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Ford Fiesta (1999 onwards) in general
by AllBlack1
I've owned a ford fiesta 03 1.4 diesel for just over three years now and its surved fairly well as a family run around clocking many miles during the process. It was bought from a friend who runs a business selling ex police cars and the like. He is a reliable mechanic and good friend which was why there was no problem forking out just ... over 2000 for it. After doing nearly 106,000 miles there are a few problems. The fuel line seems to be an issue with fiestas and twice has needed replacing in this car because of an air leak. The spare parts however are easy to come across even in the remotest part of rural france! Another issue is that the seats i find to be very uncomfortable when travelling long journeys and this model lacks many things such as air con and electric windows which makes it a general pain in the backside when abroad. Good points include fuel economy, this is a very economic car which uses very little fuel to go a long way, it's also fairly spacious inside which is useful when transporting large objects (wardrobes and beds in particular). Looks wise it's nothing special however this model wasnt built for looks so dont expect much. Overall a good car, slight engine niggles but this is to be expected at over 100,000 miles.
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Ford Focus C-Max
by jcw927
We have owned a 2007 plate Ford Focus C-Max for about 18 months and overall it is a great car. We have the Style 1.8l petrol engine and boy is it thirsty. I mainly do short journeys and it feels like I am constantly having to fill up the tank. I would seriously consider a Diesel option next time.
We bought the car because we ... were expecting a baby and it seemed to be a good family vehicle. However when we came to want to fit an isofix base for our baby car seat we had to cut into the fabric of the back seat in order to fit it. Not helpful. Ford would have done this for us but at a cost of around £70.
That said, the C-Max is a comfortable vehicle with a spacious and pleasant (albeit standard Ford plastic) interior. It is a good driving position, being slightly higher that a standard car and feels more like a people carrier. There is plenty of boot space for luggage/the dog and you can comfortably fit three in the back. There are useful storage spaces under the rear footwells and lift up trays on the back of the front seats.
Our model has electric windows to the front and manual in the rear. I would have preferred lockable electric windows in the back and expect these are available in higher spec models. A handy extra is the built-in pull up window shades on the back windows which is great if you have a little one in the back.
Our model does not come with a spare wheel but has a contraption which involves filling your flat tyre with
some kind of resin. We have yet to try this but I am not convinced.
The C-Max is a reliable and solid car. It is a comfortable ride in the front and the back and in my opinion is a pleasure to drive. I would recommend this car to others and apart from the above comments I am generally positive about its performance. I guess if I didn't trust the car I wouldn't put my baby girl in the back of it.
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Ford Ka in general
by marie_cheetham
For two years I've been the proud owner of a 2001 mint green Ka. Mine is the most basic model with no central locking, air conditioning or electric windows and only a tape player with just 3 radio station presets for entertainment- although all these things are inconvenient I see it as a fair sacrifice for a cheap car. And the Ka is ... cheap, with between 40 and 50 miles to the gallon, fuel consumption is very economic. You are, however, at risk of using more petrol if you try to get up to speed on an A road or motorway quickly- with my accelerator flat to the floor it still feels as if I'm crawling to 70mph whilst other cars whizz past. Once you get to 70 there is not much point in trying to be a bit cheeky and go any faster either as upon approaching 90mph the steering wheel shakes/ vibrates and it feels unsafe. Also, there is very little noise insulation so the road noise can be a little deafening when travelling at speed- I have found that putting old carpet in the boot helped with this. The brakes on Kas are notoriously not very good either, I have adopted a style of driving of starting breaking very early so I know it will stop in time. Having said that, the combination of gentle breaking and thin wheels made driving in the heavy snow earlier this year fairly painless whilst heavier, big wheeled cars were constantly skidding.
The inside of the Ka is deceptively big considering its size, with ample leg room for all passengers and the driver. The only aspect that could be bigger is the boot.
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