1997 Ford Fiesta 1.25 LX from UK and Ireland - Comments

I got rear ended which was a bit of a bugger, the rear crumpled very easily, still drove OK though.

However about 3 weeks later the gearbox failed - I don't know if this was a result of the crash.

The gearbox became very loose, one day it stopped selecting 1st, then 5 minutes later I lost 3rd gear. However later in the day on the way home I found 3rd gear again, but couldn't get it out of 3rd... it stayed in 3rd for the rest of its short life. Getting home 3 miles in town with only 3rd gear was a challenge, but the clutch and low down torque were up to it.

The cat need replacing, as did the front brakes.

Great little car, I had the 5 door LX, however I'd rather have the 3 door. The 1.25 16v zetec engine is a cracker, my mechanic plugged the ecu into his laptop and went over the parameters, whilst reving he was able to squeeze a little more power out, probably just over 80bhp. This did actually make the difference, and the fact that it was the light and lively LX model meant it did go off the lights, however he programmed it for better acceleration low down, so as a result the 0-60 was well under the 12.9 seconds quoted, more like 10ish. The top speed was 115mph with 2 of us in the car and a boot load of kit. Maybe 120 with just myself in the car.

The wheel spin was rediculous, booting it out of corners was great fun, as a first car it would be a complete hoot. I had a KA before this, the 1.3 pushrod engine was crap, this was just so much faster. I now have a 2.0, 192bhp Corsa redtop which I have also reviewed - see 1993 corsas. However I still miss my little fezza, it was just such a laugh.

IG 5 is easy even if you've got no years no claims.

As far as what it can beat, well mine killed corsa 1.2 twinports for fun, I also beat a 1.4 saxo furio. I did very well with a GOLF MK4 GTI, however it was the crappy 2.0 8v with just 115bhp, he won, but not by as much as he should have. VTRs can have you though, so don't try it.

If you find a good one, get it, it's a riot!

That's my car -- 0-60 in about 9 seconds P reg Flight, 16v, Zetec-S.