2.2 Sports Luxury Diesel Estate

Hugely enjoyable and pleasurable to drive. Absolutely faultless in terms of reliability

I went to the local dealer planning to talk turkey about a price for mid-spec' 2.2D. They had just put a price ticket on their 2 week/15 miles old demonstrator! I was a bit surprised but a test drive hooked me. Thus I got a high-spec' 180 Sport 2.2D for the price of the entry-level no-options model. Their loss, my gain.
The car is now nearly one year old and going in for it's first 12k mile service next week. The first time that I have been back to the dealer. The car has been absolutely faultless. Not a single niggle, squeak, rattle, bulb, nothing at all.
If it's boringly reliable (I'm not complaining - not after the piece of garbage Renault that the Mazda replaced), it is great to drive.
The engine is a peach. At 70mph it is turning under 2000 rpm. The engine is hugely flexible and will pootle along at close to 1k rpm in 6th gear. The gearchange is very slick, even when cold. No need to stir it through; pick-up is instant from 1.5k rpm in any gear so it will leap forward and overtake instantly.
Was a bit concerned about the oil, especially reading the reports of others in this forum. I had to make two 250ml top-ups in the first 3k miles (and that's not cheap oil!). However, since then I have not had to touch it.
The ride is just on the firm side of okay on rough surfaces, possibly due to the low-profile tyres on those 18-inch wheels and/or the sporty suspension. But on most roads it's fine and the grip and handling when I am feeling naughty is outstanding. Was worried about the comfort from those thin sports seats, but a 500 mile jaunt across France with only two 30-min breaks gave zero aches.
The leather of the seats in the rear is very plasticky, but practical and easy to clean. The boot is huge and the flat-folding seats are great.
Love the Bose stereo system. For a music-head like me, it's heaven.
Only gripe has been the lack of spare wheel and the garbage jack. I purchased a spare full-size wheel. It requires the removal of the huge lump of polystyrene that fills the spare wheel well under the boot. That only took seconds, but the lump supports the floor panel. Fix required £5 for a length of of 2x1 wood and 30 lins of my time.
Total average fuel consumption over the 12k miles has been 38mpg. Which I'm very happy with given the performance under your right foot.

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