2005 Ford Fiesta LX review from UK and Ireland

Gearbox/Clutch Problems (6/7 Times - still unresolved), Fuel Gauge broken, Rear seat mechanism broken, Bonnet cable seized, 2 new clutches in 22,000 miles (which Ford have admitted is not due to my driving!! I am a sensible driver!).

Also, when changing the clutch the first time, the dealership failed to do up an Engine mounting - the engine fell down onto the drive train while I was going along. The RAC have rescued me twice.

When I collected the car new, I was impressed by the beefier body and safety features. There is also a lot of room in the vehicle (it's one of the larger super minis). The sound system is also very pleasing given that it is standard. This, however, is where the "Pro's" end for me...

Apart from all the problems mentioned above, I find the car bland and relatively unappealing in terms of performance and handling, and looks. The seats are very uncomfortable and too short, especially noticeable on long journeys where there is no back/side support and a laughable headrest.

The interior pattern is bland and very difficult to keep clean, and the dashboard and all instrument panels are very 'plasticky'.

I find the gearbox is absolutely awful, and the gear shift is situated in a rather odd place - further forward than you'd expect for a small car, but not overly noticeable until you've been driving it a while. I find the gears are also too close together and too stiff - it's annoying to say the least!

The Windscreen Wipers are completely ineffective (as we've found over 4 Fiesta Mark 6's), and by FAR the most annoying thing is the visibility - I have to do a LOT of parallel parking, and my old Vauxhall Corsa did this like a dream. The Fiesta is hard to see out of the back and also to judge where the front exactly is, and there are strange overhangs where you don't expect them to be.

The dealership are always, without exception, patronising and uncooperative (to me and my family who all have Fords there), and apart from causing a lot of the problems themselves, are generally unhelpful and will often not look under the bonnet or road test the car if they 'think' they know what is the problem. (This has led to me being told that they are 'unable to reproduce faults' when I have explicitly mentioned that they are intermittent).

Apart from this, I've just found the car to be generally tacky and unreliable - a true "Friday Afternoon" car!