Zetec Econetic 1.6 TDCi 5dr Hatchback

Brilliant Small Hatchback

I bought my 2009 Ford Fiesta 1600cc diesel used at 3 years old and 50.000 miles in 2012 for my wife - I used to drive it occasionally in town when not driving one of the taxis in our family run taxi business. I have to say the Fiesta was a brilliant overall car.

The biggest selling point was the very low road tax and very good fuel economy, just £20 a year annually and a realistic figure of at least 63 miles per gallon.
Other than the cheap running costs, the best part about the Ford was the experience of driving it, it really is a fun little car. The 90 horsepower turbocharged diesel engine is punchy for such a little car, much better than the 1400cc diesel which I test drove and also owned in an old shape Fezzi. The gearbox is also slick, but it must be said I would like a 6th gear for the motorway miles.
The Fiesta is also fairly comfortable for a small hatchback, probably above average in its class.

However it must be said, whilst the seats are fairly comfortable, the interior plastics feel a bit cheap. It’s no worse than many of its rivals but I did notice that the Volkswagen Polo is a little nicer on the inside.
My only other small complaints with the Fiesta are the few small issues we encountered during ownership going from 50.000 to 90.000 miles. The first issue was at 75.000 miles when at MOT time the car needed a new rear section of the exhaust due to leaking gasses and being corroded - a common Fezzi issue. Also at 75.000 miles the handbrake required adjustment as it was an MOT advisory.
Other than that all that was replaced was a suspension ball joint at 85.000 miles. All in all nothing too bad or worrying.

So overall I would definitely recommend the Ford Fiesta Zetec 1600cc diesel as it’s fairly fast, very economical, cheap to run, stylish, reliable and great to drive.
No wonder Ford sold over half a million of them!

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