> a. Was air con standard on any models - did it only come on the 1.8
> or was it optional on all? How easy is it to find - I can find very
> few that have it - and is it still likely to work after 9 or 10 years?

Apologies but I don't know about A/C, I have a V6 without A/C

> b. How economical are they to run? If I have it as my main car I'll
> be doing mainly motoroway driving but not hammering it.

I get about 30 MPG

> c. How reliable are they? Are there any known faults to look out for?

Mine is a '92, so a very early model, but I've had it a year and it
has never "broken down" on me (touch wood). Don't get me wrong, I've
needed work done on it (minor service stuff and CV joints) and it's
not cheap on labour and parts but it's never just stopped working on me.

> d. I've seen references to them in caribbean blue. I thought they
> only came in red, white, black, silver & green as standard, can
> anyone tell me what shade of blue this is? I did a quick search
> online but couldn't find any pictures.

??? Try auto trader, they seem to appear in phases so keep an eye on
it. www.autotrader.co.uk


Hope that answers atleast some of your questions!

Chris