2004 Ford Fiesta Zetec from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing to date.

Firstly, There is absolutely no room to the left hand side of the clutch pedal to place ones foot whilst driving, I am unable to place my foot under the pedal as there is not enough clearance, This is causing two major problems. After only one hour of driving I'm experiencing leg cramp due to the position of my leg, and also this will in time cause excessive clutch wear due the clutch been slightly pressed. I feel this is a major error on Ford's behalf.

Secondly, due to the present design of modern cars, which seem to be gaining in height with every new model released. Whilst driving, the car gives the impression you are sat on the seat, not in the seat, which is far from comfortable, I have noticed to overcome the road handling problems of the car due to its high centre of gravity, it is now fitted with very wide, low aspect tyres together with large diameter wheels, the same size as a Sierra Cosworth and I must question if this is progress.

Thirdly, The previous Fiesta which I owned for 6 years and covered 55,000 miles in, handled corners like it was on rails and was a delight to drive along a twisty section of road. In the 6 years I had the rear end of the car break away on me twice. To date this new fiesta has broke away 4 times and is very unbalanced whilst correcting the situation and again I have to question Ford's progress on handling.

Fair point about the clutch pedal, but you must be driving like a maniac to get the back end out on those fat tyres. In any case, did you not take a test drive?

I also agree with you about the clutch, but I agree that you must be driving the car like a race driver. I also own a Zetec, I love it. Sorry you are disappointed with yours.

I have now covered 6000 miles in this car.

I have a few faults now.

I have had to remove both front seats and stick foam under the front brackets to stop a very annoying squeak.

On long journeys I have found the door casing plastic to be very hard on the elbow.

The temperature gauge in the instrument panel does not react to the engine temperature, If you come to a standstill on the motorway, you can hear the cooling fan cut in, however the gauge remains the same, quite dangerous as the car gets older.

Maybe someone can shred some light on a slight rattle from the back of the car. Can be heard when starting the car and occasionally on bumpy roads.

My partner who drives the car from time to time has pointed out that the wing mirrors do not move in towards the car and down enough if you are 5'-4" or below in height.

Considering the weight of the car, I'm very impressed with the 1.4 engine, it performs very well, In fact the new fiesta is more suited to long distance now than a city car in my opinion, and the air con is excellent, best I have experienced to date. For all the cars faults I would still buy another Fiesta as I feel it is still the best buy on the market.

The rattle in the back could be the exhaust hangers, seat holdings, or the boot cover. I think they are ther main things. In any case, just check all the bolts are as tight as they should be and check if any have fell out. It wouldn't be surprising if somthing has come loose by the way you say you drive:)

After reading various comments on this site regarding this model fiesta. I have come to the conclusion I must have a Friday afternoon car as the things that have now gone wrong with this vehicle are endless. It has now covered 15000 miles and I do wonder every morning now if it will even start let alone reach 30000 miles.