1996 Ford Fiesta Ghia review from UK and Ireland

Water leak suspected to originate from aerial into interior light assembly.

Sunroof retainer screw threaded.

Overall in the time I've had the car I've been very impressed with the package.

Being a Ghia model it looks the part outside with alloys, front fogs and body-colour bumpers and door mirrors and, although the beigey interior is light and airy, the 'wood' trim on the dash looks wrong.

The car has everything you need including leccy windows and mirrors, PAS and remote locking, although on a top spec model, air and a CD would have been a bonus - Ford charge £400 plus for a CD changer, although the quality of the existing unit is rather good.

The 1.25 motor, whilst nippy around town, feels a little out of its depth on the motorway. It cruises well enough and is reasonably economical, if not superb, but the pick-up in 5th is sluggish, especially compared to the 1.4 model.

A rather firm ride is the pay-off for superb handling, especially shod with the low-profile 185-55s that come with the optional alloys. It also feels very stable at speed, although sometimes is vulnerable to being blown around at speed by trucks.

Overall, a very nice little car that can still cut the mustard even against today's opposition.

I don't suppose anyone else has suffered from a similar leak have they?