Faults:

Nothing Major.

Usual wear-and-tear items such as battery, alternator, parts of the exhaust, CV joints, injectors. Been grumbling about a wheel bearing for the last two years - hoping to squeeze one more year out of it.

General Comments:

Slow (particularly when cold), Smoky, Noisy (very noisy when cold), trots around town OK, but vicious to drive on the open road, rusts in front of your eyes and has nil points for any street cred (kids refuse to be driven in it). Tried to tow a caravan with it once, just the once.

However, it is utterly reliable and cheap to fix on the odd occasion it does go wrong. Gives star-ship MPG, easily 50 to the gallon. Seven seats mean you can carry seven people and it has a boot like the tardis.

Passed the MOT first time this year (2003) but this is it's last year on the road, next year it will simply be past it. Can't grumble for a car we had 10 years, it will be like losing a friend, well, maybe a loyal servant.

Work horse is a good definition, more of a mule though - not a stallion.

Faults:

PCB in rear light cluster shorted out.

Electric window motor burned out (expensive!)

No other problems.

General Comments:

Seriously underrated car. Not exactly a looker, but performance was incredible - it was no Cosworth admittedly, but was a lot closer than the 50 bhp discrepancy would suggest. Acceleration was manic - around 7 seconds to 60 and would easily go off the clock at the top end. Felt a lot more powerful than 150 bhp.

Bought the car when I was 18 years old, so you can imagine how it was driven, yet apart from a couple of electrical problems, it was totally reliable. These cars eat tyres though. A set of fronts can disappear in just 4,000 miles. The clutch was feeling tired when I sold it too (both the result of the massive burnouts of which this car is so easily capable, and which as an impressionable 18 year old, I often asked it to do). Disgraceful behaviour - I would be exactly the same now!

The key with these cars is not how you drive them, but how you look after them. Mine was treated to fresh synthetic oil every 3,000 miles, was never thrashed from cold, and was always allowed a minute or two after a run for the turbo to cool off before switching the engine off. At almost 50,000 miles, the engine was as quick as ever, used very little oil, and sounded sweet.

They'll all be completely knackered by now, but the Monty Turbo was a practical, reliable hooligan machine. I remember it fondly.

Faults:

Bad rust in rear wheel arches, right hand side doors and tailgate.

Right hand side front wheel bearings went.

Trouble with the left hand side rear suspension damper.

Usual things like tyres, exhaust etc.

General Comments:

A good all round car, and really cheap to run.

Being an estate, it has been so versatile, especially when we moved house and crammed something like 30 boxes into it.

Basically, I love the car and certainly would not hesitate to buy another "Monty", especially the estate.

Faults:

Power steering pump ran a bearing.

Had to replace front pads and discs.

Right rear power door lock sticks.

General Comments:

Generally I have had no problems with the car apart from niggling faults as listed.

The seats are uncomfortable on a long trip and the steering is heavy, but it has absolutely no rust whatsoever!

Faults:

New valves and head reground at 100,000 miles, brake discs and fluid needed replacing, various other minor bits and pieces you'd expect from a car of this age, otherwise just rust, rust and more rust!

General Comments:

It's got a poor image, but it's a great car to drive and a real GTi beater - and it's well equipped too. The only downside is that it seems prone to rust - but in the 50,000+ miles I had it, it never let me down.