FORD QUARTZ from Jorge Molina Lamothe on Vimeo.

The sheer number of Ford cars on the road today shows how popular the manufacturer is for producing cheap but comfortable, reliable cars.

The Ford Fiesta is one of the most popular and longest-running models and it's easy to see why: its a small, cheap, economical car that has more space than you'd think from viewing the outside.
I bought my version, a 1991 J-reg Ford Fiesta Quartz LX 1.1 3-door model, earlier this month for £494. It has 63000+ miles on the clock and while it shows its age, I think it will last for a little while yet.

The driving position is comfortable and ergonomic and although the ceiling is rather low, there is plenty of leg and elbow room. The car has the basics you would expect (heater, radio, glove box) which are useful without cluttering up the car like with modern vehicles. I love the fact the car has manual windows. I hate electric windows with a passion! It also has a sunroof, which for me is a slight negative because sunroofs tend to have a habit of leaking.
Driving this particular Fiesta is a joy because I feel as if I am driving the car, not controlling a load of electronic circuitry as with modern vehicles. Being a 1.1, it's very sluggish with its accelleration, but that is to be expected. The steering is heavy due to the fact it is an old model without power steering, but I find that only adds to the fun and enjoyment.

The location of the horn button is rather odd - on the end of the indicator lever, but although I have been a bit worried about pressing it by mistake, it hasn't yet happened!
The seats are comfortable (although mine is very squeaky!), the seats move forward easily to allow access to the rear (or rather one does - the other one's lever has jammed, meaning I as the driver have to get out to allow passengers into the back. The rear seats are also comfortable without the protruding headreasts and curving back found on newer models.

The boot is very generous, despite the small size of the car and can be easily extended by dropping the back seats.
Unfortunately, my internal light only works when one or both of the doors are open, and then only sometimes, my radio is extremely quiet and can only receive some random French station, German if you're lucky and on a really good day, it can pick up Radio 4 for a minute or two before it drifts back to France again, and my clock numbers are no longer illuminated.

My car has a manual choke. I cannot comment on this as it is the only experience I have had of using a choke.
Due to its age, the paintwork (light blue) has become dull due to oxidisation, but stuff can be bought to rectify this.

Oddly, the insurance for the Fiesta is more expensive than cars of a similar size (and same engine size, year, person etc.).
Overall this is a very nice car. It is more or less reliable, well designed and enjoyable to drive. It's not as economical as other cars of similar size, but again, that could be due to its age - a lot of cars start guzzling the petrol after several years.