Faults:

Usual stuff including:

Rear Struts. Bouncy! Bouncy! Had to change them, or get a new sick bag.

Engine: Frequent stalling. Changed many parts, but still persisted. (New owner said it was the injectors.) I was always pleasantly surprised when it started.

Transmission: Delayed shifting. This just got worse and worse, and was the final straw for getting rid of it.

General Comments:

I found myself talking to this "thing", especially on very cold mornings.

The engine would slowly crank over and decided it did NOT want to leave the warmth and comfort of the garage.

My pathetic pleadings and outbursts of anger did nothing to persuade it to fire up. My wife had to be dragged out of bed to drive me to work.

An OK first car which can be purchased very cheap. Though not something I would want my daughter to drive.

With luck you will get one that has had numerous parts replaced. Probably from some schmuck like me. I would get the V6 model next time although these are quite hard to come by. The 2.3 is a definite no, no.

Faults:

Battery died.

Alternator belt broke 3 times in 1 month.

Oxygen sensor wasn't working...

Needed many small parts replaced.

Paint worn badly.

Transmission problems.

General Comments:

Well, I can't complain much because this car has been used a lot, my only real problems with it are... Well first off it is a terrible, I mean terrible performance car. It handles like a brick and the acceleration is disgusting. One bright side is its the most comfortable car I've ever been in, the seats are all the way back, but still usable for driving,they're great!

Faults:

This car was a real lemon. It spent more time at the mechanic than on the road.

Constant oil leaks coming from the front crankshaft seal (replaced 5 times to no avail), shocks gave way, brakes went dead on me so could not brake on the highway (thank goodness no one was near me), oil pan had to be changed (???), constant brake checking, and finally the transmission gave out at 145000 km. It would have cost over $1000 to replace it with a rebuilt, but I scrapped it.

General Comments:

Never buy a Ford if you want to keep your sanity.

QUALITY IS JOB 1???

Faults:

The most problematic area of this car was the A/C. After the second summer the A/C compressor was blown and had to be replaced which was quite costly, yet was blown again the summer after.

The cloth seats are pretty cheap. After a few years the color starts to fade and whats worse is when it gets wet it stinks like a wet dog! Next time, I would definitely get the leather seats in this performance vehicle.

The paint is not pretty. The gloss coating was thin and soon disappeared. This sounds negative, but I like it without the reflective gloss. I've evaded many cops because of this!

Rust! If I didn't know better I thought cancer can spread to cars too! Patches of rust were eating my car alive! Last year, if you were sitting in the driver seat you could imitate Fred Flint-stone. Rust ate half the driver-side floor panel away!

General Comments:

Even though the car sounds like it has many problems I'd say I'm the one to blame. I stopped caring for it after its 8th birthday.

The engine purrs like a lion. Its still got plenty of power probably because I put in Gold or Ultra94. Only the best gas for this beast! Maximum performance!

The suspension is of high quality. I love driving offroad with my Impreza, but still cannot beat the feel of my Topaz running through muddy terrain or ripping up gravel pits! This car is tough like a tank! This machine could have probably won the war for Hitler if sent back to the future! Seriously!

As for the off road, I have hit a couple of trees head-on, but no major damage was done to the car. I'm amazed at the durability of the Topaz. Trees were bent over, even uprooted, but the Topaz remains immaculate!

This car is definitely worth the money. You would think after so much abuse a car of this statue would be found dead in a ditch, but you're wrong. It likes the beatings you give it and yearns for more. I'd doubt it would last this long if I drove it like an old lady. I think this car craves adventure as much as I do. We can never get enough of it.