1991 Ford Fiesta Popular Plus 1.1 petrol

Summary:

Poor build quality and poor performance, but looks good

Faults:

A little body rot evident around the jack points, rear wheels arches, fuel cap area and front and rear skirts. I made the mistake of not using Waxoyl on the infected areas and this lead to costly repairs. When you buy a Fiesta, the first thing to do is Waxoyl the entire vehicle.

Clutch went at 85k, this was quite cheap at just over £100.

Exhaust went at 86k.

Front shocks at 90k.

Exhaust again at 92k.

Head gasket at 94k.

Steering rack at 98k.

Lower front suspension arm at 98k.

General Comments:

Interior OK, dashboard pleasant enough, steering wheel looks too big for a small car.

The car looks good from the outside, and in my opinion looks just as good if not better than the mk4 Fiesta.

Poor handling, tracking always needs adjusting.

The 1100 HCS engine is noisy, slow and crude, but is reliable and well proven. Feels it has less than the 53Bhp that is on tap.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st November, 2001

1991 Ford Fiesta S 1.6

Summary:

A fast reliable good looking Ford

Faults:

The drive shaft fell off just the other day.

Engine mounts are coming loose.

General Comments:

I was so surprised that this car was so fast, compared to my last Fiesta.

The car is so easy to modify, I put a K&N air filter on and this made the performance even better. It is now faster than an XR2i. I also put all of the RS1800 bodykit on, and this makes the car look stunning.

The interior is perfect, and it has a nice fat steering wheel.

It is cheap on the insurance, and petrol.

I would advise anyone to buy this car instead of an XR2i.

It is a real babe puller.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd March, 2001

31st Jan 2002, 08:52

How can you suggest anyone buys this car instead of an XR2i? The XR2i has a better interior, stiffer suspension, and a stronger chassis and fuel injection. And yes the XR2i (8-valve or 16-valve) is quicker than your vehicle.

25th Jul 2002, 16:29

Although the Xr2i is faster and looks great, they are more tempting to thieves and therefore more expensive to insure. I am 18 and have recently purchased a Ford Fiesta S and the insurance was fine (the same price as a Fiat Panda!). I had found an Xr2i that I wanted, but when enquiring about insurance, not one company would even give me a quote with me being under 21. The RS Turbo is my ambition for the future!

10th Aug 2006, 05:56

Suspension on the 1.6 S is borrowed from the xr2i.

1991 Ford Fiesta XR2i 1.6 petrol

Summary:

A cheap fun hatch that is still popular

Faults:

Worn steering rack replaced.

New starter motor and alternator.

Warped brake disks replaced.

Ball joints replaced on numerous occasions.

Gear-box drive shaft oil seal replaced.

General Comments:

A fun and quickish car.

Highly geared steering lets the car down though and makes some corners a bit of a chore.

The support provided by the seats is also poor especially for the taller person.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th March, 2001

3rd Jul 2001, 13:49

Totally agree, we sold ours as the steering was so heavy it gave me pains in my stomach, also the seats were terrible, really high with no support. Having said that it was sold at only 40k and looked like new it was totally immaculate. I found the engine took 20k miles to loosen up. It also under steered a lot and no ABS yikes! Still it looked great in red with RS alloys. No regrets though, good fun.

1991 Ford Fiesta DL 1.8 diesel

Summary:

Reliability, economy and speed rolled into one!

Faults:

There is slight rust on all 4 wheel arches.

The oil gets 'dirty' quite quickly and so has to be changed regularly.

The ashtray clip has gotten lost, so the ashtray is permenently open!

The rear wiper doesn't work.

General Comments:

This car is not slow! The 1.8 engine easily carries the Fiesta's bulky frame.

Excellent mile to the gallon - it runs on fresh air!

The cabin is quite basic but has everything that you need in easy reach.

There is minimal engine noise from the diesel engine.

It starts first time every day.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd February, 2001

29th Apr 2001, 13:00

I have just acquired a Fiesta 1.8 diesel from an auction. I haven't driven it much yet, but it seems OK. I bought it because it has a towbar and I know a diesel has more torque for pulling than a petrol.

One thing that I've noticed that doesn't work though is the rear wiper, it's not a fuse I don't think. Any ideas?

Steve, Blackpool.

29th Jun 2001, 20:52

Common fault in all Fiesta's rear wiper (motor not sealed from all weathers).

10th Apr 2003, 13:21

I have owned a Ford Fiesta 1.8DLX (H 1990) for at least 11years now. After months of getting the car the rear wipers stopped working. Also, after 3-4 years of owning the car, it had problems starting up (especially in the cold). Attempting to start the car in the cold resulted with a flat battery, therefore having to push start the car all the time. I changed the glow plugs, but still had the same problem. Therefore to overcome the problem of a flat battery when car didn't start, I got a £170 Mercedes-Benz battery (in 1995) which did help (and still is), because I could attempt to start the car 5-6 times before the battery got flat, by this many attempts the car mostly started (Not all the time). Other problem is the rust, this car rusts so quickly, to overcome this every 1-2 years I sand down the rust apply some rust protecting agent and paint over it with the matching color. This help to keep the cars looks. But overall I think this car is a good looking car (despite the noise of the engine). I would like to keep it for few more years.

15th Dec 2004, 17:04

The rear wiper is powered through copper contacts on the bottom the boot hatch. They get dirty and the wiper stops working. This happened to me, I cleaned them, now its OK.