Archives

I'm looking to buy a fiesta soon. My wife has to have a domestic vehicle for work so I can't get a fit like I've wanted for a while :( Anyway I was hoping to find out what anyone here knows about the fiesta and whether it will be a good vehicle for the next 10 years or more.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts especially from a FE perspective, but also just in general. I can't wait for the sonic so that's not an option and it's gotta be one of the big three as those are her clients for work. price range tops out at $16,500.

thanks ahead of time

In that vehicle class, with the Big Three restriction, the Fiesta would be my top choice for sure. It's a solid little car, not especially fast but it's competent - it'll do what you need it to. It corners well at above-recommended ;) speeds. The manual transmission is a good unit, the steering is nicely weighted.

Fuel economy for the average driver is near the top of the class. If you work and hypermile it, you can more than double the EPA mileage. Not all cars can do that.

The Aveo's new adjusted EPA rating is 23/31. Compare to the Fiesta's (auto I assume) 29/38. You should come out well ahead with the switch. It's a better car, too.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/compx2008f.jsp?year=2004&make=Chevrolet&model=Aveo&hiddenField=Findacar


A couple negatives I noticed:
- Rear visibility with the 5-door - the roofline comes down too far. The side mirrors are excellent and help make up for it.
- Seating position wasn't ideal for me at 6'2" when I drove one for a week straight. When I found a decent position there was no room for anyone behind me. It would be fine for commuting or for someone with shorter legs.

The Fiesta is miles ahead of the Aveo IMO. Safety ratings are enough of a reason for me to prefer the Fiesta over the Aveo, but in addition to that the Fiesta drives much better and seems to have more for features / amenities. I spent a week in it with Andrew and would have no concerns recommending it to a friend or family member.

I third both statements above. I was the third guy in the car for a few days with Andrew and Mike, and it was beyond my expectations, for sure. If you drive it right, it'll take care of you for sure. Tight back seat for larger people, especially with a lot of luggage. It is a fun car for sure. :)

Anyone have any good tricks to get one as inexpensively as possible? I get A plan from Ford but it's not that much of a discount.

I've found trying to negotiate with different dealers works pretty good for me. In your case try to find 2-3 Ford dealers in your area go to one get their best offer then move to the next one, then to the next one, then back to the first one and so on. If you don't get in too big of a hurry and are willing to travel between dealers several times letting each one know what the other one has offered you'll end up with a great deal. If you keep it up long enough you'll get to the bottom dollar price available. No dealer is going to give you their bottom dollar price without they are faced with competition. In 2005 I had planned on buying a new Mercury Grand Marquis, I used this method on a car with a sticker price of slightly over $25,000 and when I was finished I had them down to $15,300. I ended up not buying the car, but it wasn't because they wouldn't sell it, it was because something came up on my end and I felt it wasn't to my families advantage at that time. I was going back and forth between 3 different Mercury dealers in Charlotte, NC. It took a few weeks of negotiation, but I had finally hit their bottom dollar price. When I started out I think their first offer was around $20,000, but I don't remember for sure. Good luck with the negotiation process and don't be afraid to tell them NO!!! The more you say NO the more money you save.

We got a Fiesta sedan in at work last week so I took it for a short loop around the airport...

Ups: styling is snappy, strong handling, spot-on ride characteristics, smooth + peppy motor, good build and materials quality, and of course the FE
Downs: trunk is oddly laid out - long and narrow, auto trans operates a little quirky, cabin feels small compared to others (i.e. Kia Rio and Chevy Aveo)

We got it's corporate twin in yesterday, the Mazda2, this time a hatchback, I'd like to try it out and see if I like it better.

Definitely drop back in and let us know how it is. I've been thinking about the Chevy Sonic which is due to arrive at dealers sometime this or next week. My best friend works on the team that is responsible for getting the bugs out before launch so he's taken my for a spin in his and I've driven it too. Seen the sedan and the hatch and they are both very well built. A lot of thought went into the design of the car.

I still prefer Fiesta styling though. And I also think the Fiesta may have more FE potential, but only time will tell that. They are both rated just about the same, and there will be a turbo sonic with a 1.4L that rates for 40mpg highway. It just makes me wonder though, why add the turbo to make it more FE? But what do I know, I don't make cars...

At this point I'm pretty much between the Fiesta and Sonic but the Vibe hasn't sold yet so I can't get either one.

The turbo is added so that the same max output can be retained with a smaller displacement engine. If you stay out of boost you get all the FE benefit of the smaller engine but if you need the power you can stomp it and the turbo spools up so you have it.

They are both rated just about the same, and there will be a turbo sonic with a 1.4L that rates for 40mpg highway. It just makes me wonder though, why add the turbo to make it more FE? .

Probably to increase torque so that they can offer taller gears in the transmission without bogging down too much.. in any case we would not use the turbo much but we would benefit from the tall gears.

The turbo has been designed not to boost during the EPA test cycles, thus giving you great mpg.. but it will boost if you step on it.

:bananapartyhat:

Ah I see. I found out today though they aren't taking shipments till September. Boo. I'll possibly need a car before then. That's fine though, I like the Fiesta well enough. I think the design is a little more appealing, and at least we've already had one model year of it stateside.