1997 Ford Aspire 2-dr Hatchback review from North America
"Economical, yet unsatisfactory car overall"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Air conditioner belt installed incorrectly, squealed like a pig after 10,000 miles. Fixed under warranty.
Manual transmission shift linkage broke after about 15,000 miles requiring a shift pattern of 1st - Neutral - 2nd to switch into second gear without it popping back into neutral. Fixed under warranty, but required a 3-month wait for the part.
Air bag control switch broke after about 20,000 miles. Replaced under warranty.
Corroded starter wire starting at 36,001 miles (no joke, one mile past the warranty period) caused the car to not crank in wet/misty weather for the remaining time that I owned it. The problem required continual application of WD-40 in wet weather to keep moisture and corrosion off of the wire, or, when WD-40 was unavailable, required bump-starting the car in 1st gear after a push. (Quite embarrassing.)
Engine sputter surfaced in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears - intermittently - from about 45,000 miles until 80,000. Problem was never able to be diagnosed by mechanics due to the intermittent nature.
Airbag control switch broke - again - at about 50,000 miles. Never repaired.
Air conditioner condenser broke at 77,000 miles. Never fixed due to the $500 blue book value of the car at that point; became the ultimate reason to donate the car to charity.
General comments?
An economical, yet unsatisfactory car overall.
The Aspire is what it is: a cheap, not terribly well manufactured car for college kids. In fact, that's exactly what I needed it for when I needed it!
The car wasn't terribly powerful, due to it's 63hp engine, and had a mountain of mechanical failures, though it's strengths were in low sticker price (mine was $9,100 brand-new with the A/C and rear-defrost options) and fuel economy (I saw 32mpg city and between 38 and 42mpg on the highway).
The overall vehicle experience was pretty poor due to the uncomfortable seats, cramped cabin, and extremely noisy ride on the highway. A four hour ride would leave your backside sore and numb, with your ears ringing.
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| Great first car/urban combat trainer |
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| 1997 - Aspire Base 1.3L Inline 4 Awesome fuel economy, and will not die! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 1997 |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 1997 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.3L 4-cylinder Manual |
| Performance marks | 5 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 3 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 3 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 1 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 36 miles |
| Most recent distance | 81000 miles |
| Previous car | Oldsmobile Ciera |
| Date of Entry | 9th June, 2005 |