2002 Ford Fiesta Zetec S from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing so far.

The Zetec S is my third Fiesta and without a doubt the best so far!

It's a great looking car and surprisingly rare compared to the 'rivals': 206 GTi/XSi/106 GTi, Saxo, Clio etc.

Ford could have gone a bit wilder (bigger spoiler, sportier interior - it's very similar in many ways to lesser models such as the Freestyle), but credit to them for making a relatively cheap and insurable supermini without sacrificing the best bits.

For example, I was shocked to learn that the Saxo VTS is an Insurance Group 15 compared to the Fiesta's Group 8 (a big factor when choosing).

The rival superminis such as the Saxo VTS and Peugeot 206 XSi may have a slightly larger bhp and top speed, but for the times that these are actually used, its not such a big deal. And anyway, the Zetec S is still surprisingly quick when you do choose to push it: The Audi TT that eventually overtook me at 100mph was probably a little surprised at the Fiestas oomph - not that I encourage this kind of thing...

To comment on the cost, my 2002 model was £13,000 so credit was the only option. Over 5 years the interest applied is frightening, but I think it is well worth it. Perhaps I should have shopped around different dealers before I jumped in, but I was in love with the Zetec S.

The dealership (Benfield Ford, Kirkstall Road in Leeds) was very good, but could have taken a little more time explaining the details of the finance agreement. This lack of attention ended up with me realising a month down the line that I only had the lowest form of credit protection when I specifically asked for the top whack. Partly their fault, maybe partly mine for not checking it properly. Anyhow it is now sorted after numerous phone calls to the lenders.

It also took near a month just to get some carpets! Carpets! Why!!

Apart from these small niggles, the car arrived absolutely immaculate and gave me a smile that didn't fade until long after. In fact I think I'm still beaming after 3 months - yes I am!

Really, to summarise, this is a supermini that has rightly had heaps of praise from the critics, performs brilliantly, looks superb and most importantly, is affordable (to buy and insure).

Although I haven't driven any other superminis I would strongly suggest that you at least take a test drive in the Zetec S before choosing a too-common rival.

Totally agree with your comments on the Zetec-S. I had a Peugeot 106XSi which I thought was the best handling car I'd driven, until I test drove the Zetec-S. I just had to have it.

I've owned or driven most warm and hot hatches, and I can categorically state the Zetec-S has the best steering of any front drive car on the planet (1 degree of input gives instant response from the front end, and bags of feel), chassis balance to rival any car at any price, throttle adjustability to die for and an engine that makes up for a relative lack of balls by being sweet, eager and making a fantastic growl.

Now racked up 23,000 miles in my X plater and it has been utterly reliable apart from a worn anti roll bar link. This was replaced under warranty with no argument by my local dealer. It's a cracking little car which offers loads of fun, astonishing fuel consumption, affordable insurance and top notch reliability. I even like the styling.

A briliant review, this is the sort of reviews we need more of, especially thought the comments on the finance were interesting and overall the report gave a pleasing opinion on this hot motor. Useful advice, brilliant!

Simon, SVPworld.

Did you really pay £13000 for the car in 2002?

I just bought an 02 model from a garage for £7500 with metallic and air con!

Yes, I did pay that much! I probably should have gone with my head more than my heart, but like I said in the review I fell in love with it! The only niggling thing is that I'm paying a fortune for it and won't get half of it back when (and if) I trade it in. It doesn't bother me enough to stop enjoying the car though! Hope you're enjoying your model!

One thing I will mention, now it's a bit further down the line, is that I had some bother with the electrics just after I wrote the review. Notably, the CD player cutting out, rev counter needle zipping all over when idling, immobiliser light beside clock illuminating while driving and worst of all the engine cutting out - twice when coming to a halt and once practically all the revs died when I was travelling at 50ish MPH! Quite worrying. The dealer sorted it (bad earth apparently) after numerous phone calls: they never seemed to have a courtesy car available.

Other than that I'm still loving the car and again would recommend it to anyone looking for a 'super-mini'.

I've owned my W-reg Zetec-S for 2 years now and have mixed feelings on the car. The performance is okay, I've never been dusted by a Saxo thankfully, but then again the gearbox is quite nice and thanks to traction control you don't even have to take your foot off the accelerator when changing. The problems I have had so far are the electric windows not closing all the way, for which Ford would not fix under warranty. Eventually they did, but at a real hassle with customer services. The CD player keeps turning off, I believe this to be the keypad connection, as some of the buttons do not illuminate.

Forget upgrading the car though and getting mods, if you want a fast hot hatch don't buy this car, if you want something easy to run/maintain and cheap to insure with great handling then its perfect. As I said, I've had mine for 2 years now and find it a little bit cramped for long motorway journeys, so if your over 6 feet beware. Make sure you have a proper test drive in one.