roll, feels like a giant sponge... our Subaru wagon corners better than this car.

I really hate the interior.. it is gray plastic and has a really cheap feeling considering the price paid for this car. Also the seats have pretty much no support so you slide around a lot.

My mother even complains about this car's boring-ness.

Faults:

Nothing at all.

General Comments:

I remember being unsure as to whether I should buy this car... but was converted after the test drive. Hit 5500rpm and all hell breaks loose. Hitting 60mph in 2nd gear whilst the car is bouncing off the rev limiter is one of motoring's finer moments.

As for the every day grind, the car hasn't missed a beat, and given that the VTI-S was a dealership special, it came with air con and a sunroof as standard, all the better to hear the VTEC howl.

As a cheap, second hand hot hatch, the car has been unbeatable, and having used it for the occasional track day at Donnington Park my respect for the car gets ever higher. It's so easy to control the car on the limit (using Toyo Proxes T1-R tyres) and yet when you need it to, it will do the Tesco shopping run with ease and still return 30mpg in the urban cycle.

The only modifications to the car have been a K & N air filter and a Recaro Seat (the original driver's seat was awful, and it's good to see that the current Civic Type R is now fitted with Recaros).

Age may wither her, but I plan on keeping the car, buying the newer Civic Type R, and using the VTI as a trackday car. Long live Honda. Long live VTEC.