Feeble it isn't, but my 5-door Ford Fiesta Encore Mk4 1.3l is no sports car.

Now almost 10 years old, the car is in remarkably good condition having travelled just over 90,000 miles, 76,000 of them done in the last 6 years. (The car was purchased second hand from an old boy cruising gently to church every Sunday, he did barely 14,000 miles in 3 years!) The car has so far needed no major work, and has enjoyed regular servicing. It only very recently needed new brake discs, some light suspension work, a new battery and a new exhaust silencer. Not bad considering I've thrashed it over the last couple of years!

Not much I'm afraid! The Encore was Ford's most basic mk4 Fiesta offering in 1997, and really is just a chassis on four wheels. As standard, it comes with Ford's Traffic 4000 radio/cassette player, four fans (2 in the centre of the dashboard, one either side), fans under the footwell and on the windscreen, selectable via a 3-way control. There are four fan power options off, 1, 2 and 3, and a temperature control. The heater isn't bad, but obviously requires the engine to be warm before it heats up! That's it for your standard conveniences, although the obligatory cigarette lighter is available! Did someone say "power-assisted steering" and " Central Locking"? Don't make me laugh....

Jokes aside, the car really has no modern luxury many people are used to and is your simple A-to-B machine. The 1.3l 8-valve "Endura-E" engine ticks over comfortably and achieves a maximum speed of 98mph from it's 5 gears. As one previous reviewer mentioned, because of its 8-valve design, the car soon loses power in higher gears. All the grunt is in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, while 4th and 5th serve only to take the car from 50-98mph very very slowly. Due to this lack of power the engine struggles to pull the fiesta up hills. Downshifting is often necessary to maintain decent speed and you can really feel it having to work hard!

True, it's a cheaply made car, but the ride is pretty comfortable if it's driven the way it was designed to be. I, as any 19-year-old would, drive it like a TVR and obviously look like a complete idiot thrashing my little Fiesta about. As such, the ride comfort suffers somewhat as the poor fiesta rolls uneasily from left to right as I whip it round corners at speed. The tyres will squeak painfully and the passenger, without a steering wheel to hold onto will be lauched annoyingly from left to right. For rear passengers it's probably worse! However, if you drive sensibly you'll be in adequate comfort and your passengers will be grateful...

The fiesta can quite comfortably transport 5 people around, but honestly no more, believe me. I've had 6 rowdy friends squeeze in with me, one in the front passenger seat, 3 in the rear, one in the boot, and one laid across the back 3 with his feet out the window. I really don't suggest you try this for health and safety reasons and you'll probably have to answer to a slightly bemused policeman if stopped. Furthermore, if you hit some kind of bump or dip in the road, your exhaust may end up scraping the tarmac. However, the fiesta has transported two large computers in boxes, two 20-inch widescreen monitors in boxes, 3 bags of cables, and amplifier, mixing desk, suitcase and laptop 6 times over a distance of 126 miles between East Sussex and Suffolk. Admittedly the rear seats were laid flat, but the car still had plenty of room to spare! At the end of the day, don't expect to fill the car with that stuff and 4 passengers. It's not quite that spacious!

Unfortunately, this fiesta won't give you leather seats but the interior is very pleasant and comfortable. The seats are a light blue, and the door panels are the same with a darker blue crosses pattern. The dashboard is a slightly squidgy blue plastic (like a slighty harder version of steering wheel plastic). The glove compartment has no light, but crucially has a drinks holder. This is brilliant as at night, you can put your drink down, but you'll knock it over as you can't see it. Marvellous.

The right-side headlight started to dim a couple of weeks ago so I bought a new one and swapped it over. The bulb cost a mere £7.99 from Halfords, and I'm sure if I'd looked hard enough I could've got it cheaper. The new exhaust silencer was £30 from Kwik-Fit which I thought was very reasonable.

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A big thumbs-up! Ever since I began driving it, well into 60,000 miles almost 2 years ago, it's been a faithful and reliable aid in getting me every place I've made it take me. It's never failed to start, aside from when it was left in a garage with the headlights on for 3 days. (Oops!) The oil hardly ever requires topping up, pertrol lasts a long time and any problems are always quickly and cheaply fixed. It's nippy enough for taking me in and out of town quickly and certainly holds its own on the motorway! The ride is generally smooth and all the basics are covered. I thoroughly expect the car to continue providing unflinching reliability for many years to come, and even though it's no Ferrari, it's great for what it is!