Faults:

I have been driving it for a year, so nothing really.

General Comments:

The Fiesta had a tough job. It had to replace my beloved 147. Except for the more expensive seats and the rear view camera (on a Fiesta, come on), I have all the options. The engine is impressive, although too slow for me (the Alfa was a 2.0). I drove it nearly a year and I did an engine remap to increase its power from 100 to 142 and the torque from 170 to 260. Needless to say, it moves now and it transformed the car.

The gearbox is OK I guess. Miles better of course than my old Selespeed, but under power and high revs, it can make some very strange noises. My dealer said it's normal, because it's a dry gearbox (or something).

It uses a lot of fuel though, I am at an average of 7.5L (32 MPG). For a three cylinder with Eco in its name... My now 15 year old Alfa used only 1 litre of petrol more with an engine twice as big.

The optional sat nav is dreadful, and I picked the most expensive stereo on the option list (Sony) and it does not meet my expectations (granted, my 147 had a Bose system).

The optional styling kit looks great (spoiler, side skirts, rear diffuser, front splitter, the lot).

In Belgium, the road tax is based on engine size, so I pay nearly nothing at 1.0 (I paid 3 times more for my 2.0, don't ask about a Viper over here... 16500 euros in the first year since you ask, but I digress :) )

As small cars go, I believe the Fiesta is probably the best.

Faults:

Major rattle coming from below front left wheel arch at over 80 km/h.

Otherwise no further faults at just 3000 km.

General Comments:

Performance is zippy around town, which I suppose is what matters most for what is really a small city car. However, once past 90 km/h the small diesel (68 HP) has real trouble with the substantial weight of the car (around 1150 kg I believe). 4th and 5th are also very long geared, which adds to the problem. I will get to 140 km/h and stay there for highway cruising, but only with a lot of patience.

Handling is OK, though you shouldn't push it too hard into the corners or it will start squealing quite easily (however under steer is very predictable). On the whole, not too bad for a car without independent rear suspension. Stability is good at high speed for a small car (probably due to it actually being not that small and quite heavy). I should note that mine has 15 inch alloys.

As for the interior...

- The seats are pretty atrocious, the best thing you can say about them is that they are sufficiently hard. However, they are too short, badly adjustable, don't offer any side support or high back support and the headrests are merely there for decoration (or preventing whiplash), as you couldn't possibly rest your head against them.

- There is no space to put your foot next to the clutch, which is very tiresome on long travels.

- You can fold the standing part of the back seats 1/3-2/3, but this is pretty pointless as the part you sit on only folds up as a whole.

- More bad points go to the very hard plastic out of which everything is made. Surely car manufacturers can do better nowadays.

- Interior space is very roomy for this category of car, and very accessible if you have the 5d version.

- Finally, the airco is pretty good, with handy, big ventilation mounds.

Faults:

The car never broke down but needed to have the ball joints replaced twice.

The valves need to be adjusted often in order to get a good gas mileage & acceptable cold starting abilities.

General Comments:

Surprisingly comfortable little car: Fairly quiet on the road, good driving position and very comfortable front seats.

The continuously variable transmission is an asset when going uphill on highways and allow the engine to run at low RPM when cruising.

Although the car is very stable at highway speeds, it doesn't handle bumps very well.

Inside, the materials used are durable but poorly assembled and rattle constantly.

The keys are low quality and have been replaced 3 times!!!

Very low maintenance costs and parts are always quickly dispatched.