Faults:

One ABS sensor replaced under warranty.

Diesel heater reprogrammed twice.

Engine management system was also reprogrammed during periodic service; unknown why, since there were no problems with it.

Empty battery several times due to programmable diesel heater, where the auto shut off does not work properly. In the winter, we had to recharge the battery several times in the winter, even though the car was fitted with a huge 90Ah battery. It simply guzzles electricity in the winter if you use the full winter equipment of the car, including the heated front window.

General Comments:

Surprisingly comfortable and roomy car for little money. Pretty reliable, just one actual repair under warranty, and that was a faulty ABS sensor that sometimes gave an error code. Besides that, the car was reprogrammed more or less every time we had it in for routine service, including diesel heater functionality, climate control functionality and lighting functionality.

This is actually a great car, roomy and comfortable, the only main irritation point is the functionality of the programmable diesel heater that the first winter drained the battery several times. It was reprogrammed by the dealer and it helped a bit, but it still managed to drain the battery in the winter, leaving us stranded when it was -22C cold. We actually had to charge the battery every month, even with a near new car. The diesel heater was supposed to have an automatic shut of functionality not to completely drain the battery, but it didn't work, even after programming twice by the dealer.

Faults:

Interior clock failed.

Fuel gauge occasionally dips down to zero without reason.

Trim on read bumper coming loose.

My wife scratched the front bumper!

General Comments:

Overall, I really like this car.

It's a great all-rounder. It goes pretty fast, doesn't use much fuel and is very practical.

The performance is great for a big estate car. The in-gear acceleration is strong enough to shove you back into your seat in the low gears and makes overtaking safe in any gear.

Fuel economy is a nice surprise too. 43MPG on average, without even trying.

The boot is vast. Big enough for a family holiday and then some. The cabin is spacious: my kids can stretch their legs in the back, even with booster seats in place.

It has some really nice convenience features: sunglasses holder, power-fold door mirrors, rear cup holders, auto-dimming interior mirror, rain sensing wipers, light sensing headlights. None of these are things you really need but I miss them if I drive cars that don't have them.

The after sales service I've had from Ford dealers is probably the only real concern. I told them about the broken clock a week before the car's first scheduled service but they still failed to fix or replace it, so I had to waste another Saturday morning bringing the car in for them to have a second attempt. The next dealer I tried claimed they would need to have the car for a whole day to investigate the intermittent fuel gauge fault, with no promise of a repair that day so I'm probably going to be inconvenienced again.