320 CDI Elegance Auto Estate

Practical, comfortable, but not that reliable

I changed to this car after having a very reliable example of the previous model (210 series), which unfortunately rusted terribly. I had slight reservations in that I did not feel the 211 series drove as well as its predecessor, but it did have a galvanised body so should not be rust prone. I had a very good, trouble -free first year of ownership, but was beset by reliability problems throughout the second year.

Good points: nice looking car both inside and out, reasonable performance, comfortable seats, excellent load capacity with back seats down, galvanised body so no rust.

Bad points: although body galvanised, alloy wheels still very prone to corrosion, ride quality not as good as predecessor, fuel economy disappointing and a long way off the manufacturers figures, quite a number of very common reliability problems most of which I encountered (e.g. electrical problems, collapsed coil springs).

Overall I never fell in love with this car, and the frequency of trips to the garage during the second year of ownership was just too much. The post-facelift cars with the V6 engine are allegedly more reliable, but some problems such as collapsing coil springs persisted until the end. The reliability issues would prevent me recommending one of these to a prospective buyer.

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