Just been to look at the current new ford fiesta today for SWMBO and we both quite liked what we saw.
So I was just wondering if anyone on here has got / had one and could tell me what they are like to live with?
I know the Ka 1.3 has a lot of people slating the push-rod (?) engines and the lack of galvanising, but is there anything I should know about the Fiesta?
Model we were looking at was the 1.4 Zetec climate (with free sports and tech pack - special offer at the mo).
Any other suggestions for a better car for £8k new also greatfully accepted, but mainly looking for advice on the Fiesta.
Thanks
s
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I know there are people on here that will say to buy the Fiesta above all else, and that it's the class leader yada yada, but for what it's worth I have driven a fair few of these and here are my views.
Firstly, the driving experience. It ain't all that. It leans into bends and the manual gearbox is hateful, clunky as hell and most reluctant to go into first if the car isn't at a total standstill.
The 1.25 Zetec is a bit coarse, and gutless at low revs. The 1.4 may be better.
Rust will not be an issue in the same way it is with the Ka but it must be said that the quality of the metalwork does seem to be variable and there are plenty of newish Fiestas with rusty wings, sills and rear hatches. The warranty on Fords is questionable (1 year manufacturer's warranty followed by a 2-year dealer extension, and Ford dealers aren't averse to wriggling out of warranty repairs).
Don't get me wrong, the car is decent, but I'd still have most of the German or Japanese competition over it.
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I've had a 1.4 Zetec 3 door and I have nothing but praise for it.
The drive was excellent for a car of it's class, I had absolutely no reliability issues at all and she was just generally a pleasure to own. One of only two cars that I was ever sorry to see go.
Blue
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We have a two year old Fiesta 1.4 Zetec 'climate' with those damned low-profile tyres and alloy wheels. As far as I'm concerned, the fewer journeys I make in the car, the better, as the ride is dire.
The interior is a relentles sort of black and is gloomy and cheap looking and the engine very vocal - as for the gearchange...ugggghhhh! Altogether, then, not at all satisfied with one of Ford's major small cars as it is too unsophisticated compared with what is now available. I regret having changed our previous Fiesta for this current one.
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A friend had a Fiesta 1.4 Zetec until early this year: reliable and perfectly OK to drive, although she said it wasn't that exciting. But the main problem was the poor resale value (against a new Jazz) - I suspect through over-supply.
It could be worth trying a Corsa, Jazz or Fabia, all of which according to What Car's tables should hold their value better. However you may not get as good a discount in the first place - if as you imply you can get a 1.4 Zetec Climate for £8k new you're doing well.
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Cant see a Corsa holding its value better than a Fiesta.
I would look at the Clio as well.
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They've knocked the stuffing out of these Zetec-SE engines in recent years (emissions?). I had a 1.4 Fiesta as a hire car last year, and the engine was barely recognisable as the same unit installed in SWMBO's mkIV version. Harsh, gutless and noisy.
Not a bad car overall though. Reasonable interior and plenty of space for me at 6ft 2, but definitely lacked the sense of fun and the "go-kart" chuckability of the mkIV model, but didn't have the interior quality, noise levels or comfort to carry off the "junior cruiser" thing convincingly.
I think this is Ford's least convincing mainstream model by a long way. The Focus and Mondeo are obviously up there among the very top of their classes, but the Fiesta doesn't convince. I actually prefer the Ka.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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The diesel with the low £35 pa duty is definitly worth a look at.
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>>and the engine was barely recognisable as the same unit installed in SWMBO's mkIV version. Harsh, gutless and noisy. >>
I dont think that is typical, perhaps it was faulty, not run in properly, the 1.4 is typically a sweet engine.
The diesel with the low £35 pa duty is definitly worth a look at.
The 1.6 / 90 diesel had low CO2 and great performance.
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Cheers guys, very mixed opinions then :-)
Just looking at some stats, I am a bit confussed as to what the 1.4 offers over the 1.25?
The diff in price is about £250 which is not much for (you would think) a bit more power especially on the occasional motorway journey etc... but...
1.25 =
73 bhp
101mph top speed
13.6 for 0 to 60
47 MPG
Group 3 insurance
1.4 =
78 bhp
103 mph top speed
12.3 for 0 to 60
45 mpg
Group 5 insurance
[its like top trumps this :-) ]
There looks very little difference between the two in terms of performance so I am thinking should I save the £250 and the (small) extra costs in insurance / fuel?
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1.4 = 78 bhp 103 mph top speed 12.3 for 0 to 60
Crikey! blasphemous comment removed, what have they done to it?
The same engine was 90PS in the mkIV in what I would guess was a 150kg lighter car. 0-60 in 10.9 seconds. 112 mph flat out. 41 mpg in daily use.
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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Any other suggestions for a better car for £8k new also greatfully accepted
What do you mean by "better"? It all depends what you are looking for in a car. The steering and handling in the Fiesta are probably better than for any car at its price range, but the Fiesta would be beaten on other fronts. For example, if you want space, you should be able to get a Citroen Berlingo 1.4 for about £7650.
