All generations and engines together · 707,036 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 60k
Middling among family hatchbacks, by age and by mileage. Watch suspension and lights & electrics. A fair used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
The 1.0 EcoBoost's cambelt runs inside the engine oil rather than out in the open, and the rubber breaks down and sheds debris that clogs the oil pickup and starves the engine of oil. Owners report a rattly cold start, an oil pressure warning light, or metal flecks in the oil well before Ford's quoted 150,000-mile belt life, often between 60,000 and 100,000 miles. A full engine rebuild or replacement runs roughly £2,000 to £4,000; Ford quietly moved this engine to a conventional timing chain from late 2018.
A separate weak spot on the same engine family, thought to stem from the open-deck block design and brittle coolant hoses that eventually split. Symptoms are coolant loss with no visible leak, white smoke on start-up, and overheating, showing up anywhere from around 30,000 to 80,000 miles. A head or head gasket replacement is typically £1,200-£2,000. Ford has not put out a public recall for this, though later revisions to the head and hoses reduced reports.
The 6-speed PowerShift automatic uses a dry twin clutch, and a leaking input shaft seal lets transmission fluid drip onto the clutch plates, causing shudder pulling away from a stop and a harsh 1st-to-2nd shift. It's common enough that Ford extended the UK warranty on affected units from 3 to 5 years and issued technical bulletins covering the seal and clutch pack. Repairs (seal plus clutch pack) generally cost £450-£900; a full unit replacement costs more. Manual-gearbox cars aren't affected.
This is the folklore version of the measured signature fault for family hatchbacks: suspension. Owners describe a clonk or knock from the back over speed bumps and potholes, usually traced to worn anti-roll bar links or the trailing arm and control blade bushes, starting from around 50,000-70,000 miles on UK roads. Links are a cheap fix at roughly £20-£40 in parts; bushes fitted run £150-£300 depending on which one has gone. The measured data backs suspension as this model's weak area, though it doesn't distinguish which specific part is wearing, so treat the forum diagnosis as a starting point rather than gospel.
A sticky or carboned-up EGR valve brings rough running, black smoke on acceleration, and sometimes limp mode on the 1.6 and 2.0 TDCi units. Separately, cars used mainly for short journeys never get the DPF hot enough to burn off soot, so it blocks and needs a forced regeneration or replacement. Both tend to show up from around 60,000 miles onward. An EGR clean or replacement is roughly £150-£450, a DPF replacement £600-£1,200. No manufacturer recall covers this, it's largely down to how the car has been driven.
Some cars get a touchscreen that lags, blanks, or fully locks up mid-drive, taking the sat-nav, phone pairing, and sometimes the reversing camera with it. A dealer software update or a manual reset (holding the power and seek buttons) usually clears it, but it can come back. Owners are split on how big a deal this is: some units never misbehave, others need repeat resets over years of ownership, and there's no clear pattern by age or mileage.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 234,375 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Family hatchbacks), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.
Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.