Advantages: Spacious, Volvo Safety, Road Holding, Reliability
Disadvantages: Underpowered, Comfort, MPG

...I like Volvos. I would hope so now that I have owned 6 of them starting with a lovely, quick Volvo 360 GLT, through the 4 series, S40, etc I bought this V40 1.6 about 12 months ago as I 'needed' a car to get my dog around in after trading my Isuzu Trooper for a Mazda RX8. I didnt want to spend too much on a second car having just splashed out on the Mazda with the 'must have' toys', much to my wifes disaproval. After several fruitless searches of local garages I bumped into an old school friend at the Volvo dealership who introuduced me to this car which they had just taken in. It seemed to fit the bill nicely. It was an estate, ideal for the dog, and was in the price bracket I was looking at. After a test drive, the deal was done So, enough waffling, what are my views of the car. Lets look first at the exterior The car... Read review

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Advantages: Super safe, stunning looks.
Disadvantages: MPG isn't the best

...As a current owner of a 1.6 S40, I would like to share with you the joys of this car. The car is super safe, after all Volvo does mean "Rolling Iron", so you can expect all the safety features your dear old Granddad expected from his first Volvo. It all depends on what you are looking to get from your vehicle. If you are looking for complete peace of mind, knowing that should the worst come to the worst, you will be safe, then this is your car. If you are looking for a car that has stunning looks and decent performance, this is your car. Ok, so fuel consumption is not the best with this car, but that is to be expected. It is a 1.6, so it won't have the same MPG as your 1.0 run-around. It is also quite a heavy car, another sign of its immense safety. Take the versions with a few extras and this car soon becomes just as luxurious... Read review

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Advantages: Stunningly good looking, well sought after - easy to sell on, definitely get more then you paid for if you've done the research
Disadvantages: Audi servicing and parts pricey, steep insurance, overall maintenance expensive

...First and foremost, do your research, I bought my car in October 2003 from a second hand dealer advertised in the newspaper for £8695, whilst on my search saw the same car advertised over the Internet for £8400, finally managed to negotiate a price of £8200 once informing the dealer of my ability to take the car of his hands that same day and also informing him I was a serious buyer who had done my research! Alas, a year later an identical car was on private sale priced at £6000 slightly higher mileage but none the less the owner was ready to take £5,500 - research, research and... The Audi A3 1.6 Sport is a stunner, although could be a smoother drive such as his rival the 1.8, although the difference in cost does not justify the 1.8 making the 1.6 a favourite. Moreover the 1.6 handles the road exceptionally well ensuring... Read review

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Advantages: excellent steering and handling; looks good
Disadvantages: now feeling rather old; some quality and electrical niggles

...The Peugeot 306 1.6XS is a three-door model. I am reviewing a 1996 "pre-facelift" model. I was looking to replace my Ford Escort 1.6Si with something of a similar size that was fun to drive. I was after a car that was reasonably nippy, had cheap insurance and would be reliable for a weekly commute between Kent and Cornwall for several months. One of the cars I had in mind was the Peugeot 306, and specifically the 1.6XS model - an average model in terms of spec and performance, but with some sporty overtones. One day, I came across a nice-looking, red 306 for the right price, and found that it was the exact model! When I purchased the car in January 2002, it had done 38,000 miles in about six years. As of March 2006, it has covered 102,000 miles. Driving Right from the moment I got my hands on the car's controls... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, Fast, Good quality, Good handling...
Disadvantages: Can be prone to rust, like all other MK3's

...came in two forms, a 1.4 (75hp - ins. grp 7) and a 1.6 (90hp - ins. grp 8). The 1.6 was the quicker, more popular and more powerful of the two, and that is the one I'm going to deal with in this review. like the 1.4, the 1.6 has a zetec engine, which is light, revvy, and offers a very good power to displacement ratio. The engine itself is tried and tested and is a very solid 16valve, twin cam unit. Overall a very good unit to power the light and nimble chassis / body. The car has looks to match the performance with a very good looking bodykit, perhaps one of the best Ford have ever produced for one of their cars, providing some rounded edges on an otherwise very early 90' looking motor. This along with the mini spoiler and optional 14" alloy wheels made this a very sporty looking car, and thus appealing to its desired market of young... Read review

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Advantages: Looks, reliability, performance, economy
Disadvantages: some little niggles (see text)

