Faults:

Transmission slips slightly when going into second gear.

Emergency brake cable rusted and broke.

Scary noise (probably from transmission) sounded like a circular saw at one point.

General Comments:

When I bought the car I knew the brakes need to be worked on and they ended up needing a complete overhaul, rotors, calipers, etc.

Back seats very tight for any person over 5 feet.

Nearly useless front cup holders, in front of shifter and under stereo and climate controls.

Very sporty feeling with good handling and decent acceleration from 130 horsepower. A lot of fun in the curves!

The car has almost a complete lack of acceleration with the air conditioning on, but at least it blows cold.

I get a lot of compliments on the looks from others which is great considering I only spent $2100 for it!

It is a very tough car, very durable. I took it racing off road with my buddy's Impreza and it killed him. It can take bumps, rocks, and small logs without flinching, but the 14 inch wheels don't do well in a mud bog!

The transmission, and Ford's reputation for automatics, prevents me from giving it full props.

Faults:

Power brake booster replaced. Inner & outer tie rods, driver side. Water in trunk. Bad headlight seals. water in headlights.

General Comments:

It's been reliable. Cheap on gas. Problems repaired under warranty.

Faults:

The alternator went out at 70,000 miles. The Idler pulley died at 86,000 miles. The alternator went out at 120,000 miles. The timing belt and the idler pulley went out at 156000 miles. The hood opened while I was driving on the freeway and shattered my windshield.

General Comments:

This is a nice and reliable commuter car. I have driven roughly 130,000 miles on this Ford and have experienced relatively few problems.

Although the vehicle lacks creature comforts, all I've asked of it is to get me from point "A" to point "B". The engine is very weak and acceleration is practically non-existent.

Despite these flaws, the car is perfect for commuting with the high gas mileage and cheap replacement parts.

Faults:

Well lets see the windsheild wipers never worked so I had to replace them.

The radiator went out.

The gage for my engine temperature was broken. So I had no idea the engine was hot because the radiator was out. So I had a blown head-gasket, and a cracked head, a broken temperature gage, and a messed up radiator.

A vacuum hose in the back of my engine likes to pop off every once and a while and make my engine light come on, but at least my check engine light still works!

General Comments:

I replace my engine with a 2000 Ford ZX2 sport engine. My car ran a lot faster. My acceleration was even better.

I added a K&N cold air intake, and gave it that nice rumble to the engine.

I added a 3 inch Magnaflow exhaust to add better airflow.

I lowered it 1.5 inches with Eibach lowering springs.

I put on 16 inch Enkei Rs6 aluminum race wheels with low profile Nittos.

I replace the factory radio and installed Pioneer stereo with two 12 inch Rockford Fosgates hitting off two 1200 watt Boss amps.

I add a new cat-back system.

I also installed Frogger Headers.

So after all this work this car is a beast and performs rather nicely if I must say. It handles a lot better when I lowered it.

The new Sparco racing seats are very comfortable and a bit more stylish.