- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.6i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
89kW, 151Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 6.1L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2012 FORD FIESTA ZETEC
As a daily driver and occasional family trip, it’s a very good car for normal use.
- Chassis, gearbox, seats, steering, stereo, stripes
- Lack of mid range torque, bad at hand brake turns, intrusive ECU, brakes
The stereo is good, the ride well controlled, the seats comfortable, it gets reasonable fuel economy and overall a pleasant easy-to-drive hatch with ample space for things.
But I’m 19. So, is it fun to drive?
Yes and no.
The engine is strong enough, but lacks torque, so it requires revs to get a hustle along. Fun.
The gear box is slick and happy to do quick shifts. Fun.
It uses a drive by wire system that is easily confused and tries to rev match upshifts, which makes it take forever to drop the revs from high rpms for the next gear. Not fun.
The brakes are good and it will do heel-and-toe down-shifts. This is fun. But the brakes fade far too easily. Not fun.
The chassis is very good, but understeers by nature. Not fun. This was fixed with a less sticky rear tyre. Fun.
The hand-brake is strong enough, but the chassis wont flick round well enough to do handbrake turns. Disappointing.
Unless you really get the chassis working, it is generally quite a boring characterless car to drive. Not fun.
You can’t turn the TC off. Not fun.
Build quality is good enough, though the ball joints have gone a touch sloppy, and it needs new brake rotors after 21,000km. (Though that’s probably my fault.)
It’s a nice enough car, but it lacks character, and if you have a passenger, changing gear often results in awkward arm touching moments.
So it’s a good car, not a car you can love and get to know. It can be both fun and boring. Do recommend. But the ST will be better.