Faults:

Only actual repair done so far was a hole in the exhaust, which made the car a little noisy.

Brakes will probably have to be looked at soon as they feel weak.

Engine temp gauge shows the engine gets very hot for some unknown reason. Only happened twice. Once in a car wash and once after idling in a parking lot for a while. Not really a problem once I start driving; the temp goes back down, but I will have to get this looked at.

Dash makes a squeaking noise, which comes from 2 pieces of plastic rubbing together. This is annoying!

...So as you see, only one small repair so far (exhaust, which was under $300 cdn to fix). The car does have other little problems that need attention, but nothing major yet.

General Comments:

Had the car about 8 months now with no major problems. Bought it as my first car.

Seats are comfortable, plenty of head room for me (over 6 feet), but would prefer a bit more leg room for longer road trips.

Love the style; it has a spoiler and fog lights, and some nice looking 15 inch alloys.

Quick acceleration off the line, and plenty of power to pass on the highway from the 130hp Zetec.

Handles nice! Corners easily, and turns tight in parking lots.

Trunk space is good. I currently have 4 winter tires mounted on steel rims in my trunk waiting for the cold weather.

Rear seat room (sedan) is "okay". I think it could be better.

I also think the fuel consumption could be better, but everyone tells me it's doing okay, so maybe I'm just being greedy.

Faults:

The previous owner put crappy aftermarket spark plug wires on it and one failed; the car started idling high because one of the wires was arcing. Changed the wires and that is literally all I have had to do.

General Comments:

I enjoy driving this car much more than my GF's 98 civic, it handles better and has required less maintenance. In the 50k miles or so I have owned it, all I have had to do is change the oil and tires. It handles better than any other small car I have driven. Really solid deal.

I guess there was a reason it was the number 1 car in the world for a while. If they had the hot rod version in the US, I would buy it in a second.

Faults:

New front rotors @ 80,000 km.

Fuel pump sprang a leak and had to be replaced @ 110,000 km.

Front coil springs and struts @ 110,000 km.

Lots of tires (they last about 40,000km).

Lots of rattles and squeaks.

Ignition switch @ 70,000 km.

Heater motor @ 90,000 km (still squeaks).

General Comments:

In spite of the problems I have had with it, it is a good car. I live in a place where it gets to be -45c, the roads are terrible and I drive the hell out of it!

I have had GM's and Chrysler's, and FORD has treated me the best out of all of them. This little car has been a work horse for me, and still continues to start if I can't plug it in, in the winter. Remember, this is the cheapest car they make.