I have now had my Marea 1.6 for about 16 months, and am still very impressed with the overall performance. It was bought second hand for £7995, when the current price for the new model was in the region of £12000, so I thought the price was good.
The interior of the car is very comfortable, and more than spacious enought for the average family size - with my 2 little monsters and almost half the toys they own in the back, we can still have a comfortable ride.
I found the cubbyhole to be smaller than I would like, with only enought space for the logbook and not much more. Definitely room for improvement there. The leg room in front and back is good - with all the adults in my family being around the 6foot mark, I should know!! The boot space is sufficient for the normal grocery loads, and/or baggage for short holidays, but not quite enough for longer holidays(and the larger suitcases that go with!). This is covered in the fact that the car comes standard with roof racks, so we bought a roof carrier for less than £100, which gives you more than enough room - even for all the toys owned by the kids(!), and the assorted suitcases. The roof racks are designed in such a way that they do not deter from the car's streamlined look, but rather enhance it. What is very convenient is that the tail gate opens down to allow you easier access into the boot. The back seats fold down allowing extra load space, and what I find usefull is that they fold down individually.
I am very comfortable with the road handling, and for want of a better phrase will have to say that it "sticks like glue to the road". DH enjoys putting a car through its paces, and after closing my eyes on a few occasions, I am now quite happy that the car can handle very well, even in wet conditions. (We will not comment too much about slipping down an ice encrusted hill in the middle of winter.)
The fuel consumption is only slightly better than average for short journeys, at roughly 10km to the litre, but is excellent on longer journeys - I recently did 450 miles on a tank of £40.(and may I add that I tend to have a, er, slightly heavy foot when it comes to long distance driving(cough))
The only problem I have had was at the cars first MOT this year, when they found that the rear exhaust was loose, but not a problem, I was told, we can just weld it back for you. Ok, said I, and when got home was yelled at by hubby!! True enough, days after a 600mile journey(on 1,5 tanks I do need to remind you)the rear exhaust fell right off!! Apparently, DH informs me you can't weld exhausts as they could bend and cause stress elswhere.(mm, ok then) So the major expenses to date, at a total of 42000 miles is replacing the exhaust and rear brake pads. This apart from 2 services at £120 each.(in my 16 months at any rate - log book shows 7 services before my time)
I am dissapointed that the exhaust system barely lasted 3 years, but other than that I am most impressed with this vehicle.(kids love it too)
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Great review and great car. Oh and anyone who 'doesn't like Fiats etc' WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! Stop living 30years in the past! As this reviewer says they are v reliable low cost excellent cars and run more reliable than all german cars these days. Great review keep up the good work. Mike
Luigi 13.08.2002 05:42
I'm fairly biased towards things Italian, but this does dound like a great car.
LostWitness 08.08.2002 14:38
Very competent review. I must say that I don't like these cars, but then my needs are probably very different. Plenty of good "consumerist" info here.
Aug 8th, 2002
(Jul 10th, 2004)
very helpful by (96%):
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