What are these like folks?A friend is thinking of buying one for his wife to replace a Mercedes A160. He has been recommended Skoda buy countless people so is going to have a look at a couple. Any known problems with the box? I know it is only a 75 bhp as for some reson they didn't put the 100 BHP in the auto (why). Looks a bit sluggish on paper though.

Hello,

i've owned and example of this particular model from new, in 2001.

This engine and gearbox need revs to avoid annoying sluggishness, so if you have a need for torque filled midrange and aren't prepared to use the kickdown on the gearbox then it might not be a pleasing package. However the engine is smooth and carries the revs well, so if you don't mind carrying the revs it is a fairly nippy car and cruises well at up to 100mph or so.

Cruising at 50mph, the engine in my car just suffered a catastrophic failure, the piston ring seems to have disintergrated, siezed the piston in the block which led to the con rod snapping and punching a hole the size of a matchbox in the front of the engine!

This at 53,000 miles, main dealer servicing throughout, so be warned, these engines do fail entirely and more commonly suffer worn or cracked piston rings, it's an ongoing issue.

I hope this helps.