Hello everyone,
I hesitated for a moment whether I should create a thread here or not but I hope it's fine. I am actually not an owner of any car but I am going to purchase something in near future. I am about to start an international studies aboard and I want to get a reliable car that can also give me a lot of fun from driving it. Basically, I need some arguments to convict my family to lend me money for ST. Before I even started to write my application, I viewed a lot of car's ads because I am an enormous car enthusiast. The first car that I started to look for, was the normal version of Fiesta, because this car was always for me some kind of signature of well handling car. Accidentally, I found an ad of Fiesta ST and my first thoughts were that this car is something I am looking for and in addition most of specimens had lower mileage, were better equipped, were also newer and to be honest those arguments are for me enough to pay for a little bit more. The last benefit that I didn't mention is obviously even better handling and additional power. I also found many interesting ads of Mazda RX-8, Peugeot 207 RC and Volvo S40/V50 T5 (current generation) but I think ST is the smartest choice and best compromise. Generally, the RWD car is always something I was dreaming of, but unfortunately RX-8 would just generate unnecessary costs and it's the main problem. The serious conversation on this subject is upcoming in the nearest weekend and I want to be well prepared. The budget wasn't said yet but I am pretty sure that ST is possible to get. I believe Ford Fiesta ST is one of the best cars in the category "price to quality". So now, the question is why is worth to buy a Fiesta ST - owners should know it the best!

Thanks in advance for help, I hope I will be able to make another thread about my own ST within 2 months !

welcome to the site

i have had my ST 2 years drive it every day and the only thing that i have had to change is brake pads and discs and tyres!

a few people will tell you other things im sure but i fiddled and blew things up

Welcome to the world of the

Get an simple, its a fun, nippy car that is a great drive, you get a good spec and gererally speaking a very reliable car, i owned mine for 3 years with not so much as a blown bulb!!!

There are loads to choose from, various colours and stripe combo's to make it individual etc etc etc

As long as budget allows, you won't go far wrong

best motor iv bought and the insurance isnt as expensive as some cars with similar power, the only bugger is £200 tax but thats the only downside and you got to be prepared for it when buying a 2 litre i suppose.

Only thing thats ever broken on mine is the seat catch and a light bulb! which aint bad as iv tampered with mine lol

go for it!! you wont be disappointed!!!

oh and the rx-8 engine is apprently pretty crap iv heard

welcome along btw

welcome, if you doing a lot of travelling/miles then maybe the Zetec S TDCI.

what steve said Zetec S TDCI.

hi and welcome

Go test drive one and you'll see why we all love them Welcome mate

mine might be up for sale soon, well looked after and already got the basic mods on that everyone on here always does. ill keep you posted

207 have ecu problems that the 206 had and which
even peugeot have problems fixing.
rx 8 are expensive to run and engines need to be
properly warmed up before use imo best to avoid

i've heard stories about rx 8's having to have regular engine changes as well. I heard one having 2 and it had done only 80000 miles

I had the same problem looking at cars. I always wanted a RX-8 but now the tax is done on emissions it is very high. I looked at loads of different cars but i went for a because of the fords reliability. If you buy an you won't be disappointed.

Great handling
Good fuel economy (providing you don't rag it everywhere)
Insurance is not as high as the other cars
Tax is £200 so not that bad
Good reliability

I would say the only bad points about the car is it's not really a motorway car, if you are looking to do long journey's on the motorway, then get a diesel.

You'll have to think of the arguments as tbh it's not really a car you can say has every advantage in the world.

Plus points:

Reliable, very good looking, quick, great handling, seats 5 with good boot, high n-cap safety rating.

Minus points:

Higher risk of getting stolen, Higher fuel prices, Tax higher, 17" Tyres.

If your an international student then why not go for a Zetec S? This will cut costs a little bit and satisfy your family?

Welcome to the site, I'm sure everyone has given you plenty of things to help you make your decision.

Thanks for all answers and warm welcome,
I don't know what to say about Zetec S, I always wanted more sporty car, preferably hot-hatch at start:D Always felt pretty confident in cars like ST and I drove many of them, including Civic Type-R current generation, Golf GTI 6, 207 RC, Focus ST220, Abarth Grande Punto, Alfa 149 1.4 Multiair. I have a plan to get around a city by bicycle, if weather will let me to and car is needed for trips from one country to another (in one way it is ~1000km). Diesel would be really nice with a sporty character of car but I think that Zetec S is lack in this?

I wonder if you can totally turn off the ESP in ST? And theoretically, what should be average fuel consumption at the speed of ~150km/h? And also do you consider Fiesta ST as a flashy car that is getting a lot of attention on a parking or a street? From experience I can presume that only motorization fans will be able to recognize this version - once I had funny situation when I arrived with my brother at some McDonald, or something like that, in C 63 AMG and there was whole bus of kids inside and nobody reacted anyhow. We were waiting there for a friend who wanted to check out Mercedes because he was thinking of getting one to replace his 997 4S and when he arrived there was a lot noise around his car even the similar beast was there for a good 20 minutes. It is only a benefit if Fiesta is so inconspicuous and can pretend to be normal Fiesta as good as AMG seemed to be just another C-Class.

Thanks again, I hope your arguments will convict my family! Would be really great…

To answer a couple of your questions:

Quote:

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Diesel would be really nice with a sporty character of car but I think that Zetec S is lack in this?

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The Fiesta Zetec-S was available in both petrol and diesel versions.

Quote:

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I wonder if you can totally turn off the ESP in ST?

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If you have ESP fitted then you can turn it off by holding the button in when turning the ignition.

