looking for info on 2002-8 fiesta diesels( and others)

[steveo3002]

looking for a cheap to run runabout for the g/f for say under £4k

the 02-08 fiesta diesel sounds decent with reports of nippy and cheap road tax etc

im struggling to find the specs like 0-60 and mpg for these , can anyone help ? any downsides to these cars

id also like specs for the petrol ones as she doesnt do mega miles so they might work out just as well

oh and do they all have a/c

any rot issues like the ka and puma have

Edited by steveo3002 on Monday 15th November 16:55

[Accumul8]

Hi steveo3002

I have an 05 1.4 Fiesta TDCi Ghia. Had it for nearly a month now and so far so good. It's even got leather! It's a real shame the seats aren't heated though. But the heated front screen is brilliant, no scraping required.

Being the 1.4 it has a, get ready, heady 67 bhp and 160 Nm of torque. Upside is £30/year tax. My handbook quotes something ridiculous like 64mpg combined. I do a fair chunk of my milage on motorways so I'm expecting a good return. I say expecting because I've not filled it up fully again yet. But I'll let you know when I do.

The engine is ok if you keep it above 2,000 rpm - I think this is where the turbo starts spinning. Below that it's pretty useless. I can't comment on the performance of the 1.6 but the tax on that is also £30/year IIRC and it should have a bit more poke. Handling is ok, 195/55/15 on a smallish car. But I guess you'll never be going quick enough for it to misbehave...

Mine has a/c but I don't know if they all do. Regarding rot, mine is 5 years old and so far no signs of oxidation even on the rear arches. Touch wood it'll stay that way for a good few years to come.

And for specs/more info, Parkers is your friend:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/Summary.aspx?m...

Hope that helps.

[Russ T Bolt]

I have a 2007 Zetec S 1.6 Tdci. I use it mostly on motorway journeys, do 550 miles a week to and from work.
If I take it easy, just sit in the inside lane following the lorries at 55-60 it will do just over 73mpg.
Take that up to 70 ish and I get low 60's.
Thrash it up and down the motorway it struggles to get much above 50mpg (but I mean THRASH). Average over a week probably 65-68mpg with some easy runs, local runs and the odd day where I need to be somewhere in a hurry.

What I would say, I bought it from the local dealer at a year old, it had been owned by someone who worked there. I'm not entirely sure it is standard, it does seem very quick for what it is (accelerating at say 69 it will stay with an Audi 2.0TDi), so whether that makes a difference I don't know.

I love it, it has loads of toys in it and is a bit like driving a go kart. I would be wary of any diesel for short journeys only though, petrol is probably a better bet.

Edited by Russ T Bolt on Saturday 20th November 12:51

Edited by Russ T Bolt on Saturday 20th November 12:52

[Chris_w666]

Ran a 1.6 for 60,000 miles. Very reliable though they do have an issue with the oil seal between the engine and gearbox that can develop a tiny drip of oil that dries on the exhaust meaning unless you keep an eye on oil levels you might miss it.

The 1.6 is a better motor than the 1.4, over 50mpg should be possible out of the 1.6 in most driving conditions apart from heavy slow traffic. Worst I saw from mine was 44 from a month of sole in town use, a regular 60 mile mixed commute was more like 60mpg and as mentioned following wagons etc could easily give over 70mpg. I would say the best spec is a 1.6 Zetec Climate if you don't want the extra bit of handling the S has because the ZS has a rocks in place of dampers approach to suspension.