My New Ride

[Gandalf]

18 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

@Gandalf I'm far more of a Subaru guy than a Ford fan to be perfectly honest but the modern Ford ownership experience was brief but pleasant one

 

In terms of the safety I don't think very many other cars come close to the Fiesta in that particular class of car nor in the same price/size/age bracket.

IIHS Top Safety Pick in it's day with 7 airbags (including a knee airbag) & Euro NCAP 5* 

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/ford/fiesta-4-door-sedan/2011

https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/ford/fiesta/10922

 

I owned it for less than a year and it was quite reliable. I had a coolant hose pop out once - they're attached with a clip so it was just a matter of clipping it back, fill up and go.

Admittedly i'm fussy about preemptive maintenance and had just a tonne of things done after I bought the car  - so all the fluids, filters, plugs, belts, shocks, rubber bushes, tires, etc etc. In a sense that probably held me in good stead.

The car shares a tonne of parts with the Mazda Demio & older Mazda 2 so those work perfectly if the original FoMoCo bits are unavailable.

There are a number of places like Rainbow Motors who stock aftermarket bits but I got a little lazy and had Mazna Motors source things. Some parts I did order online and like @Crosswind had mentioned earlier in this thread are quite reasonable.

Body parts are a little tricky i found out when i wanted to replace a faded reverse light. Api Singhe Motors in Delkanda has bits but they sell at a premium to a Japanese car part.

Keep in mind the Softlogic imported ones were made in Thailand but the Fiesta was assembled in a number of places including China, which means that cheap cosmetic bits, interior plastics or even larger items like lights etc are freely available on AliExpress as well if you want to chance it.

 

My one grouse is with the automatic gearbox. It's a lowly 4 speed (4F27E) which has a Mazda iteration as well ( FN4A-EL)

It's not like the disastrous Ford PowerShift dual clutch units in that this is a box that can be serviced. Overhaul parts are readily available from various reputed transmission component manufacturers and can be purchased online.

That said, the gearbox isn't perfect. There are many online accounts of rough shifts, flares etc. It has a manumatic (tiptronic) option as well but the shifts can feel a little sluggish. Keep in mind it was a seperate transmission controller unit as well.

Personally if I ever bought one again, i'd get a manual instead because the engine despite being a simple 1.4L 4 pot, was fine and I felt would have been far more responsive and fun to drive with a manual.

The chassis and driving dynamics are what you would expect from a European designed car, but keep in mind this isn't a premium offering. The cabin is quiet so the NVH levels felt marginally superior to the newer generation Mazda 2 which @Supra_Natural owns which I got to use parallel to the Ford.

There is sufficient sound deadening and the it has factory fitted steering mounted ICE controls.

On the highway it's very smooth and despite it sitting a little tall it was unaffected by crosswinds nor was it unsettled by undulations elsewhere. Never had an issue with ground clearance either. It felt surprisingly refined for a car of that class and the ride was quite compliant.

Many thanks @Devinda_Z highly appreciate sparing time on this..seems its a nice ride with maintenance work done timely! Actually was looking for a manual one but couldn't find one yet ☹️ 

[Gandalf]

18 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

 

Oh also @Gandalf the driving position is nice in that you sit a little higher than most other similar small sedans. The car is narrow and the steering is light so it makes for a nice city car, especially if you don't want a hatchback.

I got double digit fuel economy on the highway but in town I remember it being disappointing - again i'd blame that 4 speed automatic which personally I feel let down what was quite a decent car. A friend who drove it very regularly really enjoyed it so there are those who aren't fussed by the gearbox too much but for me personally the automatic on it is a deal breaker. So if you can find a manual I reckon it would make a good sub 2.5 Mn compact sedan purchase.

Do be warned though, it's not a run of the mill Japanese car so not every shop in Panchikawatte or Delkanda has parts than can be bought over the counter at a moments notice so there could be lead times to contend with when sourcing parts, especially these days with these various supply chain constraints/disruptions.

Thanks for the insights again @Devinda_Z ? Yeah for parts it seems better to buy some in advance through from my gonna be new friend ebay.co.uk as @Crosswind says ? 

[Devinda_Z]

2 hours ago, Gandalf said:

Many thanks @Devinda_Z highly appreciate sparing time on this..seems its a nice ride with maintenance work done timely! Actually was looking for a manual one but couldn't find one yet ☹️ 

@Gandalf there were a few doctor owned & lecturer owned ones which came up for sale at various points in time so i wonder if there were permit cars which came as manuals to keep the CIF down or something 

[Gandalf]

15 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

@Gandalf there were a few doctor owned & lecturer owned ones which came up for sale at various points in time so i wonder if there were permit cars which came as manuals to keep the CIF down or something 

Yeah gotta wait and see for some time! Most of them would have clocked 80k-100k by now i guess!

[Devinda_Z]

4 hours ago, Gandalf said:

Yeah gotta wait and see for some time! Most of them would have clocked 80k-100k by now i guess!

Year quite possibly - these were bought as fleet cars as well so check the ownership history and even more so the maintenance history.

It's always a trade off - company owned usually means Softlogic/Agent maintained at least for the 5 years but private vehicles may have been gently used if it was an owner/driver scenario but there's room that corners were cut or makabases had access to the car ?‍♂️

[Gandalf]

9 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

Year quite possibly - these were bought as fleet cars as well so check the ownership history and even more so the maintenance history.

It's always a trade off - company owned usually means Softlogic/Agent maintained at least for the 5 years but private vehicles may have been gently used if it was an owner/driver scenario but there's room that corners were cut or makabases had access to the car ?‍♂️

Yeah exactly @Devinda_Z, ? nice if can find an imported one for a permit..again, many thanks for all your time on this!!!!!