Faults:

Suspension ball joint required replacement

CVT whining leading to power loss and heading toward transmission failure according to the qualified mechanic who eventually took it off our hands.

General Comments:

It was a nice small vehicle in many respects. Allowed for use of the back via folding seats, almost a station wagon. Good performance generally for a small car.

The CVT is not recommended. Even while the fluid remains pink and looks healthy, based on our experience, if you have any weight in the vehicle and drive it hard, it is likely to overheat the gearbox and bearings will begin to fail. This causes the whining to begin. It was an unfortunate vehicle for us, losing us a significant amount of money in the resale.

While I can't evidence this, my personal opinion is that the CVT gearbox is not really mated well to the turbo engine and can't really handle being pushed. They don't like heat. It is possible if you do regular fluid changes and don't put it under strain, that it will be OK. However it makes less sense to give a car aggressive styling, a performance engine, and then mate it to a gearbox that isn't really up to task.

Gearbox fluid was changed during ownership several times.

Shame because I really wanted to like this car. Get the manual version because the engine is strong.

Faults:

Nothing, just wear and tear - tyres and wiper blades!

General Comments:

Positives:

+ Fantastic economy. We average approx 60 mpg, 50% town/50% motorway. When I drive carefully, I get 70 mpg.

+ Build quality - interior and exterior feel solid and very well put together.

+ High seating position very comfortable, even for a 6 footer like me.

+ Very pleasant, roomy driving environment with well layed out instrumentation.

+ Plenty of legroom in the back for adults.

+ Nice features like steering wheel stereo controls.

+ Engine actually has some grunt if you work it and keep within the power bands. Overtaking on an A-road is perfectly do-able, but that's not really what this car is about.

Negatives:

- Handling is nothing special (compared to say a Focus), but completely acceptable for a small family car.

- Very small boot, but I think the rear seats fold flat (not tried it yet).

Faults:

None, really.

I broke off the radio aerial by forgetting to unscrew it before going into the car wash (NZ$ 40 for a new one, yikes!).

And I blew the cigarette lighter fuse by trying to inflate an air mattress electrically the wrong way round.

So, none of the car's fault, really.

General Comments:

This is easily the best and the most likable car I've ever owned! If it disappeared on me, I would buy one exactly like it again.

Things I like about this car:

Tremendously comfortable front seats.

Wonderful CVT transmission.

Great steering.

I love the styling - what a quirky little thing!

At 100km/h, the car ticks over at barely 2000 rpm. That makes it a great, relaxed highway cruiser.

Fuel consumption is sensationally low - I get 5.6 L/ 100km regular fuel in everyday driving.

It's possible to sleep in the back of it - I've gone on holiday with it, sleeping on a mattress with the dimensions 190 x 90 cm in the back with the seats folded down. It was perfectly comfortable.

The boot is huge, and can be made even "huger" by folding down seats. I've picked up a tall fridge freezer with this car!