Jim's_a_Thai_Fox

Hi KKerry,
thanks for the information - always nice to know that I haven't just bought a lemon!
The first service is scheduled at 15k... only just hit 8k, but after reading your post, I might well ask for an earlier check up.
thanks again
Jim

Hi guys and gals,

well I am 8000km into my Fiesta 1.6S and thought I could spend a little bit of my time giving a pros/cons list as it might help out those who are still considering one:

I live just outside of town and do mainly city driving.

Pros
It has a great sound system - good quality speakers
The bluetooth is a real bonus. I play my iPhone constantly via the bluetooth and use it for hands free calls all the time.
On the highways, it is stable and comfortable at around 120 km/h. I drove very cautiously to Chiang Mai (about 90kms) at about 90 km/h and averaged 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres, almost 60 mpg.
The leather seats are comfy
The boot is pretty big
It is nimble around town with a good turning circle
Looks nice

Cons
The dual clutch drives me to the brink of committing some heinous crime!
the engine sounds a bit too loud and not in a good way when revving hard in lower gears
first gear is woefully too short
The boot needs a decent slam to shut it, rattling the number plate (future problem there!)
The' seat belt is not fastened' warning bleeps - I've hated them on every car. Here, they sound far too early, go on for too long, and repeat too often!!!

I have driven the car 1700km on a road trip to lampang - cha am - lampang. It was absolutely fine. The economy did drop off as speeds went above110 km/h, but averaged out at 7 litres per 100km over the trip... note that there was city driving in there too, not just highway. Around town, I average less than 30 km/h and if I drive economically, I can average under 8 litres per 100km. Generally, it's about 9 litres / 100 km for city driving.

Overall, the Fiesta has been OK. Unfortunately, the issue with the gear box overrides almost any positive. I had a wee rant on another post earlier, but guess I should recap my gripe here:

As mentioned in the cons, first gear is short. Now, when leaving home, I can 'afford' to pull off slowly as i am the only house on my little lane. If the car changes into 2nd at the 2000RPM marker, I know that the car will then continue to change gears at or just below 2000RPM. This is good for city driving (economy, as well as smoothness).

The problem is this: sometimes I have to accelerate harder in 1st (exacerbated by the short gearing), now the computer does not change gears until 2000+ rpms.

The issue I have is that at about 35-40 kn/h the car is doing 2200RPM in 3rd and doesn't shift into 4th for (what seems like an eternity. If I hold it at those revs, it will eventually drop down, but nothing like as quickly as in the 'first scenario' and nowhere near as quickly as i want it to.

.Coupled with this, the gear change from 2nd to 3rd doesn't isn't quick like all gear changes in the 'first scenario', but it actually rides the clutch a little, revving higher with no acceleration, then going into 3rd but I can feel it is still somewhere in between gears...then it will then go into 3rd properly.

Town driving whilst revving high (now I say high, and it might not sound much, but in a 1.6, revving 2200-2300rpm is lot and as i said, the engine isn't exactly smooth) leads to excessive engine breaking meaning an overly jerky ride. The computer also shows me that fuel consumption is a lot higher whilst it stays in 3rd (kind of obvious I know).

Now, these dual gear changing scenarios that seemed to be based on how fast I accelerate in 1st is a relatively new thing, about the last 1000kms, so maybe it is the new dual clutch finally bedding in and the horrible 2nd scenario will fade and the normal, snappy gear changes without revving over 2000rpm will become a thing of internet forum rant history.

I took it into Ford a few weeks after getting it. They booted up the computer and told me the gearbox was normal... however, as you can read and hopefully understand, things do not seem normal. My Thai is limited and so I will go back in and take the nice mechanic out for a test drive to demonstrate what I mean.

In the meantime, if any other Fiesta Powershift owners could let me know their thoughts, i'd be delighted. Anyone interested in purchasing a 2nd hand Fiesta should PM me!!!

Cheers and I hope that my review proves to be helpful and can spark off some other owners' opinions.

regards

Jim

bubba, on 2012-04-08 10:59:54, said:

Hi there,
I have the Fiesta 1.6 S and if it has a similar sound system, don't worry about the iPhone adapter cables.... you play anything on the iPhone via the bluetooth (and if you call, it stops the audio and restarts where you left off)

I initially had the AU cable for the iPhone, but only found out I could play podcasts/audio over the bluetooth after about two weeks!

As an aside, the dual clutch on my Fiesta is horrid. It hols gears 2 and 3 for far too long and feels like it 'rides the clutch' when it doesn;t have to. I don't know if it is  feature of the car, but if I accelerate slowly in first, the rest of the gear changes will happen around 2000RPM and change quickly. It's only when I rev past 2000 RPM in first that a second sequence of gear changes comes in, those at higher revs.... this is super annoying at low, city speeds as numerous times I am driving in third doing 2200-2300 RPM and it doesnt change for several seconds (it feels a lot longer)... along with the obvious loss of fuel economy, it makes for a much jerkier ride at low speeds as any engine braking is higher. I took it in to Ford as it was driving me bonkers - they said ;it's normal'.

I am seriously considering selling it and getting a manual. any manual.

Cheers

James

I have considered getting a gun as the thought having to get close enough to an intruder to use a Machete doesn't fill me with glee. I'd much prefer to blast a shotgun shell out of the window. And then be able to stand off if things got worse.
I enquired at my local shooting range and was told that for 20k baht I could get an unlicensed shotgun.
I think it would be better to get the wife to legally own one and simply tell the police that it was her, not me, who did any shooting...not sure.
For the time being we simply lock the bedroom door and have a knife in the room... but getting in through the false ceiling would be simple enough.

Cheers

James

Mor Bor university is the shortened name for a uni in Chonburi.... Maaa Baaa university sounds like where my neighbour's crazy pooch might have gone to :-)