Yes ST do attract a lot of attention especially if got full stripes on, but does depend where, abroad may be better. If you really want an ST I would go for a black one, won't stand out like white or red, Zetec S has its own sea grey which is really smart colour.

id mayb go for a zetecs tdci or something. by the sounds of it your not from the uk? id say the diesel because of tax but if tax isnt a problem then the st is recommended. had mine for a wile and its top notch, no mechanical faults. only had to vhange rear pads so far.

hope i'm not tempting fate here but my ST is panther black with no stripes and i've never had an issue at all. It's not a ferrari but if you have full stripes and a more noticeable colour i can see how it would attract attention- especially in certain areas of the country

i've had a few people looking at mine when i've been driving round or when its been parked up as no one seems to be entirely sure what car it is lol. it definitely turns heads tho and mine is black

I like it because when you do get someone looking at it you know that they actually know something about cars

Welcome to the site mate!

Hey again
As I thought, my family is quite skeptical with my idea of buying pretty expensive car. I respect their attitude, in addition I already spent a lot of money for flat and for some materials fee required for studies. If I will have a problem with finding a job, I will for sure spend all my savings for current necessary expenses that could be invested in a car.

I came up with an alternative idea and I would need to get some information (it's pretty hard to find such thing on the Internet written in English). In a front of my house is parked a car of my brother and it wasn't use for few months. It is a car prepared to races and it was using only in a racing events but it won't be useful for this purpose anymore because 2010 season was the last in which this car could attend (organizer is not going to continue this cup anymore). It is registered as a normal car but it has only one seat (with net aside the window that can be pulled down), safety frame or however it is supposed to be called. The question is: can I drive this car legally in Germany and Denmark? For example in my country it is legal but in Czech Republic it would be illegal. It would be the greatest solution, I could add one more seat for a passenger and it would become more practical, in addition this car is pretty cheap in maintenance because of small engine. The fact that car is in literally perfect technical condition, makes this idea even better! Should be very, very reliable and it still can give a lot of fun from driving, this car positively surprised me many times and I had a great fun on a track. The only minus is that you can get inside of this car without keys because boot and mask is on clasp/latch, everything done in order to fulfill homologation requirements. Fortunately most of people don't really know it, even it is hard to do not notice. I am really sure that there are some Danish or German users on this forum, I would be really thankful for an answer!

I regret that I am not going to purchase Fiesta ST, I really believe it is a great car and I am convinced to get one, maybe still in near future it will be possible, just need to sort out everything aboard and then I will be able to plan this whole operation
Thanks for all posts and in advance for answers !!

In answer to your question. I have no idea. It depends on the road laws for both Germany and Denmark. In the UK that would probably be a no no.

I would suggest from the site that any suggestions made or answers given will be peoples own views and cannot be legally viewed and acted upon.

If you or your brother do not do own research for driving the car in any other country and get stopped then this site accepts no responsibility for your actions. I suggest you read up on this and make 100% sure the car is fit for legal road use.

Good Luck with your studies.

Okey, so this time we came up with the final solution and found a decent compromise. I think I am going to get Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCi, I want to save money on fuel and from the perspective of future, I think this car will be useful all the time if it will be reliable enough, it's perfect car as a second in family because of expected low costs of maitenance. I am now wondering what is the limit of kilometers/miles for this engine? I want to avoid some doubtful ads and I seek for a car from the first hand, with full documentation, I already found two cars which fit my requirements and both of them are from 2004 year and cost 3,500 euro, 2/3 doors, 1.4 TDCi with 145 000 km / 119 000 km mileage. It doesn't matter anyhow because I am convicted to get this car anyways but I just wonder if this engine is quite dynamic as for 68hp? What I should take a look at in the first place when it comes to test drive? The budget is up to 10 000euro but I want to get as cheap as possible car, obviously which is worth the price, with good quality to price ratio. I will be supposed to pay back this money to my Brother and I decided that I want something economical that can serve in future as a second car. If any car will make a good impression on me, I will take it to "diagnostic station" just to ensure everything is ok. Due to not many advertisements of Fiesta with 1.4 TDCi, what could you say about petrol engines - 1.2/1.3/1.4/1.6? I won't mention 1.6 diesel because I guess it's too expensive, unless it's really worth to invest this amount of cash? Maybe some other brands that are worth of attention? :| It's so damn hard choice:/

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

Hi mate, welcome to the site

My partner vicky is using a 56 reg 1.4 tdci fiesta at the moment, and to be honest it isnt that bad, its never going to set the world on fire but its there for economy, we are at the filling station a lot less and have just got the tax reminder (£30) for the year, it does what it has to, it has 78000 miles on the clock or 125528 KM, and its never missed a beat in the cold weather. Overall its not a bad little car.

Ok, so today I picked up Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCi and I am really happy with my new purchase. There isn't that big difference between the newest cars and this Ford Fiesta. It feels very steady in the corners and the engine is surprisly quite dynamic. There isn't any clacking sound in the interior, even this car has above 100 000 kilometers. The steering is very direct and it reacts immediately, suspension is quite hard but I totally don't mind. Only the position in a front of wheel is just too high. Anyways, I will for sure enjoy driving it on the serpentines! Unfortunately, it has quite crappy equipment - the specimen I bought, was the first I saw. Everything was kept in perfect condition, I am sure that this car didn't have any unknown to me adventures. Last owner was a Ford's dealer and this car was used by his wife. I hope, it's going to be very cheap in maintenance! It made really good first impression on me, even in compare to many (easily 60+) modern (2009+) cars that I used to drive. The weather condition in my country is just perfect for a test-drive The temperature is about +10C degress and is almost dry, in this car and with this weather, I feel like I am in my element!

cool keep us posted and put some pics up.

yep they aint that bad.