A pleasure to drive
Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with this car in the two years I have had it since new.
Excellent performance and handling for such a small car and small engine.
Surprisingly roomy and comfortable.
Great looks, styling and not short on street credibility.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 8th May, 2001
Don't buy one!
Engine cuts out for no reason whilst driving.
Roof and boot going rusty.
Boot leaks in 3 places.
Car judders at certain speeds.
Strange engine noises which no one can explain.
Paint really poor. Colour match etc.
Will not always start.
Seat rattles like you would not believe.
The list goes on.
The car has been returned for the problems listed. None of them can be repaired. Even the seat rattle. It keeps getting sprayed with lubricant every time it goes in.
The car has been back approximately 15 times in the last year. The problems cannot be corrected.
Ford customer service really poor. I have tried to get the car changed 4 times through their commitment policy. It keeps getting rejected.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 15th February, 2001
I sympathise totally with this owner. I had a Fiesta Ghia 1.25i last year (2000) and it too cut out for no reason whilst driving.
One time it cut out while I was driving at 70 mph in the fast lane of a motorway. This obviously caused the power steering to fail leaving me to drift across the carriageway until I got it started again. It is a very dangerous fault. Luckily it was a quiet part of the motorway, but even after having the engine 're-programmed' three times, it continued to cut out. In the end, I just changed it for a Focus... but that's another story entirely!
My wife has a Fiesta that suffered s imilar problems (cutting out & not starting now and again). In the end (after battery and alternater replacements) we found out that the light in the boot was shorting out and permanently on. Something to watch for!.
I also am driving this car. It is exhibiting similar problems with judders and cutting out at high speeds. It is very dangerous at junctions. I am using a very experienced krypton tuner, with an excellent reputation to look at the fault and he cannot put his finger on the problem. The engine keeps reporting "Bank 1 - Too Lean". I am sick and tired of driving the car, and am unable to replace it at this time. For this reason I wish FORD would help with the problem, rather than be 100% unhelpful, as they have been thus far.
For the past two years my daughter's 1.25 Zetec exhibited the exact same random fault of cutting out, particularly when slowing down for junctions and roundabouts. Restarting the car always seemed to clear the fault.
It did it for the last time four weeks ago when the coil pack burnt out and took the ECU with it (a chip inside actually caught fire). £540 quoted by Ford for a new replacement ECU with another £200 or so for fitting and reprogramming the immobiliser. Secondhand market is a minefield with a huge number of Ford ECUs appearing to be acceptable, but part numbers have to be exact and reprogramming still necessary for immobiliser. You have been warned!
Disguised fun rocket
Would occasionally refused to start until the 3rd try, hasn't happened since oil/filter change.
One off episode where the gears froze, got it checked out and nothing was wrong.
It's no super-car, but I've surprised everyone who's thought it easy fodder at traffic lights.
Very little power for overtaking on the motorway, but around country lanes it'll rally.
Suspension and tyres are superb.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 14th February, 2001
21st Feb 2001, 20:53
I am very surprised at this review. It must have been a 1 in a million Fiesta because everyone else I know who has one thinks it's great, including myself. Looks like they got very unlucky with their car!