Faults:

Driver's remote centrol locking failed.

Windscreen wiper judders.

Tiny amount of rust on one rear door.

General Comments:

Cheap as chips to buy and run.

Nearly as economical as most diesels.

Handles well for a family car.

Bulletproof reliability.

Dealers polite, helpful. If only they were cheap.

If you're prepared to put up with the "cheaper" feel of the interior and just how common these cars are - they really are common sense vehicles to own.

Faults:

Factory Defective Brake calipers. They stuck, wearing my brakes dangerously thin in a very short amount of time. I was ignored by the (Ford) dealership until I got up in the managers face and physically showed him the caliper. This happened at about 10,000 miles.

Engine gauge malfunctioned several times between 10,000 and 15,000 miles.

The ignition switch has been replaced 5 times. 1) January 2003 2) August 2003 3) March 2004 4) September 2004 5) September 2005. It would stick and not turn.

Fuel Pump blew- 60,000 miles.

All 4 Tires have been replaced 2x.

Trunk does not shut properly. Trunk lock gasket fell off, leaving the metal susceptible to rust.

Bad smell through a/c vents. Ford dealership won't determine problem.

Something has been wrong with one of the front wheels since day 1. It's made a low ticking noise, that isn't the usual ticking problems.

The car squeaks like it's being beat when it accelerates up hills or going 'round corners, no matter what the rate of speed.

There are several rattles that making riding in the car very noisy.

The exhaust system falls lose regularly, and has had to be re-welded to the frame on more than one occasion.

The radio has started to short out. Half the buttons no longer light up as well.

General Comments:

The stock stereo system sounds good.

Initially, the car handles and drove nicely for a little started car.

Faults:

In first year leak from front window resulted in water eventually getting to the front passenger foot well (yes, behind the dashboard!). Ford took the car back for 3 days under warranty and re-fitted windscreen and replaced the interior carpets. It was annoying, but these things happen and Ford (and the local dealer) did all that would be expected to resolve the problem.

Since then, nothing major has been faulty (90,000 miles, expecting it to do another 50,000 easily).

General Comments:

The car has been very reliable. I have it serviced regularly, but I'm not very good at keeping it clean and tidy. I use it for work which involves carrying awkward shapes which have marked the interior fittings in several places - although these are only cosmetic defects due to my particular use. If it was my wife's car it would be reliable and clean!

I have found it economic, getting 7.5 miles per litre of petrol. This has been consistent from when it was new to it's current 90,000 miles.

It is an Estate version. The load space is good in size and easy to access with large awkward objects. There are tie down positions with pre-cut holes in the boot carpet for access to them.

My model has no built in roof rack and uses the standard ford removable roof rack. This is good, as I don't need a roof rack too often. However, the standard 2 bar ford roof rack is a little noisy. It is fitted by bolts (8 in total) and therefore takes about 10 minutes to fit or remove. However, the roof rack can be disassembled to take up little space in the boot so it is always to hand when needed unexpectedly.

It cost £14,000 when new and is running so well I expect several more years from it yet. Therefore it has been good value for money over a long life.