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Ran across this while looking at some hypermodding tips and thought I'd drag it out of the graveyard and give my $.02.
The car isn't too bad overall. Great build quality, very reliable, and functional even at highway speeds (I can maintain 80mph up a pretty steep central PA mountain grade with no problem). There are problems however, the tiny 78" wheelbase makes for some bumps that feel like all four wheels them at the same time and definitely upset the suspension when doing so, also I agree MPG could be better. My wife drive it to work over the mountain in good weather daily and gets between 38mpg and 41mpg with tires inflated to 38psi warm and on 87 octane (car actually has 11.5:1 compression), however when I drive it, I'm more of a "foot to the floor" kind of driver as I drive an average of less than 5 miles weekly so when I get in a car I do it for enjoyment. So far with that persona of driving I'm getting anywhere form 30mpg to 33mpg, but that's foot on the floor around the mountain roads in Central PA. The other item I mention is the lack of 4th person seating. I'm 6'4" tall and 240lbs. and I can easily sit behind myself on the passenger side, however my niece who's 5 years old can barely fit behind me on the drivers side in her booster. Also if she, myself, my wife and our other niece where to get into the car together there is VERY little room for cargo. Mostly laps, center blank area between front seats, and area under passenger legs/seat (no tray installed). So, next to nothing. As far as fun to drive characteristics it's not as bad as all the reviews say. It pulls odd on a skidpad for whatever reason and similar in my experience in my one SCCA event with Volk TE37 205/50/15 Advan Neo (specs say .84g left and .77 right), but with good tires it seemed pretty responsive albeit slow. I've never taken it to a drag strip, but according to motorweek, it runs 17.4 @ 80mph, not too shabby for 89tq and 94hp, partially it's because the CVT has an alternating final gear up to 5.40. In any case, it's become my play toy since you can get them for $5k to $9k with low mileage. Europe has had them on their list of most reliable cars for the last few years, bouncing between 1st and 3rd. Anyway, like I said, just my $.02.
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