ford, they do have the product....

[jphanna]

well we find ourselves in the market for a small runabout for the wife and kids.

my wife was in the definate 'Ford are crap' category, being brain washed from her dad/brother/who knows?

so i gave her a list of cars.

barina 1.6 and (barina spark 1.2)
swift
jazz
fiesta
yaris

she drove a barina spark last night. (rubber band engine, got passed by girl on a tricycle...)
tried suzuki swift, not impressed
i urged her to drive a fiesta today and was RAVING about it afterwards. she even told the salesman i forced her to drive the fiesta!!!
so she is trying the 1.6 barina now and i wait for the response.
doesnt like the jazz
the yaris is just an echo with a fresh body on it. echo was her last car...boring

so here is a person 'anti ford'.....tries the ford product and raves about the experience. price is right on par with the competition too.

i wait for the barina 1.6 report......

[jphanna]

well i just got the latest update.

the wife recons the fiesta is FAR better than the barina, BUT her mechanic, whom she just spoke to, advised against buying the fiesta because 'once they break down, they are very expensive to fix'

his advice is to buy a huyndai or kia........

[fanboi]

If its new, nothings gonna cost her a cent for the warranty period.
My wifes Zetec has just hit three years and 100Ks, I have thrashed the daylights out of it and never missed a beat, handles brilliantly, and not a rattle or squeak much better than my 100 grand Dicovery I just got rid of after the same period of time and about the same Ks travelled.

My only criticism is the zetec wheels are weak as ****, buckled four and were $800 each to replace (thanks insurance) and have been very wary of potholes since.

Chances are next year we will buy another one.

[Drizz06]

Geez your missus is lucky,
I told mine she can have any car as long as its a ford.
After driving around Melbourne for 3 weekends in a row looking at dealers we ended up back at ford were we started and drove away with a focus,
which was the first car she test drove! just think of the time we could have saved if she listened to me.
Quite a few years later and she still loves the car and cant wait for her next focus.

[GT014]

I persuaded the misses to go the new focus and she loves it. It's a great car and I would be more than happy to own one myself

[Venomous1]

Go the Fez great little car.

[WPR1]

Go the Fiesta great car far better than the others to drive and very reliable in my opinion.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Go the Fiesta... One of the companies I work for has them as company cars for some of the employees, they get thrashed and survive okay!! Everythings covered by warranty for the first 3 years. Yes euro Fords can be a little expensive later in life but it depends on how long she plans on keeping it. Barina = junk.

If your going for a CL manual there's some good pricing around, just make sure you get a later one with the safety pack (gives you 5 star).

[Fiesta God]

"Expensive to fix?"

• 15,000km service intervals - once a year for most people (my own pref is 6 monthly oil changes regardless of what manufacturer says)
• Capped price servicing for 5 years with Ford, averages around $300-350 a service
• No timing belt replacement until 10 years / 125,000kms (this is a long interval)
• Rear drum brakes - will get years and years from them (saves $$)
• Quality aftermarket front brake discs & pads available for about $400 (not as cheap as a Falcon for example but still pretty good)
• 4 year coolant change interval - (this is a long interval)
• Electric steering - no hydraulic system to service/maintain
• The car uses standard spec coolant, brake fluid, oil, filters etc. (all available over the counter)

The Fiesta has been a very low cost car to own in the nearly 4 years I have had mine.

You might save $60-80 a year by buying a Hyundai or a Kia, or you might save some bigger $$ in 10-12 years time ... but if you're keeping it for less than 10 years, the Fiesta won't be any costlier than any other comparable vehicle in my opinion (and experience).

[stang65]

Simple find a new mechanic, maybe doesn't like them because he can't make money on them.

[FacultY]

Did she even try a Kia or Hyundai?

I woudnt of gone for any of the other small cars either but kia and hyundai do have nice offerings too. Also you didnt say price range or if you were comparing say a base model yaris to a zetec

[rancidpunx]

I told my Mum in the UK to look at the Fiesta as she was about to hand over a cheque for a Yaris white good. She promised me she would test drive the Fiesta and she was true to her word and wrote a new cheque out to Ford.
Its not just here that people have an inbuilt Ford make poor cars perception. Ford just need to get people into the show rooms and then in to test cars. The Fiesta, Focus, Falcon, Ranger etc are all top picks at the moment.

[MITCHAY]

My mother recently took the Focus, I30, Mazda3 and Cruze for test drives. She settled on trading her VE SV6 for the Cruze CDX.

