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Buckling the trend

I'm thinking of buying an almost new Fiesta 1.4 Zetec and on browsing the geek forums the one recurring problem seems to be alloy wheels buckling on our undesirable road surfaces. There doesn't seem to be a pattern indicating a certain build period. I wonder if you have any feedback that would point to a particular model fault or time frame?

Asked on 1 October 2011 by NB, Cheddar

Answered by Honest John
Definitely avoid any Fiestas on 17" wheels with 40 or 45 profile tyres. They feel like they have no tyres at all, and that's why the wheels buckle so easily. 16" not quite as bad. 15" better. But the most suitable are 14" wheels with 175/65 R14 Michelin Energy Saver tyres, as fitted to ECOnetics, from which I recently saw 70.2mpg in mixed traffic.
Tags: buying

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