civic and corollas are only more reliable because the only ever see 5th gear and usually dont exceeed 40mph on a nsl dual carrage way..
All im saying.. a car this age something will likely go wrong.. usually a minor small cheap part, and japanese is not cheap when it does.
The car im looking at is a 1.0/3cyl/52hp suzuki swift. The engine bay is almost empty, and everything is purely mechanical rather than electronic. If I wanted, there is even space for me to acctually stand inside the engine bay, maybe even space for a seat
If it breaks, the space and ease of getting to bits would be very nice. the fiesta has a lot more crap filling up the engine bay.
I would be tempted by another cheap fiesta since mine is good for parts, except rust is a major issue with them
BUT... french cars dont rust, and when they go wrong its usually electrics/sensors rather than anything mecanical. 306's make up the majority of posts in the pitstop, but I think 80% or so are about the ISCV
I would be very tempted by a 306 is one were cheap. Also think they are one of the nicest looking hatchbacks (with 106 and 205 being the worst looking )