It ain't half bad! (Ford Fiesta Flight 1.3L)

Member Name: newquayboy

Product:	Ford Fiesta Flight 1.3L
Date:	03/04/04 (2653 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to drive, Spacious boot, Great for couples, and small families

Disadvantages: Not enough standard equipment, Rear leg room not very good, Noisy when revved or travelling at high speed

Way back in 2001, we decided that our Red Peugeot 106 Kid should go into retirement (it actually went to a universtiy student!!!!). We went to the local Ford Garage, as we'd seen an advert in the local paper for a Fiesta Finesse - the new fiesta was just about to be released, and i think they were trying to get rid of the old-style fiestas. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we ended up with a Fiesta Flight 1.3 3-door, in Dark True Blue (it's not metallic unfortunately) for £7395.

This car had a choice of black/dark grey or light grey trim, and it came with 7-spoke alloy wheels. Inside, it had power steering (the 106 didn't), and it had a casette player ( the 106 didn't even have a radio!), so it seemed really good at first. Nowadays, alot of cars have CD Players which come as standard, but you can easily buy an adapter, which you insert into the casette player, and attach to a CD Walkman, and then you can play CD's.

It's a brilliant car to drive. As it's my mum's, and i'm only 16, I've only driven it once or twice around a private track, but it handles brilliantely, and the power steering makes it even better. I don't know alot about cars, but it's quite powerful, if fairly noisy when revved or on a motorway. The Fiesta also lacks some standard equipment which you could come to expect on newer cars e.g. a CD Player, Fog Lights, Air Conditioning.

In conclusion, the exterior isn't bad; it's still a very stylish car, however the front grille may divide opinion! Inside, the interior is nice; the dashboard might appear a bit dull though. Back leg room is adequate for young kids, but getting 2, or even 3 adults in the back may prove fruitless. The carpet inside is absolute murder to vacuum - a small air-powered turbobrush attatched to the hose might do a slightly better job, and they are in-expensive to buy. The boot (or trunk if you're american) is of a very respectable size - It ca
n easily manage a weekly shop, and if you go to a Ikea on a whim, the seats fold down to provide ample space - though the new wardrobe or bed may require something a little bigger to get home.

As i have mentioned earlier, I do not drive the car regularly, however as a passenger, it's not a bad car to be driven in. With a drivers airbag and a radio, and good company, a long drive won't be so bad.

The Fiesta is fairly cheap to buy, second hand fiestas can be bought for a wide variety of dealers - it's probably best to go to a ford dealer, who know a lot more, and can look after the car much better. They would sell there for £4,000 - £6,000 approximately. If you can spare abit more money though, the new style fiesta might be a good bet - it has a CD Player, airbags etc. as standard, and is rather more stylish a car. It is around £7,000 for the basic finesse model, culminating in the luxurious ghia model

All in all, it ain't half bad!!! thanks for reading

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