1995 Ford Fiesta Sapphire review from UK and Ireland

Sills rusting and corroding (failed last MOT because of it) ; general rust on wheel arches etc...

Back windscreen wiper sometimes doesn’t like to work if it is very cold - though it had only happened on 2 occasions in the past year - it sorts itself out by the next day normally though.

Also, the boot lock doesn’t open with the key anymore, I have to use the boot release button, which can be annoying if I don’t want to drive the car and only access the boot, as I have to open the car doors, reach in, press the button, lock the doors again, etc...

Apart from these things it never fails to start first time I have not had any problems with it.

This fiesta is my first car and I paid £795 for it last year (overpriced - but it was very tidy for its age)

I have spent a lot of time on it - tidying it up, getting rid of rust, trying new cleaning products and engine cleaners on it (that have made a lot of difference) - but I see this as a way to spend time/hobby rather than it being a nucence - though I am a student and have a lot of free time - to a busier person who just wants to get in a car and not have to mend it this would not be a good thing.

I think the car looks nice - in terms of design, mine is a royal blue colour and I think mark 3 fiestas after the revision/update (94-95) look better than the mark 4's - they look like a bloated fish!

Visibility is excellent, much better than modern cars that seem to have triangle shaped windows!!! I was amazed betting in an older car how much simpler they are designed, and easier to control and see out of - and I think its for the better - I think simplicity is better than gadgets when it comes to driving sometimes.

Also, looking at my fiesta's history, it seems to fail the emissions test of the MOT often, though it passed when the garage used some fuel cleaner on it - no a big problem to sort out, but I would recommend just buying some fuel cleaner from Halfords for £4.99 or so just before the MOT, to help it through the emissions test.

Comfort is actually good for a small car, not great but good for its size, the mark 4 is better though, so I wouldn’t recommend this as a family car, the boot is a decent size as well.

Performance is average - for a 1.1 its fine, though I drive alone a lot of the time, so acceleration is fine then (even slip roads for motorways or dual carriageways, mine doesn’t struggle tooooo much - it just about manages to keep up), though when I have a 2nd passenger or 3 people I do notice a big difference in performance, again I wouldn’t recommend this as a family car for performance - it's a 1 or 2 people car really.

So, I would recommend this as a first car, student car or cheap town run-around - though don’t expect it to be the kind of car that will keep itself sorted out - you will have to pay attention to it to make sure you don’t overlook any problems, though if you like cars then this shouldn’t be a problem.