Total bollocks mate! A good friend of mine is well known for killing cars (Impreza WRX - 3 engines, 2 gearboxes. Legacy GTB - 2 engines, 2 diffs). The Clio 172 Cup he had, well he got it for his wife but enjoyed it so much he stole it off her, was pretty faultless. In fact that Car was so good he's just purchased a Clio 200 Cup over the Evo he was looking at. My missus has had her Clio from new in 2007 and it hasn't put a single foot wrong. We also have several Renaults at work and they have proven to be far more reliable than our Vauxhall fleet. For sure the build quality isn't great but the Fiesta isn't a hand crafted Bentley either.