35 year old wife and mother. Part time programmer analyst. Christian
35 year old wife and mother. Part time programmer analyst. Christian
Member since:17.08.2001
Reviews:46
Members who trust:40
Some of you will already know that we changed our car recently. For the last 9 years we had been driving around a much vandalised and rusted up old 3 door Fiesta Popular Plus. We were living in a fairly rough area and often came out of the house in the morning to find the car had yet another scratch on it or a broken wing mirror and on one more serious occasion had the stereo missing. It was also stolen whilst we were on holiday one time and driven in a high-speed car chase around the town only to be later recovered by the police.
In spite of its chequered history, I really loved this car. It was the first car that was ever really mine - that I had actually paid for myself out of hard-earned cash. My husband, on the other hand, felt very differently about the car. He hated the way it juddered sometimes pulling out of junctions and started to shake violently when it exceeded 60 miles an hour. He could not wait to replace it. He always said the moment we moved house we would buy a new car, so last year when we did move to a nicer area that is what he wanted to do.
I would have been happy to keep the trusty old Fiesta for another couple of years, after all, it had only done 60,000 miles and was very reliable, but Phil would not hear of it. So how about a new Fiesta, I asked? Absolutely not, was his response. Having put up with the rusty/juddery/shaky specimen for so long he now wanted something 'with a bit of class and luxury'. I could see his point to a certain extent, but I was not totally convinced of the virtues of replacing economy and practicality with luxury and class. In the end we came to a compromise. He wanted a Chrysler Neon - I wanted a Ford Escort - we ended up with a Ford Mondeo.
If you have read my Mondeo op, you will know that I am actually pleased with my new car (apologies if I repeat bits of it). But I still wonder from time to time whether another Fiesta would have been more suitable. Over the last week, I have had the perfect opportunity to compare both cars. On Thursday last week our car went into the garage to be repaired following a recent road accident and the courtesy car I was given was a brand new Ford Fiesta Fun. Then on Monday this week, I hired a car to go to a software user group meeting with work and this car was also a brand new Fiesta. Switching between the Fiesta and Mondeo enabled me to experience for myself the differences between these two cars. So if you are
thinking of buying a Ford car or any car for that matter and you are not sure whether to 'go large' or small, below is a brief comparison of the pros and cons of both the Fiesta and the Mondeo as seen by jpass.
****Cost****
Obviously the Fiesta is the most economical car - this goes without saying. My main objection to buying the Mondeo was the extra money I would have to find each month to run and maintain it. I have estimated that we are spending at least an extra £30 a month in running costs alone. So why is the Fiesta a cheaper car:
**Purchase price**
To buy a Fiesta Fun new, you would pay around £7595 (according to the Parkers Guide - www.parkers.co.uk). A basic new Mondeo on the other hand costs around £14595 - almost double the cost . We bought our Mondeo second hand. It was a year and a half old and had a fairly high mileage. It cost us just under £7000. For this money we could have had a brand new Fiesta. A second hand Fiesta of this age, on the other hand, would have cost us about £5400, so by the time they are a year old, the cost difference has narrowed considerably. This made me feel a bit better about our decision!
**Insurance and Tax**
Just before we departed with our Fiesta, we got a Road Tax rebate. In some distant past budget the Chancellor changed the road tax rules so that cars under 1.5L cost less to tax. If I am correct, a smaller car now costs just over £100 to tax whereas cars with larger engines cost £155. This therefore added an extra £50 a year to our car's running costs.
In terms of insurance, our old Fiesta was extremely cheap to insure, probably because it was worth next to nothing and nobody in their right mind would want to steal it (that says a lot for the people who did steal it!). A new Fiesta would obviously have cost more than our old one to insure but still much less than a Mondeo.
I have taken a look at the Direct Line website for an insurance comparison. The premium on my Mondeo is around £300 (full and protected no claims, middle age-ish drivers and £150 excess). The premium for the Fiesta Fun we hired works out at around £225.
**Fuel costs**
I was extremely worried about the fuel costs of my Mondeo when I first got it because it seemed to be guzzling petrol like there was no tomorrow. Then I discovered the reason why. Our Fiesta only had 4 gears, so we were not used to having a 5th gear. Once we started using 5th gear in earnest - changing up when we reached around 50mph, the petrol consumption was a lot better.
I have checked out a number of facts about both cars on parkers.co.uk (great site BTW - an op on this might be in order) amongst which was the estimated average fuel consumption. The Fiesta average is said to be around 36.8 miles per gallon whereas the Mondeo is 40.9. This doesn't sound like a big difference but nonetheless my weekly fuel bills have increased from around £11 to £16. I do not drive many miles a week, but most of my driving is in urban areas and involves stopping and starting a few times before I reach my final destination. The Mondeo seems to be at it's most economical on long journeys whereas the Fiesta is a much better 'run-around' car.
**Parts and repair**
Apart from the recent bodywork repairs on our Mondeo, we have not yet required any parts for the car, so I am a little in the dark with regards to costs in this area. I had assumed that parts for the Mondeo would be more expensive than those for the Fiesta, but being a Ford, I imagined the cost would not be astronomical.
