2015 Fiesta Zetec S 'Red Edition' - Evo Triangle in the snow
Discussion
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.
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.
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
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 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.
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
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.
SebringMan said:
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).
Real world its averaging about 45mpg, to work and back, never in rush hour but still fairly busy.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).
Reset the trip on the motorway and it reaches 55mpg but again if you drive normally it comes back down to around 44mpg
Any spirited long distance driving sees it drop to around 38mpg.
lukefreeman said:
Had a 125bhp focus (6 speed yesterday) and it returned 40ish. It was strange to drive, dollop of torque and then nothing. Drove like a diesel. Triple sounds well though.
I can see where your coming from with the diesel analogy, the power certainly is lower down, turbo comes on song above 2000rpm but below 4-5000rpm id say. Pull out of a junction quickly and let it drop below 2000rpm and it leaves you stranded as I found out the other morning.The engine does like to rev though, however I always change gear way before the redline as there is little point in thrashing the engine, the fun is keeping it in the power band where it is most rewarding; unlike the clio 182 I used to own, which begged to be driven hard
A few months on and I am still enjoying this car, however on the odd occasion I find myself starting to miss the top end grunt that I used to get from the Clio 182. The fiestas feel and composure more than compensates though; this is in addition to the brakes which really do have good bite considering the size of the discs up front and the drums on the back.
It is fairly thirsty when on a bit of a hoon, dropping to the low 30s however normal stop start commuting sees low 40s and on a run mid 50s.
Certainly doesn't enjoy being thrashed through the rev range but is more than capable of making impressive progress with a decent shuv of power and torque when you want it, combine this with the very grippy front, a slightly wiggly tail its a fun car to take out for a drive and of course very easy to live with everyday.
Fiesta ST next year perhaps, we shall see.
It is fairly thirsty when on a bit of a hoon, dropping to the low 30s however normal stop start commuting sees low 40s and on a run mid 50s.
Certainly doesn't enjoy being thrashed through the rev range but is more than capable of making impressive progress with a decent shuv of power and torque when you want it, combine this with the very grippy front, a slightly wiggly tail its a fun car to take out for a drive and of course very easy to live with everyday.
Fiesta ST next year perhaps, we shall see.
Totally agree, its the only car since my old mini that puts a grin on my face it terms of 'chuckability'
Been trying some grandma driving commuting to work this week since im on nights and the roads are empty.
After 3 days and 78 total miles of town driving it has averaged just over 60mpg.
Really impressed with the economy that can be eeked out of this engine as well as the performance.
Now im not saying id particularly accelerate so slowly and coast up to traffic lights during rush hour traffic but late night and very early morning with no one around its really quite relaxing. The stop start technology continues to impress as well.
Been trying some grandma driving commuting to work this week since im on nights and the roads are empty.
After 3 days and 78 total miles of town driving it has averaged just over 60mpg.
Really impressed with the economy that can be eeked out of this engine as well as the performance.
Now im not saying id particularly accelerate so slowly and coast up to traffic lights during rush hour traffic but late night and very early morning with no one around its really quite relaxing. The stop start technology continues to impress as well.
Edited by GTIAlex on Thursday 16th July 18:53
MarkwG said:
Great to see another Red driver, most I see are Blacks! Just passed 2500miles in ours, mainly mway, but a bit of spirited driving at Castle Combe, too. Really enjoying it, handles very tidily & showing 45mpg too, compared to it's garage partners that's a big bonus. I'm mainly one up, so performance is fine. Downsides? Bit disturbed to find bare paint below the rear shut panel in the boot, then remembered "it's a Fiesta!". Easy fix anyway. Other than that, really chuffed!
I know i'm bias but I do think the black edition looks horrific.MarkwG said:
I wouldn't go that far, but not worth the extra, & to me looks like it's trying too hard, especially the red around the grill. In other news, turns out I was right, it was mis-built, should have the adjustable boot floor! Booking in to get that added when I get back from holidays.
Adjustable boot floor creating more load space? Optional extra I presume?Haven't noticed many quality issues really apart from a big glob on clear coat on the corner or the bonnet, can only be seen when its open but it did make me laugh.
All the ones i've seen the black and red contrast, when not kept clean looks like black and pink, just looks odd, especially the lipstick!
Im current upgrading the interior and numberplate lighting to LED for a crisper look.
Thought I would update this a bit, not much going on really just changed a few things in between doing my VW Van or Mini.
The all time and money consuming van in the background.
Fitted a chav plate and an S badge.
Keeping it clean.
Change the entry interior light to a red bulb for that brothel red light district look; matches my G shock watch as well don't you know.
All very exciting isn't it!
The all time and money consuming van in the background.
Fitted a chav plate and an S badge.
Keeping it clean.
Change the entry interior light to a red bulb for that brothel red light district look; matches my G shock watch as well don't you know.
All very exciting isn't it!
gweaver said:
I considered buying one of these, but was disappointed with the ride quality (45 profile tyres) and performance.
For a ~1150kg car with 140ps and 210Nm they just don't feel quick. I think this is largely down to the gearbox - torque (boost) is limited in first (possibly second too), and third is long geared. A stronger gearbox and third gear ratio suited to overtaking might transform the car, but instead Ford have a) been cheap and b) optimised the ratios for the now discredited NEDC emissions tests.
Shame, because lag aside, it's a nice engine and a very pleasant car to drive.
I don't find anything wrong with the ride quality, and is positively cloud like compared to Fiesta St's I have been a passenger in.For a ~1150kg car with 140ps and 210Nm they just don't feel quick. I think this is largely down to the gearbox - torque (boost) is limited in first (possibly second too), and third is long geared. A stronger gearbox and third gear ratio suited to overtaking might transform the car, but instead Ford have a) been cheap and b) optimised the ratios for the now discredited NEDC emissions tests.
Shame, because lag aside, it's a nice engine and a very pleasant car to drive.
There is a torque limiter on 1st and 2nd, but if you change up into third and forth full bore, you get overboost giving you more power.
Never had a problem finding a ratio suited to overtaking? Not really sure what you mean by that but yes obviously they arn't going spend too much on solving a problem that doesn't really exist or plonk the 6 speed box out of the ST in it are they...which is the actually the only thing it could do with gearbox wise...a 6th gear for the motorway.
Its all relative, I think the performance is fantastic from a 1.0 engine don't forget and provides a great all round package.
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