2015 Fiesta Zetec S 'Red Edition' - Evo Triangle in the snow

[GTIAlex]

After writing off my £400 Yaris winter shed, that I was using while my '89 Mini and VW Camper are receiving some much needed attention, I thought I'd treat myself to something totally different.

Picked this up on Sunday and did the obvious, head into Wales for a good run out and dusted off the camera with a friend in a Clio 172 in tow.

The specs for anyone who may be interested are basicly;

1.0, 3 cylinder EcoBoost engine
Lower than a standard Zetec S
Stiffer than a Zetec S
More power
Leather bits and bobs
Sports seats (not quite ST Recaros but almost as supportive)
140BHP
Forums suggest a realistic MPG figure of around 55mpg...
Whats not to love?

Some photos















A sample of the roads we faced along the way



Having never been to the traingle, I loved the scenery, shame about the weather however it was more of a scouting trip for more trips later in the year.


The car handles superbly, refined yet sporty, a nice amount of poke if your on boost exiting corners, good feel through the wheel and a great place to sit.

Thinking mans ST? I think so.

[GTIAlex]

Few photos of Jacks Clio 172

[LouD86]

These are suprising little cars, glad your enjoying it. With your current fleet, what made you choose this?

[rehab71]

Great little car, good job!

I handed over a black and red one today to a couple who already have a red and black one, so now have his and hers.

[Beedub]

140hp is insane from the 1.0, that must feel like a rocket ship!!

[GTIAlex]

Yeah it really is quite the little nipper!...montune apparently have something in the pipeline rumoured to take the engine to around 160bhp.

I chose it because I can jump in, turn the key, turn the heated screen on, be lovely and warm and drive to work, its great!

Previously i've owned:

1989 998cc Mini (still own)
1989 205 CTI (convertible with 1.6 GTI engine)
Clio 182 (build quality and driving position started to grate on me)
£400 1.0 Yaris (wrote off, loved that car)
1986 VW T25 Campervan (owned around 7 months, off the road 5 years in a garage and resuced it)

As you can see apart from the short spell with the Clio, i've always had lower powered older, fun cars that you can chuck around and just have a laugh in. Saw the specs on this and thought I'd treat myself.

Love the idea of having a lovely thrumming 1.0 engine up front, makes a great noise and is enough power for me, plus is gets fantastic MPG. Can't fault it.
Plus is just grips and grips and grips.

Means I can focus on getting the mini restored and the van ready for the summer

[Defcon5]

Not often a trim edition actually has substantial differences from its base model!

[andy118run]

Love the pics. Looks a decent and slightly different little motor.

[GTIAlex]

Defcon5 said:

Not often a trim edition actually has substantial differences from its base model!

Believe the differences over a standard Zetec S are,

140bhp vs 123bhp (montune zetec s = 135bhp)
10mm lower
12% stiffer at the front, 6% at the back
Shorter gear ratios
'Upgraded' transmission, although haven't been able to find out what's actually upgraded.
Tuned steering, slightly more weight

The extra power is gained from engine mapping alone I believe, so any further gains from Montune would potentially come in the form of induction.

Many of the reviews mention the lack of 6th gear which can be found on the ST, but i've not really found this an issue. However I can echo that the red/black seems to have all the dynamic of the ST in terms of steering feel and precision (which I have driven) with less power, but greatly reduced running costs...although im rather bias of course.

[Mafffew]

They are great little cars, a mate has got a black edition and I was really impressed with it. It handles very well and the power they've squeezed out of that engine is a fantastic achievement. No reason not to go for one of these over the Zetec S, but I don't think I swap one for my ST (although I am biased!)

[jaacck]

Love the look of these, got my 15 plate fiesta st on the 1st of march, not been on any roads that look as good as that yet though

[samj2014]

It still amazes me that 140bhp can be had out of a 3-cylinder 1.0l engine! Nice!

[GTIAlex]

jaacck said:

Love the look of these, got my 15 plate fiesta st on the 1st of march, not been on any roads that look as good as that yet though

I just posted on yours without realising you already posted on here.

Where abouts do you live? North wales is coming a regular Sunday thing now, going up this week with a friend with a Fiesta ST and a volvo engined Focus ST

[GTIAlex]

Mafffew said:

They are great little cars, a mate has got a black edition and I was really impressed with it. It handles very well and the power they've squeezed out of that engine is a fantastic achievement. No reason not to go for one of these over the Zetec S, but I don't think I swap one for my ST (although I am biased!)

Yeah much better than the Zetec S but I have to put up with lots of jokes from my two mates in their ST.
I drove an ST again yesterday and although the power is obviously a total different experience, the feel of the car is very similar.

[melvster]

Lovely Fiesta mate; if i needed a daily i would snap one of these up on a lease deal. Great cars.

[RacingBlue]

Have to say, I think the Clio is far better looking...

Great pictures though

[GTIAlex]

RacingBlue said:

Have to say, I think the Clio is far better looking...

Great pictures though

I owned a Clio 182 for a good while and loved it, would happily have one again in the future. The seating position and build quality did start to frustrate me though.

[GTIAlex]

My other loves






and the one I got frustrated with and sold

[SebringMan]

Some of your car choices look familiar (as in terms of what I have owned over the years!). The Fiesta sounds superb!

However, what MPG do you actually see from the engine? Most people I know seem to see around 40MPG in the real world (from a Fiesta to a B-Max).

[samj2014]

GTIAlex said:

I just posted on yours without realising you already posted on here.

Where abouts do you live? North wales is coming a regular Sunday thing now, going up this week with a friend with a Fiesta ST and a volvo engined Focus ST

Can't remember what it's called, but the road from Betws Y Coed to Blaenau Ffestiniog is ace. In fact most of the roads in mid wales are awesome, and often much less busy than those in north wales.