Toyota Avensis T4 Spirit Auto 1.8 saloon

Advantages: Great value for money, reliable, looks good, very safe car, loads of gizmos
Disadvantages: no rear wash/wipe, no MP3 dock, not brill on MPG, expensive parts

...the day - actually they seem to get dimmer at night when you put the headlights on. Hmm.. You can press the remote control thing twice and it double locks if you are outside the car (not if you are inside so the emergency services can get in more easily in a crash, apparently), child locks, and remote transponder key fob thingy. The bad things are the road noise is quite bad on some surfaces and the ride can be less than smooth at times. It doesn't exactly roar away at the lights with having only a 1.8 engine. Mind my last car had a 3 litre engine so I did notice the difference. It has a turbo thingy which gives it a bit of welly when you overtake on a motorway. It is a bit thirsty on the old petrol, being an automatic - it does about 25-30 MPG for me in town, about 35 if I'm on a motorway all tank, unless it's very uphill, when it...

sadoldbag 23.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Avensis 1.8 VVT-i Saloon

Volvo S40 1.8 AUTO

Advantages: Space, ride and comfort
Disadvantages: Running costs

...Having bought a nine year old a few months ago I didn't expect much, all I can say is I'm shocked - it looks stunning and hides its age very well, helped by the fact it remained on sale largely unchanged sice 2005. My needs were for a relaxed cruiser to drive from our home to my parents home 200 miles away. The car eats the miles effortlessly, and especially in automatic trim is a very relaxing drive. The main disadvantage - enhaced by the auto gearbox - is the fuel consumption, at 40mpg it is fine on a long motorway cruise, round town, however watch that petrol disappear at about 28mpg! One great advantage of that auto box however is the wonderful sport button by the shifter. The car drives relaxed and quiet, push that sport button and the 1.8 litre engine comes alive, the noise and pick up are superb, just keep an eye on that petrol...

leo85 22.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Volvo S40 1.8 

Audi A4 1.8SE Auto 4 Door

Advantages: Ride, Build Quality, Image, Looks, Equipment
Disadvantages: Rear Legroom, Running costs, Dull Handling

...Here's my first ever review (again - sorry for posting it in the wrong section before!) I've had my 1998 Audi A4 1.8SE Auto 4 door for 4 months now and it still puts a smile on my face. Whether it's the solid 'thunk' of the doors closing, or the gorgeous tone of the superb 'Concert' stereo, the Audi continues to be a car I will never regret buying. I purchased privately from a family who had cherished the car - it came in superb condition, with low mileage, and a full Audi service history. The light green (Jasper Green) really looks great when I've thrown the sponge on it, and the standard 16" alloys do a good job of setting the car off. It's by no means a perfect car though. The rear legroom is really poor, and the boot openning isn't too clever either - I'd have had an Avant if I could have afforded one. The handling is...

NorwichRicky 20.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Audi A4 1.8

Focus 1.8 TDCi - a great not so little car

Advantages: Fantastically economical for its class
Disadvantages: High torque from engine can be expensive on tyres

...I've had a Focus 1.8 TDCi for a little over a year, following a two year stint from a Fiat so I may be a little over enthusiastic about the Focus! However, I've been driving for over 20 years (Oh God that long...) and have driven a silly number of cars over this time. I think I've found a car I finally can settle with for at least the rest of the finance term!!! Which is unusual as I get bored very quickly! The feel of the car overall is one of comfort but without the disconnected feel you can get in some larger cars and you really can have the confidence in the motor to pull hard when you need it. Inside, the car feels roomy for its class and the seats seem to hug you quite nicely. I used to have to sit at a slight angle in many of my older cars to reach pedals and steer yet in the Focus I can sit in a relatively normal position...

S1monPage69 12.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Hatchback

The nikon 50mm 1.8 - a fantastic portrait lens

Advantages: great quality, low price, prime
Disadvantages: none

...As anyone interested in photography will know - lenses don't come cheap, especially quality lens, except this one. The 50mm 1.8 has a reputation for quality at a reasonable price and it's a reputation well deserved. Yes the 50mm is a 'small' lens but it's a prime lens. Some may find that the need for them to move forwards or backwards to get the correct composition for a photograph is too irritating to make the purchase worthwhile over that of a zoom lens but the increase of quality combined with the price makes that an opinion that I beg to differ. If you shoot portraits, or are looking to start then the 50mm 1.8 will prove an invaluable piece of equipment, but it's uses are not limited to portraits only. At 1.8 the 50mm is a fast lens however it dies have a counterpart - the 50mm 1.4. The 1.4 is, by comparison, alot more expensive...

