Fantastic car for the money, best XR2i ever and I've owned every version
Rapid rusting around the petrol cap area.
CV joints went at 54,000 miles.
Spark plugs need changing regularly.
Have the car regularly serviced.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 24th December, 2000
Cheap and very cheerful!
Some surface rust under the front bumper and rear wheel arch showing it's age, now tended to.
Split CV gaitor when first bought.
Sometimes difficult to engage first gear - I think this is a common problem on Fiestas.
Tappet noise, fixed by adjusting valve clearances.
I think this is an excellent cheap car. You don't buy a 1.1 Fiesta for hot-rod performance, and whilst acceleration is quite slow, the super-economic 1.1 engine makes up for it, easily delivering over 50mpg.
The little car faithfully keeps on going and has never let me down yet, easily coping with long motorway journeys with heavy luggage.
It has a comfortable, bright interior, is easy to work on and pleasant to drive. It's 100% reliable and always starts first time.
Special edition means I have also have a sunroof, RDS stereo and metallic paint!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 19th November, 2000
Cheap and easy
Indicator/wiper/lights multiswitch.
Driveshafts are worn.
My first car, it is easy to drive and feels quite solid for a small cheap car.
It has always drunk oil and rust has now started to form on wheel arches. Never buy a red Ford, they fade and turn matt.
In general a reliable and economical (50 mpg) car which can actually be fun to drive if a bit slow.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 3rd September, 2000
An affordable hot hatch
Fan switch, overboost protection, steering rack and springs.
Getting into a Fiesta turbo from a Nova is a big step. I've owned the car for over a year now and after being very impressed with the speed at the start, I quickly got bored and started modifying the car.
Performance wise, on its own the car is fast low down up until 4th gear, then you notice its losing a little bit of power although it's still fast. In standard form they will just lose out to Renault 5 GT Turbo's but stick a chip in and you'll be laughing.
They are fairly reliable, some more than others if treated well, and I haven't had too many problems. Classic faults that will occur on nearly all of them is rust around the filler cap and sometimes the doors, and a crack in the centre of the bonnet from 'Enthusiastic' driving. Turbo and gearbox failing are other faults that occur from hard driven models. Much more reliable than the Renault 5 or other similar rivals and looks very nice.
Ride is OK, seats very supportive but once lowered it corners like a dream. Traction is a problem on the standard 14" wheels which is why most of them have 15".
Doesn't feel that safe or comfortable at 70-80 on the motorway and this is where the car is let down.
For low down acceleration and looks there isn't a better car. Cheap to modify and keeps you happy (for a while).
Ford are useless with this car and in most cases they can't help you with most engine problems.
I'm now selling mine for a faster car cos this car has now got me addicted to speed. The 1.6 engine is just that little bit too slow for me at high speeds so I'm looking for a 2.0 turbo.
A first time buyer will not be disappointed.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 24th August, 2000
A good, solid little car that is cheap to run
In the first month I had the car, the driveshaft needed changing and it developed a serious oil leak caused by blocked breather hoses. Both were fixed by the dealer (a Citroen dealer, not Ford) free of charge. Since then, the only things that have gone wrong are what you would expect from a car of its age:
- Thermostat jammed shut, causing overheating
- Alternator belt needed changing
- Battery died
- Entire exhaust system needed changing (caused by previous owner using it for town driving - many cold starts, which corroded it)
- HT leads needed changing
There are a number of small niggles that aren't worth fixing:
- Blower doesn't work on slowest speed
- Temperamental rear wiper and remote boot release switch
- Splutters and stalls on startup in cold weather, but is fine once it's running
- Occasionally misfires on acceleration after long journeys
- Rev counter registers much higher than it should when the battery is on load (eg. with lights and rear demister on)
- Central locking sometimes goes haywire
A really nice little car with extras that you wouldn't expect in a Fiesta, like central locking and electric windows. The above may seem like a catalogue of faults, but most are minor niggles that you would expect to happen with an eight year old car. Fuel economy has improved from less than 30mpg when I first bought it, to 44mpg now, following nice long runs (a 50-mile commute to work every day) and decent high-quality oil. Accelerates smartly, and cruises quite happily at motorway speeds.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 9th June, 2000
17th May 2002, 16:32
I have owned a Ford Fiesta Flight for almost two years and I think it is an excellent little car. I have found that the alloy wheels get very dirty especially at the front from the dust of the brakes. As I like to keep them as clean as possible, use an old toothbrush and some alloy wheel cleaner to get into the corners. The other comment I would like to make is that I think the spare tyre is located really badly. I think it should be retained in a recess in the boot. Other Ford vehicles have these, why not the Fiesta? The retaining hook that kept the spare tyre in place, rusted away causing the tyre to fall out in the middle of a busy car park! The tyre is now in the boot and the shelf under the car is held in place by some plastic garden wire. (Not string, this will disintegrate!) Does anyone else have these problems, otherwise I love my little car. It still looks good, but watch out for little rust spots here and there.