Ford Fiesta 1.4 Zetec 2009

[Ricardo62]

Vehicle: Ford fiesta 1.4 Zetec 2009 (59) 5 door

Length of ownership: 2 weeks

Performance: Power: No hot hatch but great for town, A & B roads but gearing not suited to motorways. Very good throttle response. You can drive it easily at low revs and although the engine loves to rev with a nice throaty growl you don't need to extend it during normal driving. On an empty road though it is fun to just keep going to 4000rpm just for the hell of it now and again!

Speed: Not designed for high top speeds but fine for keeping up with everyday traffic.

Handling: Excellent. For a small hatch it is really fun to drive with loads of grip and minimal body roll etc. You feel you could drive along fast sweeping A roads at 50-60 all day. The steering is spot on. Loads of feel and although light it feels well weighted.

Modifications: None

Comfort: Very comfortable. Seats feel big and fit nicely across the shoulders. I recently did 4 hours and had no problems. Suspension absorbs bumps well. Not wallowy or jiggly. Very well sorted. A centre armrest would be nice though.

Driving comfort/position: Wide range of seat/wheel positions so getting comfortable not a problem. I do like my seat quite far back though which restricts rear leg room. All round visibility is very good although a bit of care is needed with the front pillars which are quite thick.

Road/engine noise: Excellent for this size of car. Conversing at 60 no problem with minimal engine, tyre or wind noise.

Sound system: Mine came with the 6 speaker upgrade which has a stronger amp and this is a must. A nice powerful sound with good EQ controls. If it only has front speakers it's the standard amp and nothing like as good so look out for speakers in the rear doors. I plugged my phone into the aux socket using Spotify and it sounds brilliant although my lead is a bit loose in the socket provided which can break up the sound and needs a bit of jiggling but this may just be my socket.

Reliability & Running Costs: Too early to tell but everything works and I am averaging 48mpg. Insurance and tax perfectly reasonable.

Good Points: Looks good, absolute doddle to park, roomy with lots of cubby holes and a big glove box, very simple controls but well equipped and drives brilliantly. Interior heats up quickly.

Bad Points: No 6th gear. It really needs one. Once you get to 70 you are doing 3000rpm and the mpg drops a lot. A 6th gear would be perfect. No spare wheel, you get a can of foam instead which is no good for a rupture so I will be getting a space saver as soon as possible. No engine temperature gauge. You would only know something is wrong when a warning light comes on.

Summary: I have come from a top of the range Mondeo Mk4 to this car because most of my miles are a simple commute and I couldn't justify a big car any more. I thought I would really not like this much but I am amazed by just how god it is. OK so it doesn't have fancy auto folding/dimming mirrors or rain sensitive wipers but it still comes with air con, heated front screen and a decent computer showing the info you need. And it is great fun to drive. I find I am going just as fast in this as I did in my Mondeo but getting better MPG and not worrying about all the fancy stuff that can go wrong. Forget the old tinny and tiny Fiestas. Take one for a test drive and you will be surprised too.

[nofinchance]

Thanks you have got this about right as my car is the 1.4 3 door and my review would be the same. The only thing to add is the quality of fixtures and fit is poor. All types and models of modern ford seem to suffer from this not just the fiesta .Seems the problem is the car is 'clipped together ' rather than screwed and rattles like a tea tray in an old peoples home. An afternoon with some packing can sort most of it but poor for a otherwise very nice car. I was chatting to a guy who was well annoyed with the focus st he had nothing but quality issues and lost loads of cash on it The stereo ate cds for one thing and had to be sent to Belgium for repair. You can imagine how long that leaves you without a car