2003 Ford Fiesta Black from UK and Ireland - Comments

Some minor things wrong with the car when it was collected from the dealer, now rectified.

I collected my Fiesta Black one week ago, and so far am very impressed with it! Other than a few minor faults on the car when I went to collect it, all of which have now been rectified by the dealer, the car is brilliant! The main problem on collection was that all four of the alloy wheels had been damaged by somebody removing the center "caps" with the ford badge on with a screwdriver!

Having looked at all similar cars in the price range nothing could beat the Black in terms of sheer amount of top-spec kit: leather seats, air con, RDS CD/Radio, heated windscreen & mirrors, electric windows & mirrors, alloys, metallic paint, alarm, deadlocks, remote locking, foglights, etc - all for a touch over £10000! The car feels very well engineered and built, the feel of the interior is at least on par with the VW polo which I also looked at.

Performance - the car is fantastic, the 1.4 16v petrol engine pulls really well, especially in the first 4 gears where the torque distribution is perfect for town and city driving - very quick getaways at traffic lights/roundabouts! The car is perfectly adequate for motorway driving, but in fifth gear inclines will sometimes require a lot of revs or a change down to fourth to keep the speed up.

Dealer - dealer reliability and attitude is something which I value very much having previously having real problems with a Renault dealer over my girlfriends 2002 Clio, and the ford dealer could not do enough to please us - very good levels of customer service.

Styling - yes, it looks like a "little" focus... or does it?! While I would agree that it has resemblances to the focus, especially at the back end, this car is deceptivly large - to a point where there is really very little difference between the two models, this is a much bigger car than the Fiestas gone by. All I would reccommend is that anyone who buys a new shape Fiesta is to make sure you have the front fog lights, they make a big difference to the overall asthetic of the car from the front. The chrome grille on the Black looks really cool as well, and really makes the car "stand out from the crowd".

Handling/Control - it is here that the influence of the focus is even more evident than the styling! The car handles brilliantly for such a small car, very precise steering with loads of feedback though the wheel - you know exactly what the wheels are doing as soon as they are doing it, it inspires a lot of confidence in the driver and makes you feel like you are 100% in control of the vehicle at all times. The brakes are sharp and responsive as well, and have handled the car very well in some extremely wed/mucky road conditions since I got the car. The gear box is very smooth, and the raised position not only looks good, but feels very natural to the driver.

Comfort: The seats are great, with height adjustment on the drivers seat - which makes a big difference to us 6 footers! The car will happily seat four adults without rear passengers feeling cramped, and the boot - while not huge is a very good shape for fitting boxes and suitcases into without wasting any room. The suspension settins are spot on as well, the ride is sporty and firm, but not to the extent where the ride quality is reduced and long journeys are still a joy.

Image: Yes, its just a Fiesta. True, but with the black metallic paint, chrome grill, smart alloys and black leather trim the Black looks great - very classy for such a small car. The "individual" aspect is nice as well, because you do not see that many "Black" models on the roads.

Criticisms: To be honest I have not had the car long enough to see if there are going to be any things which really bug me long term, but nothing initially jumps out. The only thing I do not understand is why Ford choose not to include ABS braking as standard accross the range, like many other manufacturers are doing with their superminis, it must lose them a number of sales if people are looking to do a lot of miles in their car, but as I am not then I decided that it is somthing which I could live without.

Overall verdict: Brill! I would definitly recommend this car to anyone who wants big car luxury in a smaller package and at a reasonable price.

Just a small comment, as far as I was aware ABS is standard across all the Fiesta range, and certainly on a 'Black' model.

I just bought a new Fiesta Zetec three door there a few months ago as I had wanted a black and they did not have any more, do not be afraid to go on about this car, its excellent, and 20 times better than my recent Peugeot 206.

Ford have recently reviewed the model line up, threfore ABS is now standard accross the range.

I own a 'Black' model Fiesta, and I can assure you that it does not come with ABS. Also my car makes a strange whining noise at 100mph...!

Apart from the above 2 points, after 6 months ownership I have nothing bad at all to say about the car.

The whining noise is caused by a misaligned windscreen seal. Take it back to the dealer, they will move the front screen approx 1mm upwards and the problem will be solved.

2004 1.4tdci had car for three momths no problems at all also own mk5 fiesta 1.8td two totally different cars like mk5 but not a patch on the new mk 6 one complaint the stupid bonnet catch seems like a after thought waiting for lockwood to produce front stainless grills.

I have had my Fiesta Black since September 2003 when I bought it new. So far, so good - although have had a few small problems. It is a good looking car with a very high spec, although the high spec has put my insurance up quite a lot as I am only 19. Styling on this particular model is good, compared to the others in the Fiesta range. I am very impressed with the sound system and the brushed alloy control panel/gear knob. However, I have done 18000 miles now and the engine is sounding a little tired. Also, there is quite an annoying squeak coming from the dashboard and and a creaking noise from the drivers seat. There is also a noise when changing from 1st to 2nd, possibly from the clutch. The engine management system has failed a few times and I have had to pull over and restart the car. - Has anyone else had this problem???The 1.4 engine is good for around town driving and pulls away quite quickly for an engine of this size.

I do agree that it looks like a Focus as people often think that I drive a Focus. Depreciation is quite high as the origional value was £10500 and after 18months it is now only worth £6500, so a used 53 reg really is excellent value for money. Over all, a good car.

Hi I also have a Ford Fiesta Zetec, and it does not have ABS, but now if you buy the same car brand new it does.

I bought my Fiesta Black in August 2003.I agree with many of you that the look and feel of the car is excellent. The interior is second to none and the look of the car is just amazing. There was no way I was going to pick any other fiesta after I had seen the Black.

However, I have also had a terrible experience of reliability from the car, so much so that I sold the car within 18 month of having it. It seemed to be at the garage more than I was driving it.

To start off with the car was taken in after about 5 months as it was pulling somewhat and there was a rattling sound which came from under the car. I was told that my exhaust had to be replaced. This was after several visits to the garage.

The next issue was that the car failed to start up on all cylinders, which I was then told the starter pack had to be replaced, this was about 7 months of having the car.

I then had various engine management problems, which every time I took back to the garage they said they couldn't find anything wrong.

Whilst still with the engine management warnings the car was stalling every time I started it up and when I did finally get it going it I had to keep the revs to over 5000 to keep going just to get me to the garage.

This is when I was told that my catalyst converter had gone, the car was about 12-14 months old at this point.

The converter was replaced, but yet the engine was still pulling and it just didn't run like it did when I first got it. After many more visits which had not rectified the issues, I got rid of the car as fast as I could. Although Ford had given me the offer of buying another fiesta I was reluctant to as the spec they were offering me was not up to spec as the Fiesta Black, so I went elsewhere. Hopefully the new owner will have better look with it than me.

Just bought my Black!!

It is so good, the best small engine fiesta that you can get. It really is a good car, and I have yet to find any problems.

One question

Does anyone actually know how many blacks were produced?

Woohoo, Just got mine today...

It's an 03 plate, Only 27K on the clock and a real bargain...

I love the fact it is fully loaded and it's a real head turner..

I just hope it give me no problems...

One question... Anyone know why my wheels are 15 ", and the silver models tend to have different alloys??? Mine are the ones with the little round center cap with Ford, like other blacks I have seen. But then newer ones tend to have the 16" larger wheels???

Weird.

To all you peugeot drivers ford rule! I have had a black for a number of years and none of these problems that these people have specified have ever happened to me.