Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCI Zetec S - Advice Please

[Spam]

Has anyone got one of these cars? I have read a few reviews and most seem to like it for its economy with hot hatch handling.

I would be interested to know some owners experiences/views.

Thanks,
Spam

[chris_w666]

What would you like to know?

I have covered 23,000 miles (car is at 31,500 in total) in 14 months in my 06 reg car, it has a bluefin remap and has never missed a beat. I have had one service carried out in that time and bought a set of 4 tyres, that and 2 litre's of oil are the only maintainance costs I have incurred. The ford economy figures are acheivable in standard or bluefin equipped form, I average 55 mpg and in the last 3 weeks have been comfortably getting 60+ mpg by staying with the speed limits.

I have done several long trips in my car and find it comfortable and not as harsh riding as the fiesta ST. The handling is not quite as hot hatch as some cars but is much better than I thought a diesel supermini could be. There isn't really enough power to test the chassis but its more than capable of carrying speed through twisty stuff and it is fun trying to drive at a constant speed on a challenging road.

The remap has helped the car feel a bit more lively and improves the torque for overtaking a little.

I am very happy with my car from a money saving and reliabilty view point it has so far been great.

[Spam]

chris_w666 said:

What would you like to know?

I have covered 23,000 miles (car is at 31,500 in total) in 14 months in my 06 reg car, it has a bluefin remap and has never missed a beat. I have had one service carried out in that time and bought a set of 4 tyres, that and 2 litre's of oil are the only maintainance costs I have incurred. The ford economy figures are acheivable in standard or bluefin equipped form, I average 55 mpg and in the last 3 weeks have been comfortably getting 60+ mpg by staying with the speed limits.

I have done several long trips in my car and find it comfortable and not as harsh riding as the fiesta ST. The handling is not quite as hot hatch as some cars but is much better than I thought a diesel supermini could be. There isn't really enough power to test the chassis but its more than capable of carrying speed through twisty stuff and it is fun trying to drive at a constant speed on a challenging road.

The remap has helped the car feel a bit more lively and improves the torque for overtaking a little.

I am very happy with my car from a money saving and reliabilty view point it has so far been great.

Well I have a few options lined up for purchase in Spring 2009 and this was my "sensible" one as it looks great on paper.

I can either buy a new car or a used hot hatch; my other options are Golf GTi Mk5, Megane 225 F1 Edition, CTR, Clio 182

55 MPG is lower than I thought is that when you are having "fun" with it? Do you normally get 60 + or is that just manfacturers bullst?

What's the servicing costs like?

Does the Bluefin make alot of difference?

Thanks.

[Catherine197]

Go and drive one, I spent an hour in one and it was very good.

[chris_w666]

Spam said:

55 MPG is lower than I thought is that when you are having "fun" with it? Do you normally get 60 + or is that just manfacturers bullst?

What's the servicing costs like?

Does the Bluefin make alot of difference?

Thanks.

55 is my average drive, hooning in it is not really possible you are having to change up at 4k rpm so you will never get exciting acceleration. With the bluefin it develops around 180 lb/ft of torque there are remappers that will give you more but for much more you may as well have bought a bigger engine than risk killing the turbo.

You can get 60 + mpg on a run at low speeds but never if you are pushing on. I once on a 120 mile round trip managed to see 73 mpg but that was driving at no more than 55 and doing everything carefully, strangely I felt a little smug everytime a thirst car passed me

Compared to the CTR, Megane, Clio 182 etc there is no competition. I came to this car from a focus st170 purely as a cash saving exercise, if I was doing less than 10-12 k miles a year then I would be back in the petrol car without hesitation.

Big benefits of this to them would be lower running costs (services are around £130-£160) £35 tax isn't a huge deal but feels nice spending lessthan the price of a decent night out on it. Drive one, if you can drive it back to back with the ST or if you are looking at a new shape fiesta (same engine) you will probably get better mpg as they are lighter and have a few more tweaks.

They do seem to command a premium over petrol fiestas at ford dealers and others most will sell you an equivalent fiesta ST for less than the price of a Tdci Zetec S.

[Spam]

chris_w666 said:

Spam said:

55 MPG is lower than I thought is that when you are having "fun" with it? Do you normally get 60 + or is that just manfacturers bullst?

What's the servicing costs like?

Does the Bluefin make alot of difference?

Thanks.

55 is my average drive, hooning in it is not really possible you are having to change up at 4k rpm so you will never get exciting acceleration. With the bluefin it develops around 180 lb/ft of torque there are remappers that will give you more but for much more you may as well have bought a bigger engine than risk killing the turbo.

You can get 60 + mpg on a run at low speeds but never if you are pushing on. I once on a 120 mile round trip managed to see 73 mpg but that was driving at no more than 55 and doing everything carefully, strangely I felt a little smug everytime a thirst car passed me

Compared to the CTR, Megane, Clio 182 etc there is no competition. I came to this car from a focus st170 purely as a cash saving exercise, if I was doing less than 10-12 k miles a year then I would be back in the petrol car without hesitation.

Big benefits of this to them would be lower running costs (services are around £130-£160) £35 tax isn't a huge deal but feels nice spending lessthan the price of a decent night out on it. Drive one, if you can drive it back to back with the ST or if you are looking at a new shape fiesta (same engine) you will probably get better mpg as they are lighter and have a few more tweaks.

They do seem to command a premium over petrol fiestas at ford dealers and others most will sell you an equivalent fiesta ST for less than the price of a Tdci Zetec S.

Thanks for your info...So you not thought about tracking it?

[chris_w666]

Spam said:

Thanks for your info...So you not thought about tracking it?

If at the end of its life these guys have a class open for them I would


http://www.fordracinguk.com/fiesta.html

[Spam]

chris_w666 said:

Spam said:

Thanks for your info...So you not thought about tracking it?

If at the end of its life these guys have a class open for them I would


http://www.fordracinguk.com/fiesta.html

Looks like my car would fit neatly into Class A

[ayoung94]

Ive got the 13 plate Zetec S TDCI 95bhp.

Driving back home which is a mixture of A&B and Motorway she aveages 50mpg driving fast, like 85mph motorway.

Using it on daily short trips from work, shops etc, It will only do around 41MPG.

But driving carefully

You should go for a used hot hatch. She handles well, but not in the same league as a cilosport or EP3, also the engine needs more low down torque and about another 40 hores under the bonnet. But drive carefully and to speed limits your see 60-70mpg.

I personally cant wait for my lease on the car to end in 2 years, so I can get a proper car, EP3 all the way.

[Russ T Bolt]

I had a 2007 model which I put about 75k on in less than 4 years.

I used it to commute up and down the M3, I used to average high 60's to low 70s MPG

Only a couple of problems, remote boot release motor failed and the thermostat housing started leaking.

I really liked it, I could easily do a weeks commute (550miles) on a tank of diesel, once did 6 days (660).