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hen I
was able to afford to run a car, I researched the small hatchback market having
decided I wanted something small and wallet friendly such that I could work on
my no claims bonus. I settled on a mark
two Fiesta on account of their plentiful availability, cheap parts and
mechanical simplicity. During my
research I discovered that there were mark two Fiestas and there were nicer
mark two Fiestas. After driving a number
of models, I began the hunt for a 1·1 Ghia with the optional five speed
gearbox.
The
Ghia model offered a few advantages over the lesser models. They had a much nicer interior with plush
velour seats, a sunroof, better audio and the “higher series” dashboard (with improved heating and ventilation
control). Mechanically, the Ghia
model benefited from improved rear suspension that improved the handling.
“Danielle”
was almost exactly what I wanted. She was
a 1986 Ford Fiesta Ghia 1·1 with the standard four speed gearbox rather than
the upgrade to a five speed. However,
the low mileage and full Ford service history convinced me that this was about
the best I would get for my budget and being impatient, I bought her. You can read my verdict on the mark two
Fiesta here.
Dynamically,
the Ghia was stable if inert. the default handling characteristic was understeer and a bout more understeer. Power, in the region of fifty brake
horsepower, wasn’t enough to overwhelm the chassis. Perfect then for a gung-ho young lad.
I
had the car serviced at my local dealership, with no problems apart from
rust. She had one or two “traits” when
running on the choke: first, it was easy to partially flood the engine when
driving off, which caused the car to crawl along until the excess petrol in the
carburettor could
be burnt off. Second, if she was frozen
over, she’d idle with the choke on just until you touch the accelerator
pedal. Then she would misbehave and
would refuse to run properly until warmed up.
This did cause some considerable frustration when trying to pull out on
to a main road in winter,
usually when I’m running slightly late for work.
Danielle’s
dashboard was the higher series version, and so came with a rev counter and a
superior ventilation system. The 1·1
litre engine, not especially powerful for the capacity, is a relative of the Endura-E, HCS and Kent
unit and was at its best under 4,500 rpm.
Above this engine speed, the donk became unduly harsh and ragged. She pulled relatively well from 2,500 rpm
giving an effective power band of just 2,000 rpm. I would, on occasion, stick to a certain
engine speed: 3,000 rpm was the favourite.
During the early part of my ownership of Danielle, I worked as a youth
trainee for a financial services company, on a pittance and my bank account
went through some very lean times.
Fuel
economy was usually around the low forties to the gallon point, dropping into
the upper thirties in winter and stretching up to the middle to higher forties when
being careful on a longer run. Sticking
to 2,500 rpm on my usual work commute,
also known as “e-max”, would reduce
fuel consumption to the mid forties from the low forties. These figures are all for running on leaded
four star petrol, when I had the timing retarded such that she would run on
unleaded, fuel consumption worsened by around ten percent.
I
always believed that the five speed version would have recorded superior fuel
economy despite the official combined cycle figures favouring the four speed.
In
other respects the mark two Fiesta is mechanically simple. The most sophisticated component apart from
the audio would be the relays. The Fiesta
offered such luxuries as an electric engine cooling fan, a brake servo with front
(solid) disc brakes and a heated rear
window with a (seven minute) timer.
Unfortunately,
Danielle had a few rust spots, and I was starting to do much longer trips and
more miles - where a better ride and taller gearing would be beneficial. My annual mileage such that I could just about
justify a diesel rather than another petrol, thus, I bought Geoffrey.
I
liked the Ghia’s seat comfort, handling, power delivery (but only on
four star petrol) and service costs.
I
disliked her cold start behaviour, motorway refinement and her performance
running on unleaded petrol.
We
averaged 42·4 mpg over 17,000 miles (see chart).
The
only problem the car had was rust.
Otherwise, she was fit and healthy.