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My friend Nick Bishop was given his mum’s Mk 1 1.3. He took it to a rally prep garage, got the engine tuned, a Janspeed exhaust, the RS crossmember and uprated suspension. It was stupidly fast (for the time) and survived a remarkably long time until he crashed it.
I assume that improved the steering somehow, as my MK1 1.3 had the worst understeer I've ever experienced.
Hence my comment about ditches before 😀
No. What everyone will be buying are EV’s, by Government mandate, and unless you’re only ever going to be driving (very) locally, the cars will have to be bigger in order to accommodate big, heavy battery packs. Until smaller, lighter solid-state Lithium metal batteries become commercially available, then it might be feasible to produce smaller cars like the Fiesta with a reasonable range, and/or fast charging with a ten-fifteen minute charge time.
Er... honda make the E, fiat the 500-e, Mini the cooper electric and vw have the e-up, which they've had in their range for a good few years now.
Small electric cars are possible and popular, ford are just sticking their head in the sand with this decision.
The fiesta and the focus are still huge sellers in the european market. They could have developed a new generation electric fiesta and focus to spearhead their new electric car range, they would sell plenty just based on the names alone.
I've never been a fan of fords due to their questionable quality/business practices and this latest decision hasn't changed my opinion, especially as the fiesta and focus were the best cars in their line up.
The fiesta and the focus are still huge sellers in the european market. They could have developed a new generation electric fiesta and focus to spearhead their new electric car range, they would sell plenty just based on the names alone.
They've gone down the "on name alone" route with their electric cars branding them "Mustang". Which is fundamentally irritating as a 2150kg car seemed like the perfect platform to hide some batteries in, and even as a ecomentalist I'll concede that I find Mustangs cool cars.
This news makes me sad - fed up of stupidly big cars. 🙁
Sad times, my mum and so be defacto I had a series of Mk 2s in my late teens. I worked for a guy on a saturday who had a Mk2 XR2 with the 1.6 engine - that thing flew!
I unfortunately got saddled with a Nova as my first car - not quite the kudos of the Fiesta.
We've just come back from a week in Sardinia where we got saddled with a Ford Ecosport mini SUV thing. What a hateful concept and implementation of a vehicle.
Edit: Our Zoe reminds me a lot of the early Fiestas - small, light and tinny, but perfect for their job.
Ah. Had an XR2i here. Despite it's flaws it was great. Simple beast, easy to home spanner. Engine wise, the CVH had been pushed up to about 110bhp by that point by Ford and the EFi system was probably the first decent generation of ECU and the whole thing was reasonably eager.
I majored in Escorts around the time (had three assorted cooking models).
The outgoing Fiesta must be about the same size as a MK1 Focus?
The Ka is probably nearer to the size of Fiesta most folk are reminiscent about.
It has certainly expanded over time. Current generation kerb weight is around 1200kg (!) which is about the same as a mk1 mondeo used to be. The original was around 750kg IIRC.
Shame. Love a car. Love an mpv. Not keen on SUVs or crossovers.
Owned too many fiestas:
Mk2 1.1L
Mk2 XR2
Mk2 1.1 L again.
MK3 1.4 Si.
MK3 1.6 si 16v
MK3 XR2i 8v
Mk5 fiesta zetec s.
Mk6 ST
Mk6 ST again.
We had numerous fiestas in the family. Mk1-mk3.
Probably my favourite car. People will scoff and say it's just a ford but it's a staple and was my entry into motoring.
The MK3 8v XR2i was my favourite. Still looks awesome now. Definitely unrefined and steered like a boat but at 19 it didn't matter.
Kids today buy VAGs and BMWs on PCP. We bought £150 fiestas with rot and stuck xr2 spoilers on them.
If I could flog my focus st and buy a Mk7 fiesta st I would but nobody wants a car that does 22 mpg.
Loving this thread. I guess my username will now make sense. I'm a Ford man. My granda who I was very close to until his passing in 2019 worked for Ford for most of his life in Belfast. I was able to take advantage of the good old friends and family discounts. My first car was a brand new Mk5 Fiesta Zetec 1.4 in Ink Blue. Then I got very lucky and bagged another new Mk5 Fiesta ST, the facelift version. Great car. Had it lowered, K&N induction kit. Then I had a Mk5 anniversary edition in red with the chequered roof.
My granda himself had quite a few Fiestas, but he preferred the Escort as it was a bit bigger. My uncle had an XR2i and I remember he took me out for a blast and jumped it what felt like 100ft and nearly took the front bumper off!
My first car was an orange fiesta mk1 with the massive throbbing 950cc engine. Blew up the engine, got a replacement 1.1 put in for £150 from a fiesta that has been pulled out of the river. Sold it to a mate who kept if for a while and then sold it to one of my girlfriends mates.
Second car was a much more sensible mark2 in lovely burgundy
The outgoing Fiesta must be about the same size as a MK1 Focus?
The Ka is probably nearer to the size of Fiesta most folk are reminiscent about.
You can thank safety for that, it's by no means unique to Ford.
Just a shame they've not applied the same logic to parking bays.
we got saddled with a Ford Ecosport mini SUV thing
Fiesta based. I've hired a few in the US and to be honest they are nice to drive on US roads. Once you've worked out how to open the back door for luggage! (Spoiler: it's hidden to look like the other rear light and swing open rather than up).
I had the exact model and colour fiesta that @Kryton57 posted right at the start of this thread, when I was much much younger.
Loved that car, IIRC it cost me £3k and whilst not fuel injected nor the fastest car on the block, it was plenty quick for the time and cash. Great fun car to drive.
Didn’t realise that the Focus has already been slated to be axed too!
Disappointed, in a way, as I don't like the SUV trend and the Focus is a good size for we do. We had a Mk1 estate which was great, and replaced it with a Mk3; despite being a lot bigger on the outside, it has slightly less space inside than the Mk1. On the other hand, I'm never going to buy another Ford after the Ecoboost fiasco and Ford's denial of responsibility. I'm hoping ours last a few more years until there's a good choice of electric estates that take roof bars.
Once you’ve worked out how to open the back door for luggage! (Spoiler: it’s hidden to look like the other rear light and swing open rather than up).
Ha ha - it only took us 15 mins to wait for the hire car guy to finish with the previous customer and show is where it was 🤪
Didn’t realise that the Focus has already been slated to be axed too!
And the Mondeo's already gone.
Sat times! I used to have a MK2 XR2i for track use, very fast wee car especially with twin Dellorto 40's, lightened flywheel etc. Handled really well but very thirsty! Really wish I'd never moved it on...
Currently drive a MK3.5 ST estate and it's great - very practical and quick when you need it to be.