New car: Mk7 Ford Fiesta

[MikeWdriver]

Good morning!

Let me start off with my not-so-illustrious car history. I learnt to drive on my parent's 1998 1.1 Rover Metro 'Ascot'. What a car ... lol.



It served me very well until I left home to go to university (including serval new clutches later, 2 new head gaskets and a new gearbox - my three brothers also learnt to drive in it so it got a bit of a beating during its life!) so my parents decided to trade it in for a new Peugeot 107 Urban in 2006.



After receiving a small inheritance in 2007, I part-bought the car off mum and dad and ownership was transferred into my name. It was a fantastic little car - very nippy around town and generally good fun to drive. It had no problem fulfilling its roll as a track-day support car, camping holiday transporter (for two people admittedly), and essentially a commuting car between Cardiff and Surrey fortnightly... all with the power from it's 3 cylinders and a consistent average of 50-60 mpg.







However, recently, with just short of 67,000 miles on the clock, I figured she couldn't go on at 450 miles a week for much longer. I graduated last July and entered the world of full-time employment as a teacher in September, and realised now was a good time to put the old girl out to pasture and find a new carriage. I gave her a final 'farewell' clean and put her up for p/x against my new purchase. I sealed the deal just over three weeks ago, and on Thursday last week, after completing all the formalities, I said my final goodbye! Onwards and upwards, though.



My new car:











A 2011 Ford Fiesta Edge 1.25 (82 PS) in Frozen White.

I'm so chuffed as it's my first proper car that I've bought! I was fortunate enough to be able to use my parents cars but it's great now to have my 'own' car. First impressions are very good and having already completed 200 miles, I've enjoyed every single one of them so far! Thanks to the class-leading chassis, the ride is very comfortable and refined. I'm aware that going from a £8,000 107 to a £12,000* Fiesta there are going to be noticeable differences in build quality and equipment etc, but I can't stop smiling at my new PaJ. As standard on this model - A/C, electric wing-mirrors, one-touch front windows, remote central locking, AUX audio input, optimum up-shift indicator and EPAS.

Oh, and it's already dirty! Even after nearly falling over at the price of a full set of mudflaps from Ford (£119.85 ex fitting), I think it would be a good investment to get just a set of front ones, mainly to protect the sideskirts from the worst of the mud and grit. It's a bit of a hike up insurance-wise too, but I'm hoping to have 4 years protected NCB when my policy comes up for renewal in June so hopefully it won't hit me too hard!

Thanks for reading,

Mike

* I didn't pay full list price - £12,000 refers to MRRP specific to model and trim level

Edited by MikeWdriver on Sunday 27th February 19:23

[MikeWdriver]

soad said:

Out of interest, is 107 likely to suffer at high mileage then?

I don't think so - it's just I was weary of how quicky the p/x value of the 107 would continue to fall the more miles I put on it. Also I spend a lot of my time on the M25 so wanted something a bit bigger, more confortable and safer.

VeeFour said:

Decent cars, but can't see how it's going to be significantly better than the 107 - and I hope you got a massive discount on list price, as the supermarkets are punting out Zetecs for less than £12k.

I think you would be surprised at the difference between the two cars; space for one thing - 3 seats in the back, much bigger boot (I would struggle to fit much more than a small suitcase in the 107, I can fit so much more in it now), build quality - Ford of late have really upped their game in terms of interior quality and exterior design, and finally, naturally the increased pulling-power of the Fiesta against the 107. 998 cc/ 69PS against 1242cc/ 82PS - nicer on the m'way. I agree about the ease of finding ZetecS's for under £12,000 but for me, the cost of my insurance is a big consideration. I'm 22 so I was getting quotes north of £700 for anything over a 1.4, I simply can't afford that just yet.

lost in espace said:

Just remember now you have let us know your occupation the PH grammar Nazis will be watching your every move.....

Nice car!

Thank you! Indeed - although I will put up my defence that I'm a music teacher, not an english teacher!

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

mk1salami said:

Congrats on being happy with your car, but ... are you on the right forum??

I'm slowly working my way up to the Aston fella! Thanks anyway

[MikeWdriver]

MarvinManUK said:

Well said.

@OP: That was a very good post and it's nice to see a good story with your cars.

Hope you enjoy your new Fiesta and I hope it serves you well.

Many thanks! I know it's not the most powerful/ exotic/ expensive etc car in the world, but I am really enjoying so far. And sharing motoring experiences with a wider community - isn't that what PH is about?

