[lunarhighway]

my wife drives a mk4 fiesta like the one pictured and it's a bit of a love/hate affair (the car not the wife)

it's a nice practical little car that despite it's dog of an old diesel engine, that would be more suited in a tractor it's handling is just awsome. feels more like a go cart than a car sometimes.
with the rear seat folded flat the cargo space of the fiestas quite good too for the average shopping. i don't have much economy data from her, but for an old diesel i suppose it's average, it's fairly light but on the highway i think it's draggy shape lets it down. but as a front passenger even longer trips are quite comfortable

i recently drove a 2009 ford focus for a fair distance and handling is something ford excelles at, if you enter a curve a bit to fast it still feels like the car is on rails.
Their diesel engines have evolved quite a bit as well. so i'm sure the newer fiestas also have this trait.

On the downside from what i've seen they all seem to suffer the same poor build quality. these cars just seem to rain bits, from useless plastic end caps to radio buttons and door handles, door locks... they all seem to come of ,break or snap, also two windshields have been cracked and half the engine has to be replaced, the heater doesn't seem to work anymore and the airbag lights comes on from time to time.
whenever i think i've seen the last of it something else works its way loose...

a friend with a mk6 lost an external plastic B pillar cover on the highway, and a brand new mk7 we had at work shed it's entire rear door card as someone just tried to open the door.

despite all this mk4's and even mk3's are still a very common sight around here

i wouldn't ever get one though