On the positive side, the Fiesta is virtually unchanged since 2002, which means that they should have ironed out any initial problems, and it should be fairly reliable.
The same cannot be said for the new Corsa, which is still a bit of an unknown quantity regarding reliability.
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I've just given back a Fiesta hire car.
Steering and handling were excellent, engine lively and gearbox perfectly adequate. In other words, it's great to drive.
But...... the interior is, as others have noted, extremely grim and there's nowhere to put your left foot!
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Fiesta is still doing what it was originally intended to do. Provide realtively low cost motoring for the masses. They are cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to fix and easy to drive. These are the reasons why my dad has only ever had Fiestas in 20 years of being a driving instructor, despite considering other marques. He had a new Corsa a few weeks ago as a courtesy car and thought it was a vast improvement over previous models, but the speedo is in the wrong place for his requirements and he felt it was much bigger than the Fiesta.
He currently has Mk V 1.4TDCi and like every other Fiesta he has had it is proving very dependable - fuel computer is showing 44mpg average in 45,000 miles of teaching - 18 months old. This will be his last car for teaching before he retires, only then will he break the Fiesta habit!
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I've recently had a 1.4 Zetec 56 reg with 12k on the clock as a courtesy car for about a week. I covered about 350 miles in it, mostly on the motorway.
It looks okay, there were no rattles or squeaks and the ride acceptable.
The worst bits were the gutless engine. You really had to thrash it to get anywhere, even around town. And the noise, whilst not unpleasent was really intrusive. On the motorway at 70 - 75, to be able to hear radio 4, for example, I had to turn the volume up to painful levels to hear what was being said.
The interior trim I also found overly plasticy and hollow.
I would never buy one with my own monay.
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A Common problem on these cars is the water pump.
My Parents 04 plate 1.4 needed a new one at 25k miles/2yrs, but I think it was covered by warranty.
But I guess many cars of the same price bracket have common faults.
-S
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Had one as a hire car and found it adequate but there was a lack of acceleration. Had a Fusion diesel on holiday and found this a much more useful car and the small diesel didn't seem to suffer in performance compared to the Fiesta.
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I look forward, to the new-shape Fiesta next year, although one can see what it going to be like from perhaps the, preferred, new shape Mazda 2 which is soon to be available. Let's hope that both are better dynamically and not so agricultural in nature.
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I've just spent four days with the current model 5 door Zetec hire car (not sure if it was 1.25 or 1.4 - engine output didn't make me want to lift the bonnet to explore).
The car did everything asked of it very well. Took four adults in relative comfort though hills did show up the lack of engine output.
Good cabin size, easy access with five doors and good size boot for the class of car.
Computer said 41.9mpg brim to brim calculation showed 44.2mpg. Not great for this class of car.
I did not exceed the posted limits at any point and changed up before 3k rpm, the car only going beyond this point on the motorway, 70mph being an indicated 3250rpm.
Would I buy one ? No.
Too much tyre noise in the cabin at an indicated 70mph. This car was on 15" alloys and the tyre roar was, in my view, unacceptable.
Also, the centre console was in the way of my left leg when not using the clutch making the combintaion of high seating position and intrusion into the drivers footwell very uncomfortable.
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though hills did show up the lack of engine output. I did not exceed the posted limits at any point and changed up before 3k rpm the car only going beyond this point on the motorway 70mph being an indicated 3250rpm.
Hmm, whether it is a 1.25 or 1.4 it is a sweet revving 16v engine that performs at its best if the revs are used, it surely would haved zipped up those hills with a satisfying zing as it revved had it been allowed to.
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My dads car (mentioned above) has now done 75,000 miles without missing a beat.
I was a passenger in it on Sunday and the Zetec ride is very harsh - he has this model as it has a dark interior and aircon. Both required when you are teaching.
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Hmm whether it is a 1.25 or 1.4 it is a sweet revving 16v engine that performs at its best if the revs are used it surely would haved zipped up those hills with a satisfying zing as it revved had it been allowed to.
Maybe it would but I was testing it to see what real world economy would be like with it as a second car for my wife. She doesn't extend the rev range like I normally would.
I'm used to driving a torquey diesel so have got out of the habit of rowing the car along on the gearbox.
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Hmm whether it is a 1.25 or 1.4 it is a sweet revving 16v engine that performs at its best if the revs are used it surely would haved zipped up those hills with a satisfying zing as it revved had it been allowed to.
Cheddar - have you tried this engine in a recent model? Historically I would agree with you - these were some of the best small four cylinder engines anywhere. Our mkIV Fiesta 1.4 was lively, revvy and surprisingly zippy. In the current Fiesta they feel breathless and strangled. All the "zing" has gone, and they clearly struggle with the extra weight. The example I drove was also horribly coarse.
Underpowered cars can be fun if they're sweet revving (small Fiat syndrome). I think it's a sad indictment of the state of modern cars when a good 1400cc petrol engine can't deliver acceptable performance in a "small" car.
Cheers
DP
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