...The 1.6 civic sport is now the second civic I've owned from new and there are a number of reasons why I've stayed faithful to the Honda brand. Honda engines are very reliable and I have yet to have any problems in this regard. Moreover, the dealers are generally easily accessible and most offer a relatively high level of customer service throughout - whether your car's in for a service or just a new set of wiper blades. The 1.6 engine, as well as being reliable is also economical. I drive the car pretty hard and it still returns in the region of 32 mpg which is pretty good going. Less 'spirited' driving returns an mpg closer to 36. A full tank of petrol comes in at around £35.00 for me and that's at around 85p per litre. I've had the car 9 months now and it's covered around 14k miles. In this time it's had its first service at 12... Read review

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Advantages: Economical and environmentally friendly
Disadvantages: Sometimes finding those autogas filling stations is a challenge

...THE VAUXHALL ZAFIRA The Vauxhall Zafira was launched in 1999 with the 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrol or 2.0 Di diesel engines. Air conditioning was standard in all but the entry level model. However, in 2000 the entry or base level was discontinued and the Zafira was left with the Club, Comfort and Elegance models. In April 2002 the Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) / petrol dual fuel option was introduced with a 1.8 litre engine and by August 2002 a 1.6 litre LPG dual fuel option arrived in Comfort trim only. Later in the year there were 1.6 and 1.8-litre LPG Design dual fuel models available. The Zafira was innovative when it was launched. Seven seats over three rows were squeezed into the people carrier, but due to the pioneering Flex7 system, you could fold up to five of them to suit any journey. Safe handling is also ideal for drivers... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap to buy
Disadvantages: a little tinkering maybe.

...Hi, I've had a couple of escorts, both N reg, one a Mexico 1.6, the other a 1.6 SI, sold both recently. Mileage 84,000 and 63,000 respectively. Both cars had minor probs, but nothing major. Tickover could be erratic, upto 2000 rpm and down to 50 rpm! on both cars, but not effecting normal open road driving, which on both cars was excellent and never missed a beat. The tickover always fixed itself by turning off engines and restarting, and was ok for a week or so. Apparently a simple repair could resolve but never bad enough to warrant cost! Rocker gasket leaks, easy to fix as long as u have a star bolt kit to remove the throttle bracket, spark plugs can stick (long service item) so loosen off every six months and re- tighten, NEVER cold start and only leave engine on for a couple of seconds!!! let it run until... Read review

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Advantages: Fuel Economy, Nippy, Very good handling, Build Quality, Price,
Disadvantages: New model fiesta due end 2008, so poss depreciation increase

...Bought a pre-reg 2008 57 plate with delivery miles for £9799. List of nearly 14k!!! would be a bit steep but a bargain at the price I paid! After vowing never to buy another ford 7 years ago, I test drove one of these and it was instantly sold to me. It was a three way split decision for me between this, a Seat Ibiza 1.4td ecomotive and the new 1.4d Mazda2. Seat had the fuel economy, good ride but cheap feel to the build. Mazda was fantastic ride, well built (it is on the new fiestas chassis) but underpowered. The Fiesta though, was surprisingly well built, very nippy, handled very well and came with many more toys for the price!!! Only down side is that this mark is 6 months from being changed (but this only matters to the fashion concious) But this is also a major plus as the deals you can get are far far better than the competition... Read review

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Advantages: Nippy, Great looks, Reliable, Fantastic handling and Ford's best interior. Ultimate hot hatch!
Disadvantages: Can rust, similar to any Fiesta really.

...into a corner, you can feel exactly how the car will respond, as you are cornering, and you can feel if and when you're going to lose it, but from my experience it's proven to be extremely forgiving! The 1.6 litre 16v zetec happily purrs underneath the bonnet quite happily minding it's own business when driving sensibly, but if you plant your right foot, the melody can be heard for miles, and the sound is nothing less of the finest music - it has a real throaty roar, and you can constantly feel the torquey engine pulling and pulling. Most of the power is in the high rev range being 16 valve, and it will happily rev up to 6,500rpm in every gear. It was always much quicker than the figures on paper for the 1.6 16v - it's performance far exceeds the recorded 0-60 times and top speeds - on my Si that was 13 years old I recorded a clean 8.5 second 0... Read review

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