"All it takes is one decision,
A lot of guts, a little vision"
Placebo - Slave to the ...
"All it takes is one decision,
A lot of guts, a little vision"
Placebo - Slave to the Wage
Member since:05.11.2002
Reviews:21
Members who trust:10
By the time that Ford saw fit to further swell it's ranks with the Mk5 Fiesta, Britain's favourite supermini in it's previous incarnations was already popular as Pot Noodle in every town, street corner and driveway in the country. The boxy Mk1 from the seventies evolved into the slightly less boxy Mk2, which was replaced in 1989 by the all new Mk3, which was in turn facelifted and became the Mk4 which looked more like a shoe than a car. So with the advent of the Mk5, Ford was already dealing with a car that was to all intents and purposes a good ten years young.
But instead of terminating production of the old Fiesta MK4 and starting with a blank sheet of paper, someone at Ford decided that there was life in the old dog yet, and that a subtle update to the old car was preferable to concieving and developing a whole new model. Now, had the previous car been ahead of it's time and packed with innovative ideas, another facelift may have done the trick for the jellymould Fiesta, but as previously mentioned, the car was essentially the same as when it was released as the Mk3 in 1989. Subtle tweaks to the exterior styling, a newer interior and the mass introduction of fuel injection were all measures taken to keep the car in line with its competitors, but they were all built around the same chassis platform as the Mk3 and in the case of the 1.3, powered by the same eight valve crossflow engine installed in every Ford model since the sixties. So perhaps due to budget cuts, market forces or for some other reason, Ford re-entered the highly competitive small car market with a Mk5 Fiesta that was well past it's prime.
Now please don't get me wrong, the basic Fiesta chassis is a highly capable piece of kit, even a Mk3 bought for a tenner from a motor
auction can be slung about the road with real confidence, but next to more modern cars like the VW Polo or the Seat Ibiza for example, the Fiesta that once felt so sprightly now feels more akin to steering a river barge than piloting a speedboat. The steering, power assisted on some models is accurate and light enough, but still doesn't give that pin-sharp response you'd expect from a car of its age. Ford, as you'd expect for such a large company did it's best to keep the chassis as fresh as they could with revised suspension components such as new tie-bars and control arms which do help a good deal, but the overall driving experience is still the same and to be honest was always more pleasant and predictable than madly stimulating. About the most significant modification made was the introduction of a passive steering rear beam axle, which makes the rear wheels steer a tiny amount in cooperation with the fronts. A good point is that the slight suspension modifications have helped eliminate some of the inevitable understeer that plagues all front wheel drive cars.
The 1.3 litre engine is definitely one for the grannies on the shopping run. Although it drags the Fiesta along at a reasonable rate for a family hatchback, it really does lack the top end drive it really needs. Being an eight valve, as expected, the low down torque is fine and better than some high revving modern 16 valve efforts, but as the engine speed builds it runs out of puff, although the speedo can just be wound into triple figures with a bit of enthusiasm. Hills are definitely the enemy though, especially when carrying any load. Faced with an incline the gentle 75 mph cruise you were enjoying becomes literally an uphill struggle, as the lack of top end power drags the Fiesta back, and you find yourself shifting down into fourth gear just to keep the thing on the boil. If however you live in Holland where God was houseproud enough to iron out all the hills and mountains on the wash day of creation, the 1.3 will happily cruise along quickly enough for you to keep an eye out for speed cameras, which were rarely a worry with the previous 1.1 litre engines. The five speed gearbox, again lifted from the Mk3 parts bin is slick and light as always with the ratios close enough to keep changes infrequent and easy while keeping the right balance of top speed and acceleration. The fuel injection is self-adjusting, clean running and returns fuel consumption figures in the mid 40mpgs if driven sensibly.
The interior is the same as the Mk4 and happily a lot better than the horrible plasticky rattly affair that was the inside of the Mk3. Driver and passenger airbags provide peace of mind (or an extra worry, depending on your views of explosions going off right in your face) with the seats being comfortable and easy to adjust. The dash on the 1.3 has the standard speedo with a clock where the rev counter is on the 1.6 models. The dash is neater, sharper and feels a lot better built than the previous models, although only time and mileage will tell if rattles are forthcoming. A neat touch is the computer controlled digital milometer which not only looks smart but makes clocking (mileage fraud) a lot more difficult. All round, the interior is pleasant and comfortable with a big enough boot and enough room for two adults in the back, but as with all small cars, legroom in the back is at a premium. The interior is certainly the biggest improvement over the previous Fiestas, and shows that Ford does listen to it's customers suggestions.
Style wise, the Mk5 is certainly a lot better than the Mk4 with its Doc Marten inspired front end. The headlights and grill give the car a slightly more aggressive look, but then you remember it's a Fiesta and so on second glance it just looks cute. The body colour bumpers are smart and stylish but could do with front foglamps as standard, and the optional 14" alloy wheels add a touch of class without looking tasteless and tacked on as a boy racer modification. All these little tweaks coupled with metallic paint as standard give a new lease of life to the well known Fiesta shape, although the 1.6 16v Zetec-S model with its deeper sports bumpers, sideskirts and 16" multispoke alloys looks a million times better and rather impressive in it's own right.
Having built Fiestas for the length of time they have, it would be fair to assume Ford would have ironed out any recurring faults or problems, which they have. Seems 25 years is long enough to get something right in the car industry. The terrible rust which afflicted most of the early cars seems to be a thing of the past with newer Ford models, ever since the Mondeo appeared on the scene manufacturing methods seem to have improved a great deal. The 1.3 engine was absolutely bulletproof when it came out and still is today, with only the computer controlled fuel injection suffering from the odd glitch. Stick to sevice intervals, keep oil changes as the book says and a Fiesta should run on forever. Parts such as filters and brake discs/pads are cheap as you'd expect, and being a Ford any servicing should be inexpensive as they're dead easy to work on, the benefit to you being you won't incur any huge labour charges from the garage.
But having gotten wind of the fact that the Fiesta, although a damned fine little car, just wasn't cutting it among more modern company, Ford within the last year chopped it from the sales brochures and slotted the all-new Mk6 in its place. The good news for the Mk5 is that it now is very much a buyer's market, as the showrooms fill with these new fangled Mk6s the dealers all want shot of their stock of old Mk5s. A brand new but one showroom-year old Fiesta can be bought from a dealer for as little as £4995, and if you're buying demand alloy wheels, foglamps etc as your dealer will be keen to get rid of these too. If buying second hand, as always, haggle for your life, but take a look at the car beforehand. Do all the usual checks for accident damage, and check for any corrosion as this will indicate repaired damage as none of these cars will have started to rust yet. Start the engine from cold to listen for any grumbles, but be aware that the crossflow engine naturally sounds like an amphetamine-crazed tap dancer. Service history is always reassuring, and if the numbers don't add up, walk away, as these cars aren't exactly hard to come by and there will be plenty more to look at.
If you're one of the people who always need to be at the cutting edge of technology and demand the latest gadgets, a Mk5 may not be the car for you. For all the new toys, try the Mk6. If however you find that you can make do with something as long as you're happy with it, the Mk5 Fiesta may be a sound investment. Dead easy to drive, cheap as chips and virtually guaranteed not to go wrong, The last of the old shape Fiestas is a cracking little car which just got left behind a little due to it's ill timed release. But if you're one of the many people who just hate Fiestas, give it a miss as it really doesn't offer anything substancially more than the previous models. Now how much was that Mk6....?
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Mar 17th, 2003
(May 22nd, 2003)
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