2001 Ford Fiesta Zetec-S from UK and Ireland - Comments

Okay, I work with a fella who's got a saxo vts, 51 reg... I've got a zetec-s w reg... I beat him on straights twisties, roundabouts, town driving, miles per gallon... every week, so it wasnt a one off that all the saxo owners will be saying soon blah blah...

My mods are... fse power boost valve, one off de-cat pipe, 4 inch magnex exhaust, k&n filter with cool air ram, platinum plugs, synthetic oil, rolling roaded @ 144 bhp... no superchip, that's with standard electrics, £400 worth of mods makes a biiiiiiiig difference!!! saxo...paxo!

Quite a discussion going on here isn't it. From standard both the 2 cars will just about match each other for speed/handling everyone can work that out. When buying one you just have to make the decision to either look like a 17-20 yr old yob, or a 20-30 yob. They are both at best only tepid hatches. if you want real speed I'd suggest stop spending all your paper round money on shiny loud exhausts & engine chips, just save it and next time buy an actual fast car?!

Besides VTR...Zetec-S... who cares which one is the fastest, they both make the drivers look like a hairdresser.

Let's agree the Saxo matches the Zetec-S's performance and handling, because that's about all it can claim. We'll ignore the Top Gear video evidence of a Zetec-S thrashing a VTS with nearly 20 bhp more around a circuit, and the unanimous agreement among both testers that the Fiesta was a much more involving and rewarding machine to drive. What would VB-H know? She's only a racing driver. And the Saxo has even less of an excuse as it's based on the same chassis as the 106 GTi, voted by many people as one of the best handling cars ever. How did they screw that one up?

Even ignoring the obvious, I'd like to see someone claim the Saxo can get near the Fiesta in any of these areas and keep a straight face:

Build quality

Gear change quality

Steering response and feel

Brakes

Reliability

Longevity

Standard kit

Interior and trim quality

Dealers (The fact Ford dealers are better tells you all you need to know about Citroen dealers)

Servicing and parts costs.

I have really enjoyed reading the comments on this web page - I currently have an XR2i on a J-plate, but am seriously considering moving to a Zetec S. My boyfriend asked me earlier today - what do you want from a car? My reply was - I want to waste Saxos off the lights :-) lol.

I am rather disappointed however to find that we are only talking about 100-ish bhp. My 2i (supposedly) has 108 bhp, anyone owned both, and can make an honest comparison? I read one comment saying that someone had got 174 bhp out of one - HOW???!!! Doing some more research on the web now to find out, but about 140-150 would probably suit my needs well enough (I am a mere woman, after all...)

Interior Trim & quality??? have you been sitting in the same Ford Fiesta Zetec that everyone else has??

One word sums it up...CHEAP!

Then again the Saxo looks cheap too...

Forget them both & buy something decent why don't ya.

Having read all of the comments on this page I was very unsure about which car to buy.

Although the Zetec-S' handling gives it a fantastic edge on the circuit the reality is that a VTS is always gonna eat you on the streets.

So the VTR! 8 Valve engine are generally more Torquey at low revs than the 16 Valve engines thus it is quite possible that a 1.6 8v could beat 1.6 16v off of the lights. If all you want a car for is to beat other cars off the lights then buy the VTR... If you want a car that is a real buzz to drive then get the Zetec-S.

Please keep in mind that a good comparison of a cars overall performance is going to be its insurance group... If the Fiesta was ever a contender for the VTS then it would cost more to insure!

Saxo VTR 7-8

Fiesta Zetec-S 8-9

Saxo VTS 14?

Clio 172 16?

On a final note neither cars are hot hatches and if you want a small, fast car with communicative handling a 106 GTi, Saxo VTS or Clio 172 would be a more obvious choice.

The interior trim of the Fiesta does look a bit cheap, but it's better than the Saxo which has the kind of 5p a square metre rough edged plastic, and brittle "snap off on tenth use" fixtures and fittings that only the French seem capable of producing. The Fiesta's isn't exactly in the Mercedes league, and is functional rather than flash, but it's a big step up on the Saxo, and is screwed together pretty well too.

Of course, I'm only speaking from personal experience, owning a 3 year old 26k Zetec S which is still squeak free, and on which everything is still where Ford put it.

OK first of all. To the 30th sept review quoting "not only have I beat vtR's, but vtS's as well, handling round bend the vts's couldn't keep up" or something like that.

The saxo VTS has better handling than the zetec-s firstly, secondly its poor built makes it lighter therefore much quicker than the zetec-s.But anyway who cares.. With all the speed cameras nowadays you don't get chance to reach 60mph (which is what all you raceheads are taking about, 0-60 time etc.!!!

Interesting read on this thread.

I've had a mk2 VTR (98bhp as opposed to the 90bhp mk1) since september and I've been very impressed with it. I looked at nemuerous cars before I bought my VTR, including the fiesta and clio. The VTR has sum serious grunt at low revs and pulls more than well up at high speeds, indeed I frequently burn up fiesta's at the lights. The lack of low end torque is no doubt to blame. In reality, who accelerates upward of 100, it's the standing still start that counts, and the VTR wins 9/10 against the 16v equivalent fiesta.

Bottom line is both very nice cars, comfortable and both offer different things. On average i'd say the fiesta interior is better, but you don't spend your life looking at knobs and dashes, i'd rather have a car with sum grunt!

Shame they've stopped making them.

At the end of the day all the saxo is, is a citroen ax with an extra s and an o. Hideous cars 10 years ago and even more so now. The z-s isn't the fastest car on the block, but ford never said "buy this, you'll beat saxo". C'mon course a saxo is lighter, its nearer in size to a ka!! A zetec-s will kill a vtr between 3-70 mph due to having the same torque output as 106 gti/vts.Add a bluefin, air filter and an exhaust and its bye-bye to vtrs well and truly!

Why do these cars have t/c, is it that bad without it?

There must be some rather stupid people on here, The zetec s and vtr's are preety similar speed wise, but as for saying the zetec s is faster than a vts/gti lmao!!

Hmmm...well... I've left both of these cars at the lights... in an unmodified 1.2 Clio! Saying that, I've also left a 911 Carrerra 4 at the lights... in my mum's 0.9 litre Nissan Micra. I confess that, sadly, after I reached about 12mph in either the Clio or the Micra, their inadequacies really started to show.

The real question is, given 150 miles of empty, winding, wind-swept Yorkshire roads, would it be the VTS/VTR or the Zetec-S that gets from one end to the other quickest...?

Answers on a postcard, anyone...?

I'm am looking to buy a Zetec S. I know they are a few years old, and I am wondering if there are any new problems raised since the start of this forum, and any specific things to look for when buying one?

I have been very amused by the discussion over the VTR vs the Zetec S, and must say the Zetec S is a much nicer looking car. The VTR has become a very common car in my area of South Wales, and has pushed me away from the VTR.

Being only 18, insurance is very steep at the moment, and I have decided that if I am going to pay nearly 2 grand on insurance, I want a sporty reliable car, which pointed me towards the Zetec S.

I'm sure the power of a 1.6 16V engine will satisfy me for a while, since I was driving a 1.2 16V Corsa for a year, so I won't be bothered if a chap in a cap blows me of the lights in a VTR.

Zetec s... vtr both no good off the lights my superchipped 2.0 focus eats them both.