Faults:

I cannot remember that much went wrong with it.

This was a contract leased car from my company - so if it started and ran when you turned the key any noises could be ignored until the next service - maintenance costs were all inclusive in the lease.

General Comments:

This was a big comfortable car, and I liked it, but it had one major shortcoming.

The engine was 1.6 petrol with a carburettor (fuel injection was less common in 1990) and the engine was a poor match with the automatic gearbox. Exiting a T junction could be lethal - press the throttle and the car would creep at slow speed into the traffic. Press harder in panic and it continued at the same lethargic pace. I very quickly learned to allow extra distance when doing maneuvers from a standing start. The rest of the handling was fine - auto box worked well, kicked down OK, and car could cruise effortlessly on motorways. But the carburettor flat spot on pickaway from start was always there.

Faults:

It was a station wagon with a 1.8L carburettor engine and an automatic tranny. Did not have lots of power.

General Comments:

It had the traditional VolksWagen handling and it was fun to drive.

Faults:

* Cooling system leaks, caused breakdown as the small leak turned out to be a cracked elbow joint coming from under the radiator.

* Noisy interior.

* Water pump leak, needs replacing. This small problem actually ended up turning into a complete engine replacement for me) Don't ask!

* Stubborn door hinges.

* Seats have faded.

* Gearstick is very stubborn.

All in all, I could write a laundry list of problems, but the engine is "strong like bull" so in all fairness I won't.

General Comments:

First Impressions:

I fell in love with this car the minute I laid eyes on it, for a 12 year old car it sure looks stylish. It has "touring car" written all over it. Initial gripes with its looks in my opinion are the fog lights & the towing attachment, which protrudes out the front of the car. Interior gripes were that there are only power windows in the front not rear doors.. very tacky.

When I took it for a test drive I didn't really know a lot about it. I was still learning manual at the time so I held back from giving it some stick in-case I made a bad gear change and blew the gearbox. The thing that really stood out to me was the handling and suspension, the car really hugs the road and gives fun handling. After the test drive I was hooked and bought it.

Performance:

I generally thought it was a bit of a slug at first as I didn't rev it over 4000 rpm (It has a red-line of 7500 & I'm told it peaks at 6500).

But wow, didn't that opinion change fast, give this French rocket some juice and it goes faster than snails on a platter. Unless you're willing to rev it to over 5500 Rpm you won't get much power out of it, but once in the high revs the engine really roars. I was traveling at 60 kph, dropped into 3rd gear and put my foot down, & the car reached 150 kph in under 7 seconds. I'd estimate it has a 0-100 kph time of around 8.5 seconds & the highest speed I've had it up to was 210 clicks without pushing it.. I could have got at-least another 20 kph out of it. I wish I could say the car handles all situations with grace, but it has a few drawbacks due to its relatively small engine displacement, e.g. When you've got a full load of passengers it really struggles, or when going flat out up a hill the engine just goes flat and doesn't continue to hit the high notes.. but this could be due to my timing of gear changes so don't quote me on that one. Another thing is when taking off from traffic lights at normal pace you'll find it hard to keep up.. but of course if you rev it a bit they'll find it hard to keep up.

The fuel tank holds 70 liters, I find it's really efficient when you don't drive sporty, but when you do it really drinks.

My Mods:

I had a 2 & 1/4" exhaust system & a high flow air filter fitted. The engine really has a nice sound to it once fitted, I also think it gave it a tad more power.