When I asked her why she didn't get the Focus (because she did like it very much) she said because the Cruze has the digital speedo. I thought really WTF? She gave me some reasons but I don't remember them all but the digital speedo was a deal clincher.

Sometimes a simple thing will sway it for a person and they will draw the line on a better engine etc etc vs a digital speedo. That said I must say it is not as bad as I thought it would be.

P.S her friend bought a Fiesta and loved it and got one of those. A sale for Ford and Holden each aint a bad month.

[LeadFoot81]

I had a workmate who was wary of Fords in general, but after the way I spoke about my WS Fez he decided to take a WT for a test drive. As soon as he hopped out of the car it was a done deal. They're just kick *** little cars!!

[In Focus]

My Mrs. went from wanting a new Corolla (to replace an older model Corolla) to buying a Fiesta after I told her to take one for a test drive.

[Moby Vic]

Will you get the Fiesta ST there?

[flooded one]

Fiestas are good little cars. I do think that the hyundais and kias are heaps better then what they were 10 years ago and i would buy a modern one but I don't see why your mechanic hates fiestas?? everyone I know with one loves them and never complains about them. i think there great little cars personally

[zilo]

Originally Posted by jphanna

well we find ourselves in the market for a small runabout for the wife and kids.


so i gave her a list of cars.

barina 1.6 and (barina spark 1.2)
swift
jazz
fiesta
yaris

......

You're going to have your entire family running around in one of these fragile little tin cans?

I suggest,(no offense), that you can't really afford a proper new car, buy a second hand full sized car and have them driven around safely.

[FGII-XR6]

some mechanics can be quite opinionated without just cause. they like a particular car because the know them well ( probably work on them a lot , real reliable eh) I would do some comparative pricing of regular servicing and normal replacement parts and show that to your Mrs

Originally Posted by jphanna

well i just got the latest update.

the wife recons the fiesta is FAR better than the barina, BUT her mechanic, whom she just spoke to, advised against buying the fiesta because 'once they break down, they are very expensive to fix'

his advice is to buy a huyndai or kia........

[Franco Cozzo]

Not only that but they're actually very easy to do minor services on, everything is in easy to get to places, I made a thread here on how to do an air/oil/cabin filter change with lots of pictures and a list of the tools you need:

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11379240

If I can do it, then anyone else could too.

[jphanna]

Originally Posted by Ugg

You're going to have your entire family running around in one of these fragile little tin cans?

I suggest,(no offense), that you can't really afford a proper new car, buy a second hand full sized car and have them driven around safely.

this is a school/shopping runnabout. we will always have a falcon or commodore (depending on what decade) for big family outings etc

sher tried a kia RIO and saif that it felt very solid and the only car to take it up to the Fiesta. the KIA salesman, whne told of the Fiesta competition.....reminded us that the fiesa doesnt have a spare wheel, just a can of glue and a pump.

i didnt check to see if he was correct, but seems the fiesta has a few people worried.

[tezxr8man]

Originally Posted by jphanna

well i just got the latest update.

the wife recons the fiesta is FAR better than the barina, BUT her mechanic, whom she just spoke to, advised against buying the fiesta because 'once they break down, they are very expensive to fix'

his advice is to buy a huyndai or kia........

mechanics aye, most cars are around the same price to fix these day's. obviously hasn't too much to do with japanese stuff then, honda, and some toyotas are now more expensive to fix than the most of the european stuff

[Elks]

We have an 09 Zetec Auto we bought for my daughter, hasn't done heaps of km (under 40,000) all inner city. Other than basic servicing the little Zetec has cost nothing, and importantly it hasn't actually needed warranty repairs.

Its a great car, handles and brakes well, has lots tech stuff, looks cute which is apparently a good thing. I find it a bit slow, but using a 335 GT as a reference point warps everything LOL.

[mr smith]

My mum, a long time Camry buyer just this week picked up an Ecoboost G6E. She loves it and says it feels more compact and easier to drive than the Camry and is stoked with the power, economy and its classy looks.
Her last Ford was a V8 XD Ghia.

I think the word is getting out how good the new Fords are.

[In Focus]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

Will you get the Fiesta ST there?

Yes. Probably 3-4 months after it comes out in the U.S.

[fanboi]

Originally Posted by Elks

We have an 09 Zetec Auto we bought for my daughter, hasn't done heaps of km (under 40,000) all inner city. Other than basic servicing the little Zetec has cost nothing, and importantly it hasn't actually needed warranty repairs.

