Faults:

Driver's electric window regulator failed.

General Comments:

Excellent car. I have had this car from new, and the only fault has been a window regulator failure. At 140 000 km there are NO rattles in the cabin whatsoever. The car has been mostly highway driven, and returns 8.6L/100km at 100kmh.

Engine oil usage - I have topped the engine oil on two occasions; both were approximately 200ml amounts, just making sure the level didn't get below minimum. Oil colour is still deep honey after 15 000km intervals when about to be serviced.

No problems with the transmission, and original brake discs still fitted, although machined twice.

Performance is great with a sports muffler replacing the standard, and when fitted with the original design intake (as fitted to NZ models) for this engine, rather than the AUS version, which is designed for a 2.4L (due driveby noise ADRs).

The car is now as quick as an XR6.

Faults:

Driver's side rear window came off track and fell into the door cavity.

Transmission jerks a little at low speeds when shifting up.

General Comments:

Fantastic car to own and drive. I purchased two of these for our business, each with 33K on the clock, barely 18 months old and for half the original price when new! Being ex rentals, they certainly wouldn't have had the most cosseted life, but at least they were serviced religiously.

In the 18 months we've had them, they've been faultless really. The only issue being a rear window collapsing into the door. Strange, but both cars did this, and on the same door!

Very smooth and quiet to ride in, with very comfy seats and plenty of power.

Handling is also excellent for a powerful front wheel drive car, however traction is easily lost in the wet.

Plenty of standard equipment being the SX model - 17" alloy wheels, climate control, 6 stack CD with MP3, auto lights off, traction control, steering wheel controls, plenty of airbags, electric drivers seat, plus a host of customisable options through the on-screen menu at the top of the dash.

5 speed automatic with tiptronic is great.

Average 550km per tank at around 60L.

The only real let down is the plastics used in the dash construction and on the door tops, which in my eyes looks almost malformed. It's quite different from conventional patterns used in many other makes, although the texture is soft to the touch. I guess a dashmat could address that issue. They also put a large rubber strip around the instrument cluster, which looks rather cheap and fitted as an afterthought.

A split fold rear seat would have been preferred, and of course large objects tend to hit the bottoms of the speakers in the boot when you try to load them.

As far as company workhorses go, these cars have been great, and have been an excellent bargain to boot. Would thoroughly recommend, especially now as prices are stupidly cheap.

Faults:

Incomplete ventilation system from the factory (missed quality controls).

Warped plastic on dash.

Badly fitting plastic on driver's A pillar.

Faulty rear demister.

Driveline noise than cannot be identified by dealer (after 6 visits).

CD player failed to eject disks - fixed myself.

General Comments:

Solid build but niggly quality control issues, and interior quality not as good as it should have been.

Engine has good torque and reasonable power. Handling is excellent for the size of the car.

However, a few too many issues to make the ownership experience positive. Luckily most people seem to have had a better run than us.

Should have bought a Toyota, but the 380 had the better handling. An Aurion with the 380s handling would have the perfect front driver.