A Fordable?

With the rising cost of fuel and increase in VED, I am after a small diesel car. I am not looking to spend much and have seen a 55 plate Ford Fiesta 1.6 (90bhp) TDCi for sale. It has done almost 70,000 miles. The two cars I have owned to date have both been Fords but with bullet proof Zetec engines. So my concern with this car is diesel reliability. Generally speaking how reliable is this 1.6 PSA diesel proving to be at this sort of age and mileage? Would you fancy its chances of doing another 50,000 trouble free?

Asked on 14 November 2009 by

Answered by Honest John

This is a really good little car. Economical, low CO2 and fun to drive as well. The PSA/Ford 1.6 16v diesel is pretty robust and this one doesn’t have a diesel particulate filter to worry about. There have been silly problems like the plastic end of the dipstick dropping off. Will need a timing belt and tensioner change very soon rather than pushing it to the recommended life.

Tags: buying diesels new cars road tax ved small cars

Dear Honest John,

Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:

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