Fiesta ***Testdrove a 2005 Ford Fiesta 1.3 Duratec***

[cawimmer430]

Some friends from America were visiting me and they rented a Ford Fiesta in Munich and made their way to my place. I was able to take the little car for a spin.

There were no hints of what car this was, but when you popped the engine bay and checked the VIN numbers, it clearly said 1299cc - the lowest gasoline engine available for this car. I think many of you will stop reading right here when I tell you this car had 60-horsepower and 99 Nm of torque (73 lb/ft), but it was a fun little car despite the power handicap.

First of, the exterior isn't too bad looking. It's a relatively handsome little economy car, certainly better than past Fiestas. The Fiesta is the second smallest Ford sold in Europe, the Ka is the smallest. Surprisingly, the inside was pretty generous in terms of space for a 6'4" guy like me. The cockpit materials were very plasticky but left a very clean and solid impression. The plastics used didn't look cheap at all. The cockpit ergonomics could be better. For example, the shifter is placed a little too close to he center console and too far away from my right hand. Playing around with the seating position didn't help much. The blinker controls are so small, you tend to miss them when you want to indicate a turn. Not good.



The little 60-hp engine was pretty zippy in city-driving. The car was agile in 1st and 2nd gear and well suited as a quick grocery getter. Outside of town though, on local country roads, the thing was a slug. The lack of torque is annoying and midrange power is non-existant. A true city car in otherwords, especially with the weakest engine. The engine was relatively smooth. I say relatively because it still felt like a 4-cylinder: unlike the new 4-cylinders from BMW or MB which feel and sound and go like 6's. I didn't really hammer it much and the highest I got up to was a little over 100 km/h (62 mph) - which took a lifetime.

Steering wasn't very direct and kinda vague. The front wheels did respond quickly, but there was little feedback. I had no complaints since this ins't a sports car. The suspension was very stiff and you could feel every bump. No complaints again, this isn't a luxury car. The 5-speed transmission was equally vague and not every gear could be engaged smoothly. The clutch was very light. The brakes were slow to respond but did a good job of stopping the car, even at higher speeds.



The Verdict? An efficient little city car made for the city and only for the city. My friends told me that on the Autobahn, they only achieved 130 km/h (81 mph) top speed with the little Fiesta. Nothing to fiesta about!

Overall though, I had fun with the car because it was so zippy in the city. If I had to own a Fiesta, I'd hands down go for a TDCi (diesel) model because the extra torque makes up for a lot.

More pictures: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2104672489

 

[Mr. M]

Nice review. I wonder how this compares with the Honda Jazz...

 

[Yperion]

Nice review. I wonder how this compares with the Honda Jazz...

I would say that Fiesta is better than the Jazz but worse than a VW Polo.

 

[Mr. M]

I would say that Fiesta is better than the Jazz but worse than a VW Polo.

The problem with the Polo is with its age. The radio is externally-fitted. Leather is a cost option. And the 1.4L unit is a dinosaur. Not to mention that it is more expensive than the Jazz... I really wanted to like the Polo, but sensibly it wasn't convincing enough. Something that was going for it though was its sturdy German build quality and the fact that it is German. That's about it.

 

[Centurion]

So you didn't like the steering? Personally I was thrilled when I drove the car a couple of months ago. It was a very easy car to control and even the girl which I was with inside the car drove it later and said that she likes it more than the 1-series we had been driving an hour earlier.

 

[Andaluz]

I agree with pretty much everything you said Cawimmer.

The Fiesta equipped with the 1.3 engine, is more of a city runabout, rather than an Autobahn stormer. But then again, Ford didn't intend to make it as performance car, however, as you said, just a little bit more of poke from the 1.3 Engine would be better. 60 Bhp indeed it isn't good enough, not even for a 1.3 8V engine. I'd say 75 or 80 Bhp would be much better.

I must I'm surprised that your friends managed to only reach 130 Km/h (80 Mph) with this car. My mom and I went for a test drive in one of these, and we managed to go up to 100 Mph (160 Km/h) and that was it. The car didn't pass from that. Limited at 100 Mph? Who knows...the car was slow as hell!

