2001 Ford Fiesta Zetec review from UK and Ireland

From driving it out of the showroom, the dealer had neglected to repair a broken rear-window heater switch. It had to go back for repair. Also, when I received the car, it had not been valeted and was absolutely filth inside and out. I had to bring it back two weeks later for the valet. I wanted to reject the car, but they said it was not possible without losing my deposits.

At 3000 miles, the clutch had to be repaired. The reason being that it was near on impossible to engage reverse gear.

At 6000 miles, another component had to be repaired. I don't know the name of it, but it does the job of the distributor cap in older vehicles.

At 10,000 miles, the rear suspension began to give problems. It was knocking and making worrying noises at speed.

At 15,000 miles, the same problem re-occurred and the suspension was replaced.

At 19,000 miles, the car was involved in an accident. The engine was replaced, as were the gear-box, front and rear suspensions and other bits and pieces.

At 33,000 miles, the rear suspension again gave out and needed repairs.

Presently, at 49,000 miles, the rear suspension is again making the same noises, the car is using an astronomical amount of fuel and the door-open light seems to be on constantly. I am making a claim on my insurance to repair these faults as I am out of warranty. In its present state, it will fail the MOT.

The car has had the relevant services, as well as being properly maintained every week!

In fairness, apart from the above points, I have never had the car not start on me. I've had problems whilst driving the car, but never from cold.

The most annoying thing is the rear suspension. From reading other user reviews on the net, I have found that this is a commonly occurring problem, including the new Fusions.

The car handles fine. The 16 valve engine is a little sluggish, but it's a workhorse. It will happily do the mileage and keep up with the boy racers on the M1 if you wanted it to.

However, the inherent problems are just making owning this car a mission after only 3 years. My Ford dealer quoted me £5500 to repair the faults it presently has and as the car is simply not worth that, that is why I am making the insurance claim.

It is a shame, it looks good, it's a lovely ride and is very comfortable. Plus I really like the fact that it is black!

It is a shock to me. I think I may have bought a lemon. Others seem to be going well with their fiestas. I never drive at top speed, I never try and race people and I always regularly maintained the car. Every Sunday, I would check the oil, pump the tires, etc, etc. It just gave up on me, really!

Previous fiestas I have owned were pure work horses. They had tough little engines that would not break. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the newer ones.