1989 Ford Fiesta L review from UK and Ireland

One of the front suspension coil springs was broken when I bought it so it tilted to one side. It needed a mechanic to take it apart and fix it, but wasn't expensive to do so.

The rear suspension was shot in that you could move the wheels laterally by pushing and pulling at them. Needed a bush replaced - wasn't difficult.

The rear de-mister doesn't work. The light comes on in the dashboard, but nothing happens back there.

Rust doesn't even begin to describe the bodywork problems, but with a little filler, some spray paint and a wire brush, I'll have it looking as good as new.

This car was bought for the sole purpose of doing a lot of miles to get to and from work. It serves its purpose well. It does 90 miles a day, and hasn't given me any problems yet.

The fuel economy on this is unbelievable. It does about 550 miles on one tank of diesel. I still can't get over it. It does tend to drink a little of you thrash it, so keep it at half gas and you'll be OK.

The performance on this thing is shockingly poor. Not that I expected too much, but you really have to push it to get up a hill of any description, and there is really no point in having the 5th gear. It will hold a reasonable speed (60-80mph) on a flat, but I'd hate to be stuck behind it.