great engines imho. my mum had a 1.8 lx (same year as my 2l) and i learnt to drive on that and drove it the first 2 years i was on the road and the 2l certainly is quicker! also has a stronger gearbox although the ratios are different to the 1.8. fuel consumption wise i get 31mpg from mixed roads and mixed driving moods so not too bad.

engine mods for mine are magnecore kv85 leads, k&n pannel filter and a big pipe from lower grill to intake on air box, and milltek cat back system. goes very well and went even better (and sounded better) with a 4-2-1 manifold on although thats come off now as it was very old and has now rusted through. personally i wouldn't bother with a standard st170 cat back exhaust. with my current mods i recon i'm up only 5bhp from standard maybe a little more. the manifold added a good 10bhp ontop of that.

iirc those bosch super 4 plugs have the 4 electrodes. personally i don't like them as its only advantage is extended service intervals but stops you from gapping them properly. i've always used ngk platinums gapped to 1mm and never had any problems!

2 worth while mods are braided brake lines and st170 front hubs and brakes (or you can fit mondeo mk3 callipers). takes the standard shit setup (that i cooked on the 1.8 just with spirited driving down lanes) from 258mm to 300mm. with a decent set of discs and pads all round its awsome!

mines on 107k, has an oil and filter change every 5k (as i do the odd track day and like a spirited drive) and i've replaced a few tyred components so is going VERy strong!

good luck with yours and any problems send me a pm. i've solved a few including last week the pas high pressure pipe to pump joint leak which you can;t get new seals for unless you spend £95 on a new pipe aswell. i fixed mine with an o-ring and a bit of ptfe tape for about 2p