Faults:

Brakes need regular maintenance because the calipers tend to rust and get stuck, and the pads and rotors wear out fast. I have replaced two totally seized calipers too.

Auxiliary belt tensioner and intake manifold gasket had to be renewed at about 150 000 km.

Started to rust from almost new, but I have kept that in check with anti-rust wax.

ABS and VSC turned themselves off a few times, but cured with restarting the engine.

Had to be towed to the dealer's once, due to a battery that died on a very cold winter day.

Front bumper is a bit low, so it's easy to smash it into a curb when parking.

Rear section of exhaust and its heat shield replaced recently due to corrosion.

Original plastic wheel covers are flimsy and start to fall out after a couple of years.

The windscreen was worn to the point it had to be replaced, partly because the rain sensor kept the wipers a bit too busy. Replaced the headlights too for the same reason.

Never needed to add oil between changes (15000 km) or change any other chassis components but brakes.

One factory recall due to an airbag.

The automatic transmission oil change interval is 90 000 kilometres, which I think is too much. I have changed it twice as often.

General Comments:

Given the car's modest size and performance, the fuel economy is not very impressive. The suspension handles speed bumps and poor roads quite well, never bottoms out, and it's really not too stiff either. Acceleration at city speeds in quite good. Road noise on rough roads is quite high. Steering feels quite dead (but not as bad as in some new Japanese cars) and is vague in cross-winds at motorway speeds.

Ventilation and defrosting is good, but the heater can't cope very well with temperatures below -15 Celsius.

Quite easy to work on with basic tools except the headlight bulbs that are difficult to replace if you can't outsource the job to someone with very small hands! If the manufacturer had paid some more attention to rust prevention, this car would be super-reliable and very durable; now the need to fiddle with brakes and rust issues at least twice a year lets this otherwise solid economy car down.

Faults:

Nothing apart from the usual consumables.

General Comments:

If my 'Rolla wasn't pinched by a local low life, I'd still have it. Received the car in excellent condition and put on another 80,000km without a single problem. It didn't even develop a single rattle or bit of loose trim. Absolutely everything worked perfectly all the time. Easy to work on, and parts are cheap and easy to find.

As a driving experience it wasn't particularly exciting, but it had enough zing to get out of its own way and overtake safely. Interior was well made and stood up to the rigors of unsympathetic children. It wasn't quite as fuel efficient as I hoped, but still good on the whole at under 10L/100km in urban day-to-day traffic. About 7.5L/100km on the highway.

The downsides were few, but I was disappointed that the car only had a single airbag and no ABS, when other makes of a similar era were better equipped. The bullet-proof reliability made up for this and I never locked up the brakes anyway because it stopped well. I fitted quality tyres, which helped. Seats weren't great for me on long trips and there was no cruise control. A great little car that felt like it would have done an easy 300,000km+.

Faults:

Paint. Some of the worst paint I've ever seen on a car. Leprosy by 2011. I recommend heavy UV wax.

General Comments:

Other than the paint, the car is a great and dependable vehicle.