Faults:

I had to have the door panel re sprayed due to the door being out of line on the lock.

This was done under warranty and the car came back as good as new.

Apart from that my only problems is the lack of glove box light and no buzzer if you leave your lights on.

General Comments:

The car is very nippy for its engine size and came with quite high spec levels.

The car came with air con,power steering and alloys

My car is in red and looks well good and sounds the biz now thanks to to performance exhaust on it.

Faults:

Nothing at all really. The build quality of the car could be better, and as stated in previous reports, the whinnying noise when the car is in neutral,and when the car is cold is annoying.

General Comments:

This IS the best handling car that £10k can buy. When "What Car" reviewed this vehicle it gave 5 stars out of Five for the ride and handling. This car shares the underpinning of the Ford Puma which too has won many awards. If only Ford could of put the 1.7 vvti engine from the Puma this would be the ideal hatch. Dealers though please improve your customer service, take a leaf from Toyota in this area!

Faults:

The passenger side electric window is slow when closing.

The paint inside the rear bumper is flaking off, due to stone chips.

General Comments:

A very quick and stylish fast hatch.

I was very impressed with the car's braking power.

With only an insurance group of 8, this is really excellent value for money.

I was slightly disappointed with the choice of only 4 colours.

With a little attention to the engine and other areas, you can easily and very cheaply increase the very modest 103bhp, to somewhere in the region of 140bph.

Faults:

Steering column squeaked for a few months, nothing too serious.

Boot seal let water in, new seal fitted by the dealer.

Engine can pink under load, remedied by using Shell Optimax (higher octane).

General Comments:

Mainly bought the car because it was enjoyable to drive, and at 6'2 245 lbs, I couldn't fit in things like Saxo's without jamming my legs under the steering wheel.

I feel I drive the car enthusiastically, but I have 2.5mm left on my tyres at 16300 miles! I have read reports of people having bald tyres by the time of the 1st service (10,000 miles). I would say inspect used models VERY carefully, lots of spoilt kids and reckless fools abuse these cars. Build quality isn't up to VW standard, but outstrips anything French or Italian.

My car has had only the faults described above, and returns over 42mpg. More after I had it chipped, which also netted +10 bhp at the driven wheels. Optimax petrol makes it run smoother too, and the increase in mpg offsets the extra cost.

I have just ordered a new model, (same monthly payment, more free insurance) in Silver, versus the red one I have currently. Highly recommended.

Faults:

Passenger side electric window was sticking after a month or so. Dealer promptly repaired it, but has happened again. Dealer fixed it again.

General Comments:

Handling is superb - I'm told among the best of the hot hatches currently available.

The car is capable of handling considerably more power - not sure why Ford haven't tuned it further. But it's still great fun to drive.

Looks can snap knicker elastic at 100 yards! You get side skirts, 15 inch multi spoke alloys, cool round fog lights, steel grille mesh, and a spoiler as standard - features that don't appear on every hot hatch.

Interior is almost identical to the Mk4 - I reckon Ford could and should have re-worked it a little.

Stereo is adequate but limited - I'm in the process of upgrading to a Kenwood/JBL combination.

As an all-round package, taking into account speed, handling, styling, image, insurance group 8, and all-important value for money (it came with free insurance too), for me it's got to be the top hot hatch.