Faults:

A/C won't work anymore. I also did the timing belt and water pump at the last service.

Replaced brake disc and pads at the front and new tyres.

Interior quite rattly, but nothing is broken. Might be coming from the suspension - I will get it checked. Exterior looks as good as new, it is a looked after car.

General Comments:

This Fiesta has done me very well the last couple of years. Cheap to buy, very cheap to insure, and excellent economy, yes the figures of 60 - 70 mpg are truly achievable, I have calculated them myself, getting an average of 66 mpg even in winter.

The 1.5 TDCi is of course no racing car, but it gets you were you want to go. "Style" model is very, very basic (wind up windows in rear!) get a Zetec or above model if you can. That said, the interior is still comfortable and quiet enough for most journeys. You got air con and electric windows in front, that is it for this spec.

The car handles very nicely. Dull looking in white with wheel trims, I do however like the looks of the car inside and out. I might add alloy wheels. Boot space is small, but it is a small hatch, mine is the 3 door version.

Overall just a great economical car; perfect for these tough times.

Faults:

The 70 amp fan relay seems to get stuck, then the fan won't switch off when the key is out of the ignition. This happens after the car is washed. Maybe it is a atmospheric sensor or outside temperature sensor, but Ford cannot fix it. If this happens, I take the relay out, knock it a few times against something, put it back, and then all is OK again till the next wash.

General Comments:

Very, very good fuel consumption. We average 5.3 liters per 100 km. No other problems except the fan relay.

Very good build quality.

Excellent sound system.

More than enough power. 70kw and 200 NM (the 1L Ecoboost cannot run with it).

Handling is pure sport. It takes a corner like a train on a track. Nice quiet ride. Does not take gravel roads well. The suspension is sporty and is very low to the ground.

The interior is comfortable and quiet. Boot space is very limited.

General Comments:

Relative to all Fiesta builds; do check into the NHTSA complaints for at least the automatic transmissions and heater blower motor freezing.

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She handles like a Saturn S-Series DOHC with a SOHC transmission with a turbo! The comparable HP before the turbo is strongly reflected. The much needed torque that was needed with the SOHC transmission is also quite easily noticed. The gear ratios are far more precise. The ride is more stiff, however.

Be aware that the front seats without lumbar adjustment have a serious issue with upper back support due to the headrest.

So far in my alpine-esque driving region, I'm doing good to hit a 35 MPG average with the A/C on according to the console. I did note that when driving casually intense in a rolling country area, that the MPG did increase, even though I was hauling. Driving highly spiritedly will cause the MPG to just plummet on even flat ground.

Summer night driving is really pleasant with how both the high and low beams are designed. I'd consider the pattern to so far be reasonably safe on a windy country backroad with either high or low beams.

Ride noise at 70MPH is low enough for a normal conversation with another person in the vehicle or via the Bluetooth microphone.

The horn is one that would be expected out of an F-250. It's pitch adjusted a tad higher and louder than a mid-2000s F-250.

The blind spot mirrors are critical. It took a few hours of tinkering with the mirrors to get them into the right position, but they work wonderfully well. They are in a fixed position relative to the primary mirrors. While I'm not one for frivolous options, go for the heated ones due to the automatic tinting if you're driving away from the sunrise/set.

Microsoft Sync (no NAV options) does have Bluetooth audio-in streaming, but defaults to the 3.5mm line-in. In general, it's an interesting mixture of a Rockbox UI and paradigm melded together with a Windows CE paradigm. They should have licensed the roller rocker from Apple to properly handle the UI...

There is an adaptor included for the Easy Fuel setup with the spare tire and iron in the trunk.

I highly recommend the ambient lighting option, due to how well it flows. I'm looking at investing in the rubber floor mats, rear bumper cover (this area will become marred otherwise), and cargo net. Am seriously looking at eventually getting lumbar-adjustable seats if they can resolve the upper back issue.

All in all, I'd consider this to be a worthy successor to those that want(ed) more out of the Saturn S-Series. I can't yet compare the feasibility in tree-shade wrenchability though.