That said however, the little thing was jolly good fun to throw on twisty B-Roads. Responsive steering with plenty of feedback. Much more of a driver's car than the Toyota Yaris which I bought for her. She preferred the Yaris.

In the end we preferred the Yaris, because it was faster and because it is a Toyota, therefore it would be more reliable than a Ford. Oh well...the Toyota Yaris is the ideal car for old ladies who simply don't care about cars. And want nothing but a reasonably priced, reliable set of 4-wheels.

 

[cawimmer430]

So you didn't like the steering? Personally I was thrilled when I drove the car a couple of months ago. It was a very easy car to control and even the girl which I was with inside the car drove it later and said that she likes it more than the 1-series we had been driving an hour earlier.

The steering on this thing was very light and vague. Completely un-sporty. I didn't blame the car mindlessly since I thought about it and came to the conclusion that it isn't a sports car.

Which version did you drive BTW Luwalira? My guess is a 1.6 100-hp version or the 150-hp 2.0 ST version. Those two are possibly sportier and have the appropriate steering feel. After all, I drove a rental base model and this thing get's used pretty quickly.

 

[cawimmer430]

I agree with pretty much everything you said Cawimmer.

The Fiesta equipped with the 1.3 engine, is more of a city runabout, rather than an Autobahn stormer. But then again, Ford didn't intend to make it as performance car, however, as you said, just a little bit more of poke from the 1.3 Engine would be better. 60 Bhp indeed it isn't good enough, not even for a 1.3 8V engine. I'd say 75 or 80 Bhp would be much better.

I must I'm surprised that your firend manage to only reach 130 Km/h (80 Mph) with this car. My mom and I went for a test drive in one of these, and we managed to go up to 100 Mph and that was it. The car didn't pass from that. Limited at 100 Mph? Who knows...the car was slow as hell!

That said however, the little thing was jolly good fun to throw on twisty B-Roads. Responsive steering with plenty of feedback. Much more of a driver's car than the Toyota Yaris which I bought for her. She preferred the Yaris.

In the end we preferred the Yaris, because it was faster and because it is a Toyota, therefore it would be more reliable than a Ford. Oh well...the Toyota Yaris is the ideal car for old ladies who simply don't care about cars. And want nothing but a reasonably priced, reliable set of 4-wheels.

Thanks.

I also think the car could have used some more torque. Torque aids acceleration, horsepower aids top speed. If this were a 60-hp turbodiesel, it would be quicker because of the torque. Midrange power would be quicker (and safer).

But I did enjoy the car. I always try to reason the purpose of the car and evaluate it based on this. This is an excellent city car. It's small, zippy and handles nicely in a city environment. 60-hp or not, they're realistically adequate for city driving and the occassional freeway crossing. I didn't expect the car to be fast anyway. Overall, I liked it. Certainly looks better than a Yaris.

 

[cawimmer430]

Nice review. I wonder how this compares with the Honda Jazz...

Thanks.

I am sure Autobild will put these two together sometime. Will post it if they do.

 

[Yperion]

The problem with the Polo is with its age. The radio is externally-fitted. Leather is a cost option. And the 1.4L unit is a dinosaur. Not to mention that it is more expensive than the Jazz... I really wanted to like the Polo, but sensibly it wasn't convincing enough. Something that was going for it though was its sturdy German build quality and the fact that it is German. That's about it.

Polo 1.4 lt is as fast as the Jazz 1.3 lt and it has better quality, much better comfort and safer road behaviour. In fact the only car that gets close to the Polo is the new Clio but French cars are not as well build as the German ones and more unreliable.

 

[Giannis]

Thanks for the review Christian. I am looking for a new small city car these days. I am very interested in the VW Polo and in the Renault Clio. Both with the 1.4 engines. I think that they are better than the Fiesta. As you said, nothing to fiesta about. I've driven one. It was just nothing special.

I only want to say a thing. 60 Hp is too little. My clio has 75 but it is only 800kg. It must be as fast as a donkey!

 

[cawimmer430]

Thanks for the review Christian. I am looking for a new small city car these days. I am very interested in the VW Polo and in the Renault Clio. Both with the 1.4 engines. I think that they are better than the Fiesta. As you said, nothing to fiesta about. I've driven one. It was just nothing special.

