The Mark Two Fiesta

W

hen I were a lad, the mark two Fiesta was the most common car for my generation. One of my girl friends had a 950 Popular, I had my 1·1 Ghia, and a couple of my friends had an early 1·3 S and a 1·4 Ghia respectively. A neighbour had two XR2s before moving on to the Peugeot 205 1·9 GTi, and would occasionally take me to the local town.

Of the bunch, the base models are not only more economical, but generally more refined inside the speed limit. Unfortunately, the suspension of the lesser models (all models apart from the S, Ghia and XR2) is rather lurchy in the twisty stuff.

After checking out the details of the range, I decided that the 1·1 engine offered the best compromise between performance, economy and service costs. The 1·1 is usefully quicker than the 950 (which is a remarkably gutless engine), was only slightly more to insure, just as frugal with petrol (more so with the five speed gearbox), and just as simple to work on. The 1·3 was reasonably peppy compared to the 1·1, but a bit thirstier, and quite rare. The 1·4 used a CVH engine; a mate went through a Fiesta 950, then a 1·1, before settling on a 1·4 Ghia. This Ghia was a lovely car, and whilst not exactly the quickest about, the 1·4 CVH suits the Fiesta well. It wasn’t especially thirsty either (his was mainly used on the A1 at outside lane speeds) and I recall we managed just under 40 mpg on our trips to London from Lincolnshire.

After getting a few insurance quotes, a 1·4 Ghia was almost twice the cost of the 1·1 L, and certainly not twice the car. That sealed it: I was after a 1·1. I tried a few 1·1 models before settling on the Ghia on account of the uprated suspension (and finding a nice one was easier, even if the car was pricier, since Ghia models tended to be looked after more). My ideal car was a 1·1 Ghia with the optional five speed gearbox, but the one I settled on didn’t have this extra ratio - you can read about Danielle here.

Ford’s mark two Fiesta XR2 used a 1·6 litre CVH engine that offered more power and torque compared to the 1·6 litre Kent used in the mark one Fiesta XR2.

Special mention must go to Ford’s diesel Fiesta. This car used a 1·6 litre “atmo” diesel, which was later enlarged to produce the 1·8 engine that evolved, gaining first a turbocharged and then an intercooler, to power the Sierra, Escort and Mondeo. In the Fiesta, the car wasn’t as sluggish as the Escort 1·6D, but was capable of 60 mpg with apparent ease. On paper, the 1·6d looked as quick as the 1·1 petrol, but had greater in-gear thump, and much better high speed acceleration. The principle weakness of the 1·6 diesel Fiesta is the refinement of the car - or lack thereof. It was rough, noisy, and rattled the trim quite a bit. The engine also needs looking after - all too often, these Fiestas fail their MOT because of lack of proper servicing.

It was a F-registration, 1·6 Fiesta LD that persuaded me to go the way of the diesel. A friend and I travelled from Lincolnshire to Brighton, then back, on a single tank of derv, which we then filled and it cost just over £20. We did most of this trip at about 70 mph indicated (which made some parts of Brighton rather entertaining!).

I like the Mk. 2 Fiesta’s cheap running costs, the performance of the 1·4 version, and of course, the frugal 1·6 diesel.

I dislike the fuel economy when running on unleaded, the 950’s performance, rust, and knackered smoky 1·6 diesels.