1995 Ford Fiesta Sapphire 1.1 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great first car for anyone!

Faults:

Structural wear began to appear at 85000 miles... floor pans needed re-welding under the passenger side.

Heavy oil burning tendancies. I seemed to be forever topping it up.

ECU controlled the idle speed incorrectly causing the engine to run too fast.

A series of niggily faults began to appear. e.g. The back wiper working intermittently; clutch pedal developed an annoying rattle; earthing fault caused the battery light to remain on at idling speed.

General Comments:

Paid £500 for it and sold it 18 months later for the same amount.

All in all a lovely little car. I kept it serviced regularly with the essentials (oil and filter, plugs etc) and she ran like a dream in return.

Started in all conditions despite being kept outside on a driveway.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th April, 2006

1995 Ford Fiesta Si 1.6 16v Zetec from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Fast, Reliable with Bad Bodywork

Faults:

One Rear Shock Absorber - £20 to Fix it Myself.

Engine Started to Loose Power on the Motorway - Dumped in Some Fuel Injection Cleaner and Fixed the Problem.

Rust on the Door Seals and Rear Arches are Just Starting to Bubble, But Hey its 12 Years old, what can you expect.

Clutch is just starting to slip, but it is the original only that came on it so can't complain really.

General Comments:

I am only 18 and I got a very cheap insurance quote of £1042, so not bad for a group 8. After adjusting the accelerator cable I managed to get it to pull away very quickly.

I have got 120MPH out of it and it can keep up with or fly past most boy racer cars. Mechanically this car is the best out of the 3 cars I have owned, the only downside is the bodywork, which is not much cop.

It does eat petrol however if youre going any faster than about 70MPH.

All I know is that I am 18 years old and I can tell my mates I have a Fiesta 1.6 Sport Injection 16v, while there whizzing round in there piddly 1.1 Corsas lol.

I would def recommend buying this car and possibly adding RS Turbo arches and skirts to better the bodywork, but other than that I have no complaints.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd March, 2006

1995 Ford Fiesta java 1.6 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Quick and nimble

Faults:

Steering rack went on first MOT, along with the headlamps being to old and corroded.

Interior light is a bit of a pain only works when it wants to.

Seat has worn by drivers side.

General Comments:

The seats are brilliant nice and comfortable and hold you in posistion when turning especially on harsh country roads.

However though you get your mates telling you to move forward all the time cause they aint got no leg room.

The 1.6 16v java performance is brilliant for a low insurance car I've had 125mph out of it and clocked it at 9.8 seconds to 60mph now that aint bad and I would recommend it for someone who wants a fast reliable first car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th March, 2006

1995 Ford Fiesta encore 1.25 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Cheap, reliable, good value for money

Faults:

Washer pump.

General Comments:

Good, reliable, cheap runaround. Service and running costs are the best value for money in any car I've owned. Especially compared to foreign / continental makes.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th January, 2006

1995 Ford Fiesta Si 16v 1.6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great if you are willing to hand money over for repairs

Faults:

Clutch cable snapped.

Door latch went.

Eats tyres.

Spare wheel is forever falling out!

Rust on sills and arches.

Drinks water like it's going out of fashion.

Various niggles.

General Comments:

The Si is a great car, cheap to insure, fairly nippy, loverly to look at.

It just suffers from ford problems of being cheap and nasty, for example I had an 1987 peugeot 205, after 15 years it had no rust, my fiesta is a rust bucket, why can't ford galvanize cars???

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th October, 2005

12th Mar 2007, 09:28

Hello.

Please treat the car well, it will reward you! The Zetec engine has SO much life in it!... It is Cast Iron and as strong as any modern engine! This will take a constant 4500rpm, and an 'ideal' peak of 5500rpm. If you redline it all the way, regularly, with incorrect oils and infrequent changes, you can kill it. Please remember this is not a 2L car and so do not expect the same performance from the smaller 1.6 block.

The rust: - that's the way it is :- (It is a Ford (!) You did not buy a Merc.

Tyres: Unless you have non-standard tyres (or drive like a loony!) your tyres will last for ages! 185/55/14's are the best, and if you can, try and get the 5 spoke standard alloy's (hard to find now in any good condition)

Water: My Si and I (1.6, N reg) I have currently done 100k together (130 in total from new) and I regularly change (every 10k) all filters and oil with Mahle/Vavoline/Motorcraft fully synth. oil. I have no problems with using water AT all. (and I regularly hit 4500 rpm). Your engine should NOT be losing water at all. I would check for leaks and splits, change the antifreeze & coolant and new oil and filters can’t hurt :-). Also, check the heating matrix for any leaves. sounds silly, but you will find some!

Clutch cable: I have had six (6), yes, 6 go (!) :- (

THIS SEEMS TO BE A DESIGN FAULT... IF YOU PLACE SOME WHITE GREASE ON THE CABLE NIPPLE (UNDER THE AIR BOX) EVERY 6 MONTHS, YOU WILL BE FINE. nb, 1997 Zetec engines had a different system, and an 'extra' pivoting clutch arm to assist... so Ford do know about this fault, but they will not help :- (

Spare wheel: I suggest you tighten it up!! ;-)

*posted by RoyD*