The older generation seem to love these cars and it is fairly obvious why - they don't have to do many miles in them. My colleague owns this car; I am a frequent driver and probably even more frequent passenger...so I thought I would share my experiences.

Bad points: The earlier ones have headlights which the plastic melts and the bulbs fall out and the only solution is to buy a light from a newer model where the problem has been fixed. the headlights are so dim I would go as far to say they are almost dangerous at night if the conditions are't great. An Austin Maxi glove box light is distinguishly brighter.

It is horridly slow. 0-60 in 13 seconds. Virtually everything on the road is faster...vans, little old fiestas...you name it - they will beat you to that slip road. Don't try overtaking unless you have nerves of steel or a very big space! It really does feel like you are going to meet death in this car its so mind numbingly boring. The parcel shelf has a habit of popping out the hinges when opening the boot so had to take it off as it was getting stressful. You cannot close the boot without touching the outside of it. The buttons on the radio are so small you end up doing things you dont want to do and the radio seems to enable features without you knowing it. It is a single click on the key-fob to unlock the drivers door and 2 clicks to unlock all the doors. Why on earth would you want this facility? Who thought of that...its rubbish! The keyfob broke after 60,000 miles. The drivers seat is starting to squeek and they are generally uncomfortable. The cubby hole by the handbrake has broke off. Plastics in the interior look like they have been made up from squished up rejected toys from Kinder Eggs. Handling seems very aged and wallowy with plenty of understeer whenever the opportunity arises. The backlights for the heater controls etc died pretty early on and all of the controls seem pretty vague and cheap. The centre consol falls of if you clean it a bit too rigorously. Visibilty, aided by the wide pillars at the front and the curved roofline which gives it a very small screen at the back, is rubbish. No matter how hard you try, you cannot get a standard drinks size bottle to fit anywhere.

Good Points: The brakes seem very good. It is an in-offensive design and will blend in to any quiet suburb. Perfect if you are not doing many miles and just want a cheap car. It has only broken down once (clutch@ about 75K) in 123000 miles so I would say it is pretty damn reliable. The remote central locking has a brilliant range! Cup holders (actually I take that back because they are annoying to use). It has a odd thing at kneww heigh on the dash that opens out to be a little clip. Perhaps this is for hanging a handbag on..one day I will find it's use and I am sure it will be a good point. Clutching at strings a bit here.

Overall: If you are after a good all round car of this size, buy a Focus or infact anything else. If you want a cheap runabout, and especially so because they have high depreciation, get an Almera.