My sister had an original model Excel. It ran IMPECCIBLY neglected (like most single women's cars) for around 8 years before she forgot to fill the radiator. Boiled it dry. Repaired it, and it ran another 2 years before a piston popped out while driving back from Brisbane. It ran on 3 - at a horrendous noise - all the way from about Glasshouse Mountains to Mooloolaba. Replaced the engine for $1500, and it kept going.
Same sister now has an i20. She HATES it, but she was used to the i30 she had in Singapore. Reckons it's gutless, but she's used to it now. They also have a Terracan (bad name for a car - Terracan is close enough to the Russian word for cockroach! Then again, the Mitsubishi Pajero is NOT a good name in Spanish!).
I had a rental i20 when we had the VW given it's 250,000km overhaul. It was OK, once you got used to it being pretty sluggish torque wise, and it is noisey inside. I was happy when the rental people traded me up gratis for a new Camry
Town car - GREAT. Highway/Roadtrip...NOPE.