Again, I took a look at the Parkers site to get a rough idea of price for popular parts and got a pleasant surprise. Prices for both cars appear to be much the same. That will be extremely welcome in a few years when the car starts to need some serious maintenance. These parts prices are listed below, in case you are interested:
Mondeo
Air Filter £9.28 Fuel Filter £8.61 Oil Filter £3.98 Spark Plugs £17.32 Sump Plug Gasket £0.50 Timing/Cam Belt £21.92
Fiesta
Air Filter £24.25 Fuel Filter £8.61 Oil Filter £2.78 Spark Plugs £17.32 Timing/Cam Belt £20.61
****Look and Feel****
This is where I think the Mondeo comes into it's own. My husband wanted luxury and class and without a doubt the Mondeo has more of this than the Fiesta. As suggested above, the Fiesta is the 'run-around' type of car and with that in mind Ford have not faceted luxury and class into its design. The Mondeo, on the other hand, is a more executive car. It is used quite a lot as a company car or by sales men who travel long distances, so quite rightly, it is a bit more luxurious.
Our Mondeo is an LX variety and came with a cd player, air conditioning, electric windows, power steering and central locking. Obviously our old Fiesta had none of these features and neither did the Fiesta Fun I drove the other day. The second Fiesta did have all of these extras apart from power steering, but somehow, it still did not feel like a luxury car. These features seemed somewhat out of place, almost as if they were an after thought. An example of this was the music system. Even though there was a cd player fitted, there was only one set of very small speakers in the front of the car, which did not do justice to the cd quality sound. The Mondeo, on the other hand, has two large speakers in the front and two further speakers in the back, which means the kids can enjoy the music too (if they like your taste!).
Another difference between these two cars is the comfort of the driving seat. The Fiesta was quite comfortable to drive but on my return journey on Monday, having already driven 140 miles in it, my back did start to ache and I felt the need to get out of the car on a couple of occasions to stretch. When I transferred to the Mondeo for the last part of the journey, the difference in seats became really apparent as I relaxed back into the padded front seat and drove the remaining 7 miles in comfort.
I also found the Fiesta driving position a little annoying. This is mainly because I have fairly short legs and have to have the seat as far forward as it will go to reach the accelerator. With the seat in this position, I found I could not see the dash board controls without bending down to look under the arch of the steering wheel. This was not only annoying but could be potentially dangerous as you have to take your eye off the road for longer to check that you are not speeding. It only takes a split second to have a crash.
****Size****
Obviously the Mondeo is the more spacious of the two cars. That goes without saying. Having said that, this would not really have been an issue for me if I did not have a young child. I have found the large back seat and the huge boot a real bonus when carrying around prams and handfuls of children, but I did manage fairly well with 3 kids in the back and two buggies in the boot with the Fiesta at the weekend. The problem comes when you have to do the supermarket shopping as well. Shopping and two buggies is a no-no with the Fiesta but works fine with the Mondeo. At least with the Mondeo I do not have the worry of thinking where I am going and whether I need to remove pieces of equipment from the boot before I leave. Getting into a car and away with a stroppy two year old is bad enough without this added hassle!
I find the sheer physical size of the Mondeo a problem though, particularly when it comes to parking. I find parallel parking almost impossible and often find I cannot get into spaces in car parks, if the cars either side are parked close to the white lines. Driving up small country roads is also quite scary in the Mondeo. I often find myself coming to a complete standstill if I see another car coming because I am worried there won’t be enough room for us both to pass. It was great at the weekend whizzing around in the Fiesta and squeezing into those tight parking spaces.
****The Drive****
I did feel quite at home driving the Fiesta. It seemed to respond very quickly when I put my foot on the accelerator. The problem came when I tried to overtake other cars on the motorway. I found my foot was right down on the floor but the car just didn't have the power to go any faster. The Mondeo seems to take a little longer to respond initially but once you get going it really zooms (not a technical word I know, but you get my meaning!).
Cruising along on the motorway is also very pleasurable in the Mondeo. The car drives smoothly and quietly and you hardly notice little bumps in the road. The Fiesta however is quite noisy to drive. Once you pick up speed, you find it hard to have a conversation with a passenger without raising your voice slightly. You are much more susceptible to bumps in the road as well - I felt quite battered after my 280 mile round trip.
*Conclusion*
So, did we make the right decision. For now I would say yes. In spite of the cost difference, our Mondeo is worth its weight in gold. Whilst we have young children, I feel that we really do need a larger car and of the larger cars we could have chosen, the Mondeo was a fairly conservative choice in terms of cost. Certainly, the next time we holiday in this country and make that 5 -10 hour journey with everything but the kitchen sink in the back, we will be glad we chose the car we did. Having said that, I would like to think that once my kids (kid at the moment) have grown up and flown the nest, we will be back driving a Fiesta again. I say 'like to think' because I am sure many of you will tell me that once you are used to a larger more luxurious car, there is no going back!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Cheap to buy, cheap on fuel, cheap parts, cheap everything really. Disadvantages: Engine from circa 1959, chassis from 1989, really should have been a whole new car.
rockandrollstar 17.03.2003 (22.05.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ford Fiesta 1.3
Dec 3rd, 2001
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