1.4 Acenta 5dr Hatchback

Total reliability, cheap to run but maybe a bit boring and not perfect

In terms of reliability and cost effectiveness this is a great car, both to buy and to run. It's over a year since I bought it and all I have replaced is wear and tear items - two front tyres and brake pads and discs. At the moment the heatshield on the downpipe is a bit rattly and the front right brakes are squeaking but should be easy DIY fixes - annoying all the same.

It is a fairly simple car so self servicing is easy, but also cheap enough to have a local mechanic do it as I wouldn't go to the expense of main dealer servicing on a car this simple. The Acenta, being mid range, is adequetly equipped - no sat nav but bluetooth which makes a genuine difference, air con, electric windows all round and light electric power steering.

The 1.4 is zippy enough in all conditions but better suited to town driving. We record 45mpg consistently with pretty much all town driving and plenty of air con (as it can get a bit steamy) which is good enough for me, although £140ish tax is a bit annoying.

What I like is the versatile interior - double glovebox, air con glovebox, double floored boot, underseat storage, sliding rear bench which you can still sit in fully forward, drivers armrest. Simple and easy to operate, nice big mirrors for good rear vision, and has never missed a beat and doesn't use oil/water etc. Easy for the home mechanic and most consumables will be cheap, as is the insurance.

What I don't like so much is the generally cheap feel of the car, nothing has broke but it feels a bit thin. It is the only car I have sat in with the seat fully slid back - and at 6 foot hardly a giant so taller drivers beware. The rest of the drivers seat doesn't really adjust greatly either and if you rest your head on the headrest you can feel the bottom of the two legs pushing into your back (gently) which again feels a bit cheap.

So maybe not perfect, but when comparing to my previous Grand Voyager which was awesomely equipped but dreadfully expensive to run, insure and tax and developed plenty of simple but expensive faults which local mechanics couldn't fathom - the Note is just stress and worry free in comparison so maybe a bit boring isn't too bad!

To reiterate the main selling point of this car for me - absolute relability whatever the conditions.

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