Huomenna 23.09.2009 (24.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of Nikon Nikkor lens - 50 mm F/1.8

My little MGF 1.8 VVC

Advantages: Looks great, quick!
Disadvantages: Can leak, back window can be 'cloudy'

...therefore we go by what we have. We saw an R reg basic 1.8i for 12,500. WHAT! The Parkers price guide suggested around £10,000 for A1 condition - this certainly was not! Dodgy paintwork & the seals around the window were coming of slightly (something you must check). You have to know there are 3 different models. The 1.8i, the 1.8i steptronic and the 1.8i VVC. What does the VVC have that the others don't? Well for a more expensive model you would expect some extras. With the VVC you get 5 spoke alloys instead of six. PAS as standard rather than an option, ABS as standard rather than an option. Leather seats, and of course the Valve system, this is similar to a V-Tech engine (if you know what one of those is!) I'm not too techie with cars and don't really know what that means apart from where the standard 1.8i starts tailing off...

Redhead 27.06.2002 · Read review
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Review of MGF Roadster 1.8

Vauxhall Zafira Elegance 1.8

Advantages: Roomy, easy to drive and fairly economical
Disadvantages: Horrible blind spot and electrically unreliable

...I have owned my Zafira (elegance 1.8) for coming up to 3 years. It is a V reg. and has been a lovely vehicle to drive, comfortable and easy to get passengers in and out. Children love it due to the height and added visibility for them. The 7 seats have been a godsend at times, but having to remove the boot cover bar each time and store it at home can be a pain in the proverbial. The boot space with 5 seats is very spacious, but minimal with 7. I do have a huge concern with the visibility from the windscreen ,on each side, due to the roof support blocking a significant amount at certain times, e.g turning out from a junction. I've only had one near miss (that was one to many for my liking) and the experience taught me to be even more vigilant when checking the coast is clear. This is a common complaint from others I know who...

007addict 16.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Vauxhall Zafira 1.8i

MGF 1.8 - REWRITE

Advantages: Good looking, fast, good handling
Disadvantages: Requires careful maintenance

...This was my very first opinion on Ciao, and I thought that now I have had a touch more experience writing I would take a chance and re-write. So here goes… My husband convinced me to buy an MGF when I was looking for a new car in October 2000. Well he didn’t have to twist my arm that hard, but having always been quite ‘sensible’ in my choice of car, it was a big step for me to even consider being behind the wheel of a little sporty number! I had in mind another small car to replace the Vauxhall Corsa I had at the time, and was considering a Ford focus, Renault Clio or similar. I reconsidered and decided that it was about time that I had a fun car, and we bought a 4-year-old MGF from a car supermarket in Birmingham. We had the choice of three MGFs. We eventually settled on the Red 1.8 model, which suited...

Shufflebum 02.10.2001 (24.02.2002) · Read review
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Review of MGF Roadster 1.8

MX5 1.8 Sport

Advantages: Dead easy to drop the top (and put it up again)
Disadvantages: Fuel economy coulld be better

...For the Summer I purchased a second hand MX5 1.8 Sports. It was 4 years old and had the matching hard top as well as the permanently fitted cloth soft top. I had done my home work and this was the one that every review was recommending. It is one of the limited edition Sports and as such comes with leather heated seats. First things first, off came the hard top and into storage until winter. The hard top was very simple to remove and the soft top just flips up and down. However neither my wife or I can pull the soft top up when sitting in the seats. One of us has to get out. Both the hard top and soft top have a heated rear window which is essential and in a two seater cabin. The fold up rear wind deflector is not that good so long hair still gets blown forward. Top Gear did an effective demonstration of the difference...

ForlornHope 23.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Mazda MX-5 1.8i

Almera 1.8s for me!

Advantages: A womans car for sure!
Disadvantages: None that I can find.

...Newmarket in it, in a hurry and with the cd player blasting out. What a lovely car I thought, and today just over a year later I still think that about this car. In 1914 the first cars were made in Japan, they have come a long way since then I can tell you. So, lets look to see what my money got me! It is black, it is sleek, it has a dog guard and space for two largish dogs in the back, it seats five adults although the three in the back are more comfortable if they are fairly short. My six foot two inch daughter in law moans like heck when she has to sit in there but she does manage it. To me it looks like a powerful car, I wanted this one to be a he but unfortunately after years of calling my cars she, I couldn't manage to change so a girl car for the girls (old ones) to drive. It has a 1.8 fuel injected engine. This is...

solamarie 16.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Nissan Almera 1.8 16v Hatchback