The front has a fully independent suspension, but rear has only a cheap beam in the back. And the rear bottoms out on bumps. Engine has Zero torque from A standstill when flooring the accelerator. The gas economy is not 29/39. My trip computer at 15,841 miles, says only 17mpg city and 26 on the highway - I challenge Ford to come and look. The only way this car could have ever gotten the epa estimated 29/39 is, in my opinion, with an anorexic, midget, driver and the only thing in the rest of the car including the trunk was a toothpick. lol. The transmission was rebuilt after only 12,000 miles. The grinding noise continues which is the result of duel clutches. And then rebuilt again at 30,000 miles. The trunk had water leaks causing damage to the trunk and stinking up the interior of the car and causing mold and mildew damage. It took months to correct it because the dealer could not find the problem, but eventually they did. The car was assemble in Mexico, not Michigan like most other fords. The Mexican people are great, wonderful, people, but in my experience, the assembly plant in Michigan does a much better job. They assembled it's cousin, the Ford Focus, which shares many of the same parts, as for example, the same defective 6 speed, duel clutch, transmission. Yet although the Focus still has problems, it's no where near what this lemon has. update: at 36,000 miles, the gas economy is still poor for a subcompact this size and Ford does not know why. My theory is because they over estimated the fuel economy. Even the Ford Focus, (I know because, my family member has one), the fuel economy was way overestimated and she does not get anywhere near the mileage told. But, even that said, it is a larger compact and she gets better mileage than our subcompact fiesta, and she has a larger engine. Visibility is poor. The back seat has almost no leg room for it's passengers - it has, but very cramped. For a car built like this, you would think, high fuel economy - guess again. The outside convex mirrors designed to help you see cars in the blind spot works somewhat, but then causes a misperception of how close the curb is when you try to park the car. Continued problems with engine warning light. But nothing is wrong. The car is warning us we are on an ice slope in the summer with 90 degree weather. Sometimes does not start properly. It's really scary. Would never buy one of these again and shame on Ford for not recalling the whole batch and just remodeling the whole line, especially throwing out this horrific defective transmission and replacing it with a real one that works. Double shame on them for not AT LEAST RECALLING and replacing this defective transmission with one like in the Ford Fusion which runs perfectly. Given a choice of buying these three cars in the future, (if i would even consider a Ford again), I would easily chose a base Fusion over these other two cars. It's slightly bigger, but more reliable. And yes, the gas economy is going to be a little less, but less headaches, better trip, and less repairs. If you really want to buy this the Fiesta or the Focus, I strongly recommend that you take out a 7 year extended warranty to prevent yourself from going broke on the repairs after the basic warranty expires. If you have to buy a Fiesta, look at the hatchback. For some reason it looks sturdier than the other models.
