1.5iVTEC SE 5dr

Underwhelming

Decent crossover and load lugger (don't be fooled into thinking this is a 4x4 - it isn't). 1.5 petrol (no turbo) is woefully under-powered and you'll find yourself dropping down to overtake or to climb anything approaching a decent incline.

The infotainment system seems to be based on an ancient version of android and is truly abominable - very difficult to navigate with a lot of screen lag and a touch screen that only works sometimes; bluetooth connection also very intermittent.

Overall driving experience is OK, front seat passenger comfort also reasonable, rear seat experience is dark, dismal, low down and generally vomit-inducing, so if you have queasy rear-seat passengers you might want to give this a miss.

As another reviewer wrote, the eco button is a pointless gimmick as is the stop/start feature (which doesn't work half the time anyway). Automatic lights don't always come on when I think they should and auto beam is always a touch too late to dip which means I get regularly flashed by oncoming drivers - not good. Tyre pressure sensors that measure the relative camber of the wheel are a spectacular fail on Welsh roads with the car telling me I had a flat when I didn't (Google it).

Windscreen washers are hopeless and clog all the time (I am now on my third set in four years) as they cannot be unclogged because their design is infuriatingly over complicated. Air con is pretty poor (had to be re-gassed twice so I have since given up with it).

What's to like - well you could probably move house in it at a pinch with the back seats down, it will swallow an awful lot of stuff and it's relatively reliable - certainly no major issues in four years but you'll struggle to love it. Its external looks certainly flatter to deceive but at least the brakes are sharp and the anti roll back feature works well (provided you remember to turn it on).

Other things to watch include parking sensors which you can easily disable if you press the wrong button by accident - very easily done and also check they are on after it has been serviced (yep - that happened to me and I almost reversed into a bollard as a result). Also another crazy feature are folding mirrors that fold in for no apparent reason whatsoever and then refuse to fold out again - although you really have to experience that on a motorway at 70mph to get the full impact!

So in summary if you're after a thoroughly average, if slightly underwhelming, car that looks far better than it really is - and you regularly transport shed loads of stuff - this may be the perfect car for you.

Btw - did I mention it was cheap... ;-)

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