I only want to say a thing. 60 Hp is too little. My clio has 75 but it is only 800kg. It must be as fast as a donkey!

If this Fiesta has more torque (and possible less weight and different gear ratios), it would have been quicker. But that's beside the point. Most people who go for the lame 1.3 60-hp version are interested in fuel economy and wouldn't mind the performance. But for us car geeks, power is important.

 

[Giannis]

If this Fiesta has more torque (and possible less weight and different gear ratios), it would have been quicker. But that's beside the point. Most people who go for the lame 1.3 60-hp version are interested in fuel economy and wouldn't mind the performance. But for us car geeks, power is important.

Well, power is not always important. IMO there difference between needs and i can feel that. As you may know i currently drive a Volvo S60 and an old Renault Clio. The first with 180 and the other with 75hp.

I have tried both cars in highway and downtown which is like hell. The 180Hp of the Volvo are enough for highway use and it is comfortable enough but if you decide to take it downtown then you make the hell even hotter. The car is big and you don't need all that power. In the end you pay so much for fuel that you don't really need and you have problem taking corners or doing that tricks that some drivers do in order to get through traffic more easily. The Clio though, even though it's old, it's still good. It's small ideal for traffic and at least here, you don't need more that 90hp in the city. You can't achieve more than 50km/h. And there's no point in achieving this speed a second earlier. But in the highway you feel the luck of power...

 

[cawimmer430]

Well, power is not always important. IMO there difference between needs and i can feel that. As you may know i currently drive a Volvo S60 and an old Renault Clio. The first with 180 and the other with 75hp.

I have tried both cars in highway and downtown which is like hell. The 180Hp of the Volvo are enough for highway use and it is comfortable enough but if you decide to take it downtown then you make the hell even hotter. The car is big and you don't need all that power. In the end you pay so much for fuel that you don't really need and you have problem taking corners or doing that tricks that some drivers do in order to get through traffic more easily. The Clio though, even though it's old, it's still good. It's small ideal for traffic and at least here, you don't need more that 90hp in the city. You can't achieve more than 50km/h. And there's no point in achieving this speed a second earlier. But in the highway you feel the luck of power...

Well I agree with you. But most people on most forums mindlessly claim that they need more power even if they do 90% of their driving within the city. If I know that I will do most of my driving within the city and rarely venture outside, then a base model A160 CDI for example would be my choice, and not an A200 Turbo.

I think you will agree that Europeans tend to be more realistic in these situations with their car choices, not doubt also inspired by the tax laws etc. here.

 

[Mr. M]

Polo 1.4 lt is as fast as the Jazz 1.3 lt and it has better quality, much better comfort and safer road behaviour. In fact the only car that gets close to the Polo is the new Clio but French cars are not as well build as the German ones and more unreliable.

I'd say quality is about the same, but I'd agree with you about comfort and road behaviour. I guess no Japanese car will come close giving that sense of solidity and safety when driving.

The massive appeal of the jazz is its fuel economy. It manages an amazing 4-5L/100km, compared to the Polo's 7+L/100km. I think there is where the Jazz trumphs it without a doubt. But of course if I had enough money, I'd go for a Polo fully optioned.

 

[Giannis]

Well I agree with you. But most people on most forums mindlessly claim that they need more power even if they do 90% of their driving within the city. If I know that I will do most of my driving within the city and rarely venture outside, then a base model A160 CDI for example would be my choice, and not an A200 Turbo.

I think you will agree that Europeans tend to be more realistic in these situations with their car choices, not doubt also inspired by the tax laws etc. here.

Sure there are tax laws, then you gotta pay a fortune to buy a fast car, and then there is maintainence. I have a garage for the Volvo, and i'm saving money to buy another parking space for the Clio. I park it in the street outside my house but some b*stard have hit it several times. Now it has more than 3 serious hits, on both front doors and the rear bumper. It needs money to be kept safe or just get repaired. And i'm not willing to spend more than 300eur, on a 16 year old car. I will keep it for some months and then (it will have melt down) i will be looking for a new one...