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

Darkslider said:

I thought the exact same thing but I wouldn't go as far as posting it! Personally I don't think I could imagine a more un-PistonHeads line up of cars if I tried, and £12k on a new Fiesta doesn't make sense in anyone's book least of all mine, but if it makes you happy then that's all that matters.

First car - my parent's car in which I learnt to drive. 107 - bought off them and became mine whilst building up NCBs and generally not wasting money on a money pit. Fiesta - my first new car, not quite a heap of junk, actually quite a good car in it's class . Gotta start somewhere.

Thankfully I didn't pay full list price - in fact I managed to get a hefty chunk taken off and had a full free tank of fuel included on collection and a set of carpet mats included.

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

Graham said:

Congrats on the new car, its encouraging to see an under 30 actually interested in and enjoying the car they own, whatever it is. I must admit I cringed a bit at the price 12k... I can get a 911 or a cerbera for that money. although I appreciate being an old git the insurance is actually less than the cost of the car.

My wife has a 55 plate 1.4 fiesta, ( real world mpg about 30-35) and she's been taking about a new one, but the price of a fiesta really puts me off... I find the older fiesta quite a harsh ride, with its 50 profile tyres an limited suspension travel. how does the new one compare. Also whats the rear 3/4 vision like for reversing... Mu wife is a driving instructor so thats quite important. it looks like it would e quite poor...

G

Many thanks. I didn't drive the Mk6 Fiesta very much so I wouldn't like to make too much of a comparaison, but the Mk7 is a comfortable ride - maybe on the soft side but still quite secure when cornering. With regards to the rear 3/4 vision - this was a concern of mine prior to test driving but actually, it's perfectly acceptable. Quite a nice feature (which I should imagine is quite common on new cars these days?) is an indicator on the dash board to inform the driver of the optimum time to change up a gear - fuel economy-minded obviously.

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

robsco said:

Don't listen to the Buzz Killingtons of the thread OP, its a perfectly nice little car. Well done on the colour too, looks good.

Thank you, I think the white really suits the shape of the car.

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

Thanks for the comments guys! I thought about putting my thread in the Other Marques/Ford section but thought there may be some people who may not visit the Ford section who may still want to read? After all, you can choose to click on the title, as STW says!

All in good jest tho .

C2James - cheers man, I play sax and clarinet, mainly Jazz and Blues whils im not teaching!

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

Cheers guys. TAH - well done mate. Yeh, I was considering getting the Ford 15" alloys but thought it might look a bit naf with the drum brakes on the rears so opted not to. Fraser - thanks. Ah nice, yeh would be very tempting in 3 years if they did. The Mountune 155 is a pretty good set-up in the mean time though but I'm sure an ST version would sell, and sell well.

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

TAHodgson said:

I thought that on my punto, I wanted to make it look a bit better without going 'Chavvy' so I put the Punto Sporting wheels on it. Looks so much better. I'd look for some bigger OE wheels, just to add a bit to it. If you're that worried, just tidy up the drums haha

Ha good idea! Yeh I'll have a rethink, I think the max I would go up to is 16", otherwise combined with the relatively high ride height, it would make it look like it was on stilts!

15"s:
or

16"s:
or

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

Hmmmm I'm leaning towards the first 16" style... Will have to have a little ponder.

Mike

[MikeWdriver]

JonnyFive said:

Nice history!

Looks like you traded the 107 in at Robins & Day Charterhouse to me?

Hi, I actually just took some photos there when I went to see what sort of deal they would offer me - close though!

CooperS said:

mk1salami said:

Each to their own opinions, and I understand not everyone can afford to run a supercar, but imho Pistonheads is all about driving fun, different vehicles worth talking about. Something I didn't see in the OP's line up.

I've not spent anywhere near 12k on any of my cars and I'd like to think they all offered more driving thrills than the Fiesta.

What a Mk2 Golf 8v........ hmm i think the OP should be as chuffed as he wants to be. Not everyone wants to buy a project.... just to say their different and buying fun interesting cars......

Hi to you both, I can very much see your points - the thing is at the moment, I'm just finding my feet financially etc so needed something that wouldn't cost me too much (don't need to worry about servicing or breaking down etc) and I can trade it in for something more exciting in three years then as I'll be over the 25 yr/old mark. Still, the Fiesta is good fun and I have really enjoyed driving the first 2500 miles.