Its a great car, handles and brakes well, has lots tech stuff, looks cute which is apparently a good thing. I find it a bit slow, but using a 335 GT as a reference point warps everything LOL.

Take it for a punt through the twisties and it will feel plenty quick

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

My mother recently took the Focus, I30, Mazda3 and Cruze for test drives. She settled on trading her VE SV6 for the Cruze CDX.

When I asked her why she didn't get the Focus (because she did like it very much) she said because the Cruze has the digital speedo. I thought really WTF? She gave me some reasons but I don't remember them all but the digital speedo was a deal clincher.

Sometimes a simple thing will sway it for a person and they will draw the line on a better engine etc etc vs a digital speedo. That said I must say it is not as bad as I thought it would be.

P.S her friend bought a Fiesta and loved it and got one of those. A sale for Ford and Holden each aint a bad month.

Bit like people who don't buy a car as the indicator is on the 'wrong' side.

Fiesta has been advertised on the radio with drive away pricing and low finance, certainly something that will help with the final decision.

[4.0i OHC]

Originally Posted by wildrider

Fiestas are good little cars. I do think that the hyundais and kias are heaps better then what they were 10 years ago and i would buy a modern one but I don't see why your mechanic hates fiestas?? everyone I know with one loves them and never complains about them. i think there great little cars personally

Yeah nah. Korean cars are definitely no match for a Fiesta. Imagine trying to draw a car when you have never seen one before, and you had only heard about them from friends, and read about what they are meant to look like in books. The result would be pretty ghastly, wouldn't it?

It's the same with Korean car dynamics. Some Hyundai/Kia chassis engineers don't even have driver's licences. Yeah, fair enough, they're 'heaps better' when it comes to styling and even drivetrain options, but they are still hamstrung with soggy weetbix steering (completely disconnected from the front wheels) and unsettled ride quality. When you try to push them into a corner, they understeer, understeer, and understeer some more, just for good measure. They've 'caught up' to Toyota, but certainly not Ford.

The Fiesta, on the other hand, is a true driver's car. In the mould of the Caterham 7. Koreans may imitate, but they have a fair way to go if they want to duplicate. It mixes pin-sharp steering with the handling of my old EL Falcon slot car set, and gives a cosseting ride to boot. All with a torsion beam out the back. It has the torquiest atmo engine in its class (and if you need more torque and near-Prius fuel economy, just go for the diesel, it makes a brilliant quasi-hot hatch). Its engine sounds great in an MX-5 sort of way (despite not being an inline six or five), and just begs to be revved, despite having a fair helping of torque down in the useful zone. The brakes aren't too crash hot though, but then again it is a Ford after all.

Actually, I guess you could say that the Fiesta is all of Ford's characteristics condensed into a light car package. To the OP, I feel that this is the start of a lifelong Ford addiction for your wife. Soon enough, she'll start raving to everyone who'll listen (and some that won't) about the car's steering and handling. After over 10 years of Mercedes-Benz monotony, my Holden-supporting Dad bought his first Ford in 2011 (one of the first Mondeo Zetec Ecoboosts), and he underwent that exact transformation. Every so often, he thanks me for introducing Ford to him. He still pokes fun at my AU love, and refuses to test drive one (even though he's fallen head over heels for the FG).

And all it takes is a quick test drive to find out what a Ford is all about. Congrats to the OP's wife for getting herself behind the wheel.

[Bossxr8]

Kia are slowing getting there by using an Aussie suspension engineer to try to sort out the ride and handling for Oz spec cars, but Hyundai don't, and hence the Kia's always seem to drive better than they do.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by 4.0i OHC

Yeah nah. Korean cars are definitely no match for a Fiesta. Imagine trying to draw a car when you have never seen one before, and you had only heard about them from friends, and read about what they are meant to look like in books. The result would be pretty ghastly, wouldn't it?

It's the same with Korean car dynamics. Some Hyundai/Kia chassis engineers don't even have driver's licences. Yeah, fair enough, they're 'heaps better' when it comes to styling and even drivetrain options, but they are still hamstrung with soggy weetbix steering (completely disconnected from the front wheels) and unsettled ride quality. When you try to push them into a corner, they understeer, understeer, and understeer some more, just for good measure. They've 'caught up' to Toyota, but certainly not Ford.

Care to reference any of that garbage you're spewing? Or did you just quote that from another fool on another forum?

Hang on... you must know the Korean designers personally? Or perhaps been to Korea to draw these conclusions?