1996 Vauxhall Frontera Sport S review from UK and Ireland

Radiator blew at 70,000 miles.

Thermostat went with the radiator as did the water pump.

The car has been bleeding oil and coolant for a while, turned out the head gasket was cracked, very costly.

New alternator at 76,000.

Electrical problem with the wipers, resulting in a total rewiring and new wiper motor, not cheap either.

The car looks good and that's where the excitement ends.

This machine drinks more fuel than most cars I have encountered with engine capacities twice its size, about 18 miles per gallon.

The reliability of the car is beyond belief it has literally fallen to pieces around me in one expensive pile.

Off road performance is good, in some cases its better than the on road.

The low ratio four wheel drive offers enough torque to get you through most situations although its no land-rover.

On road performance is OK at low speeds, but on the motorway it has a tendency to veer in the crosswind.

Also on the motorway don't expect to go anywhere fast or cheap or with any weight in the vehicle or go long distance.

Put it this way a 670 mile round trip at 60 miles per hour, with the car fully laden and with no trailer managed to guzzle a tank and a half of petrol, that's 120 liters of petrol.

You get the picture.