1997 Ford Fiesta Ghia review from UK and Ireland

Leaking heater matrix (cheap and surprisingly easy to replace)

Would overheat at random. A full cooling system flush, two new thermostats, a new radiator, full pressure test and a new water pump never found the problem.

Stalling when hot (intermittent)

Rear wash wipe intermittently didn't work.

Front lower arm bushes replaced twice.

Front anti roll bar bushes replaced once.

Oil leak from sump gasket.

Rear view mirror sheared off.

Great car to drive, but let down by constant niggling problems. Suspension bush failure is common on these cars, yet still Ford will sell you the exact same replacement part they know fails after as little as a year and 12,000 miles.

Had constant problems with the cooling system too which would intermittently cause the car to overheat. I replaced every major component and had the system pressure tested, but it still couldn't be fixed. This meant I never could really trust the car. The car also suffered from oil leaks and electrical problems.

Awkward to work on too. The Zetec engine isn't a particularly tight fit under the bonnet, but many components that you don't need to get to for basic maintenance are inaccessible. This seems deliberate in some cases, and very unusual for Ford.

Great engine, surprisingly lively and brilliant in the corners. The basic build quality is good too, but the package as a whole was too unreliable and jobs that would take ten minutes on most coars seemed to take hours on this one due to a poorly designed underbonnet layout.

After a string of Fords, this was my last. Very disappointing.