FORD FIESTA DIESEL 1.8 LX 5 DOOR

Advantages: CHEAP TO RUN, CHEAP SERVICING, CHEAP TO BUY
Disadvantages: SLOW, CAN BE CRAMPED

...I BOUGHT MY FIESTA ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO NOW AT A PRICE OF £1650 IT HAD DONE 68,000 MILES AND STILL RUNS A TREAT. Since then i have covered more than 30,000 miles and the only problem i have has was a seized front brake caliper, the reason for this was the fact the car was left stood for 6 weeks in portsmouth dockyard, the salt caused it to seize. It only cost me £100 for a new caliper, a pair of discs and brake pads. MAINTENANCE: I do most of the serviceing my self, i change the oil every 5000 miles this only cost £25 and is one of the best things you can do for a high milage diesel. I replace other consumables in accordance with ford and i buy the parts from Halfords. Timing belts should be changed every 70 miles according to FORD, this will cost you around £160 at a garage. As for tyre life i have done more then 20...

daniel_keenan_2004 13.04.2007 (08.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of Ford Fiesta 1.8 D

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

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

Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec C-MAX.

Advantages: Roomy, upmarket quality & quiet.
Disadvantages: Hand brake position needs getting used to.

...7 footers! Upholstery is plain side panels with inset silvery zig zag finish, it comes in 2 colours according to the paint colour.ie Dark has light upholstery & light has dark finish. TOYS, adjustable steering column, upwards & in & outwards. Intermittent variable wipers with the advantage of speed for front match the speed for the rear wiper. If the front wipers are on and you go into reverse the rear wiper automatically wipes. Built in computer, giving mileage, MPG, amount of fuel left in tank, average speed, low outside temp and for those of you that go abroad changeable miles to kilometres. The engine, comes in 1.6 petrol/1.6 turbo diesel, 1.8 petrol & 2litre turbo diesel. Rated at 110 BHP for 1.6's, 120 BHP and 136 BHP. Fuel consumption so far has been impressive, todate I am achieving 36-36.5 MPG. Mileage is now at 23...

Beefy 28.11.2003 (14.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 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

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

Toyota Celica 1.8 ST

Advantages: Sporty looking, quick, good fuel economy
Disadvantages: NONE!!

...The Toyota Celica 1.8 ST is a cracking car for the money that you pay. You can get an excellent conditon one for less that £4500!! I have had mine for 1 year now and am still having fun in it. It sticks to the road like glue! i have had it lowered but even with the standard shocks in had unbelievable handerling. If drove sensibley you can get 36-48 miles per gallon! which is great for a sports car! PERFORMANCE: Great performance. plently of power in the lower and higher gears. So far have had 130mph then ran out of road. lol. 0-60 in 8.9 secs which it ok for the weight of the car. LOOKS: The toyota Celica lookings a stunning car. it has great body shape. With the long bonnet and the lower front grill it really looks like a Japanese performancecar. Also with the rear spoiler. COMFORT: It is an extremly comfortable car with semi...

nishikoi2003 14.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Celica 1.8

Toyota Celica 1.8ST Veilside

Advantages: Looks gorgeous, roars when tickled
Disadvantages: A little old school

...In standard form the 1994-99 Celica is an elegant yet fast, reliable yet enjoyable car. Add a veilside kit, and some other "fast and furious" modifications and the result is outstanding. With a spare £3000 you can turn what is already an outstanding car into something that looks like it came alive at the last full moon. The 1.8ST is not the briskest of the bunch but insurance is incredibly reasonable and fuels not too bad either! Plus the amount of people who niavely confuse it with its Supra brother increases by the day. I purchased my 1996 car back in 2002 with an above average 103,000 on the clock. Since then it has been utterly transformed into a tarmac eating monster. On the whole it has been without problems and to the surprise of everyone (even myself occassionally) it has now covered in excess of 150,000. I cannot...

dunc85 12.05.2006 · Read review
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Review of Toyota Celica 1.8

Vauxhall Vectra 1.8i Club Hatchback

Advantages: Nice looking, good space, cheap to buy compared to similar vehicles
Disadvantages: slightly underpowered, expensive to run

...Previously owned a Ford Escort 1.6 16v EFI estate and I must say my first impressions of this car are that it is fantastic compared. We went to a car supermarket and saw this Vauxhall Vectra on a 51 plate (looks like a club rather than LS) with 15k on clock with a price tag of £4000. The car is a nice metallic burgundy in perfect condition with new tyres all around. Being a car supermarket you cannot haggle on price so I got them to double check the mileage as it is a 4 year old car. The mileage was correct so we snapped it up considering all my other cars were bought with 60,000+ miles on them. The car itself has a 1.8i 16v ecotek engine with apparently 122bhp. The features include airbags driver and passenger indash and in side of seats, air con, heated electric wing mirrors, electric windows(you can also close windows from...

lostsworld 15.05.2006 (21.08.2006) · Read review
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Review of Vauxhall Vectra 1.8i Hatchback