WS Fiesta - Long-term Review Part 1 of 3

[Ms_Jam]

After two years and three months, I thought I would write down my experiences with my 2-door manual 2009 WS Fiesta Zetec which has now done 35,000 km.

Why I bought it
I put some research into my purchase. What I liked was that the production model followed the concept car very closely. So to my mind it reflected the intentions of the designer, which is important to me, since I have some background in art. Partly that is why I chose the 2-door model. I was also told by an engineer that, other things being equal, a 2-door helps create a stronger body than a 4-door because the jigsaw has fewer parts.

One day I was walking up the High Street in Preston, and I saw in the distance a girl putting out a sandwich board on the footpath next to the car she had just got out of. As I got closer I could see it was a new Fiesta, and the sandwich board pointed that out. I just fell in love with it. Neither before or since have I seen that form of promotion. But it worked for me. However, t was a pity to have to wait five months from order to delivery from Cologne. I think I might hold the record here. Well, at least after that wait it did not turn out a lemon.

There are a lot of attractive but subtle features about the WS Fiesta Zetec, which I came to appreciate only after owning it for a while. These are things like the metal door sills, the effect of the ambient lighting and soft touches in the cabin, the projector lights and even the sound system. If you try a high-quality CD, you will be pleasantly surprised. I came to appreciate the design of the seats only after long drives.

The appearance of my 2-door Zetec still catches attention, even today. Not so long ago, I had spent the morning washing , waxing and polishing it, before driving up to the shops. The Fiesta was looking good. As I was getting out, a middle-aged man came up to me to ask if this was a new sports model! Quite a compliment, I thought. One of the things that had been concerning me about a new car was the possibility that the design might be superseded, making the car look old before its time. That certainly has not happened with my Fiesta.

Extras
At delivery I also had installed the illuminated gear stick, rear sensors and a rubber mat (now available I see only from overseas) for the boot. I am pleased with my decisions. The illuminated gear shift provides a very nice ambience to the car at night. It took me a while to appreciate the parking sensors, but now I would not do without them, especially for parking in small spaces. The rubber mat is excellent for stopping the shopping from moving around, especially if you have just visited the bottle shop!

On the mechanical side, I have run the Fiesta on BP Ultimate from the second tank. I think it makes for zippy driving ( my driving style could be described as spirited). An even better decision was to have the oil replaced by a full synthetic, viz. Castrol Edge Sport after an extended running-in. An immediate effect was a very noticeable quietening of the engine. The car has now been running with Castrol Edge Sport for 27,000 km (see my footnote at the end of Part 3). In that time it has used no oil, believe it or not, at least none that I have been able to detect on the dipstick. At 30,000 I had the transmission oil replaced with Castrol Syntrans. This has not had a dramatic effect, although gear shifting is slightly smoother. My little Fiesta just hums and purrs along. I have had a feeling, however, that since the 30,000 km service my Fiesta has really come into its stride, and now is driving better than ever.

The only other mechanical thing I have done is to change the air filter at each 15,000 km service. This is because I spend a lot of time in heavy traffic along tram tracks. The trams grind up sand and dirt into fine powder which to my mind is likely to go straight into your engine. I could be over-cautious here, but I can’t think that changing the filters so often will do any harm.

The exterior paint has held up very well. Recently I discovered two Meguiar products that may be of interest to those who have not tried them yet. The first is Tech Wax 2.0. Expensive, but really lasts, and I don’t get the white residue problem on the plastic, as I did with other waxes. The other is Ultimate Protectant (Dash and Trim) for the interior, which largely restores the new-car look. It lasts for a decent period. I also found the Ultimate Protectant works on the dark plastics outside, and, with a bit of elbow grease, removes the white residue from previous waxings, especially on the two black rubber joins along the roof of the vehicle.