2001 Ford Fiesta Zetec S from UK and Ireland - Comments

Brilliant car, but some common faults. Reading over these reviews I can see a trend which I can agree with.

Unidentifiable knocking noise on suspension when driving turned out to be anti roll bar come loose.

Dash display lights occasionally flicker on/off.

Fog lights flood very easily.

Windows fail to go up fully.

I started off with a little Nova as any 17yr old does, but soon wanted more power. My 18th birthday and my dream came true - A Fiesta Zetec S!!!

My first dream was the Saxo VTR. A good looking car with supposedly a 1.6 below the hud?! It wasn't until looking around the Ford dealers car park that I realised such a gorgeous fiesta existed. Take it for a test drive and there's no looking back. This car is incredible! Try and find a car that sticks to the road quite like this one with such instant power and high engine tolerance. Don't quite know who the genius at Ford thought he was by ceasing to make them last year! Trouble is that it's not a well known car, somewhat rare. If it had stuck it out a little while longer I don't doubt it would have been every young persons car (as the Saxo VTR is at the moment). Compared to the VTR there's barely any comparison. Although Ford quote a 103Bhp and top end 115mph, I think if you've ever driven one up against anything like a VTR you'll know there's more there than that. I've heard rumor it's been tested to produce in-excess of 110Bhp and I know for myself that you can push speed past 130mph on the flat.

Few problems with the car, but all made up for by the fantastic attributes it holds.

130MPH I don't think so. Even if the engine did have more power the gearing is too low to permit this. You must have a faulty speedo.

The Zetec-S pulls 21 mph per 1,000 RPM in 5th. This would equate (given another 30 bhp or so) to just under 143 mph at the 6,800 RPM limiter. This is borne out by the Van Aaken turbo conversion models which will top a "true" 140 mph on standard gearing and the standard rev limiter.

My standard Zetec-S tops out at an indicated 127, and is reading 5,900 RPM on the digital "service mode" rev counter which can be accessed by holding the trip reset button down when switching on the ignition. This reading is taken directly from the ignition circuit pulse on the ECU and is apparently very accurate, as it is apparently used by the Ford diagnostic computers when interrogating the ECU. Assuming this to be the case, my standard car is good for a genuine 124 mph.

Ford's 103 PS rating cannot be anything other than conservative.

Only once taken mine to 115 on the speedo, engine easily had enough to keep accelarating, well impressed given fords stated times.

110bhp?? are you sure? not a chance if ask me, not even at the flywheel for a standard Zetec-s.

Top speed is academic anyway. Everyone does the "flat out" thing once to see what their car does, but where on the public road can you sustain a ton-plus on a regular basis without getting nicked? Unmarked police cars, hidden Gatsos, mobile traps - the odds are stacked against you.

Go and put it against others on a track and then see how much you love it.130MPH haha!

Fast Ford magazine have said that many standard Zetec-s's have been rolling road-ed and put out 115bhp and can easily top 125mph so ford's stated power and speed limits are a bit on the safe side. There is rumors that ford did understate it intentionally to get it into a lower insurance group!!

A friend had his STANDARD ZS dyno'd and the graph showed the car was producing 114.7 bhp. This is quite a bit over Ford's conservative figure of 103 bhp. As far as getting 130mph from a standard ZS, the analogue clocks are not 100% accurate and consistently over-read, the innaccuracy becomes even more apparent the faster you go in my experience.

Don't be silly there teenagers a Ford Sierra Cosworth doesn't need limiting to 155 because it won't do it. A mark one XR2 only does about 105 flat out and I gaurantee it will leave a fiesta zetec wife's car.

For the original review how much was your insurance? I am currently debating weather to get a Saxo VTR or Zetec S any advice? i am 18 with 1 ncb.

Hi I've got a fiesta ZS 1.6- I've maxed it out a few times an the most I got out of it has been around 118mph.and just to let you know I'm paying £1,000 third party and I am 21 with 0 no claims though because this is the first car I am insuring with me being the main driver. also unless you have cash handy its quite expensive to run contrary to what some review websites say. a full tank is roughly 30 litres and costs me around £27 and this gives me 190-200 miles depending on how heavy footed I have been. superb for motorway mileage got 230 just doing motorway driving. after many full tank trials I have discovered that consistent driving at 2500-3000 rpm gives the best petrol consumption. i hope this helps and answers any questions people may have.