Fiesta vs Barina - My thoughts

Teki04 · 14-01-2006, 11:37 PM

Well, my mate has a Barina XC (spain sourced one... not the crap korean one!)...

I will go through some things i like and hate about both:

FIESTA
Strengths:
- Great handling and chassis
- Willing engine; I manage to get up my friends ИИИИ ALL the time.. no matter what he cannot shake me. His got a 1.4L and brags about it. I also have another mate with an XC as well, and he too cannot get me

:
- Gearbox; It feels lightyears ahead of the Barina. Feels more like my mate's Accord Euro, which is great!
- Looks; no matter what the Fiesta looks much better, especially since the LX comes with lower profile and wider tyres then the cheese cutters on the Barina. Basically, i still get some looks from people, whereas the Barina is everywhere! True though, the LAST SRi was absolutely awesome. I wanted one, but unfortunately i wasn't able to test drive one, as it was between models and they had no stock left!
- Features; I quite like the features the car comes with! Windows are extremely quick to go up and down. Along with the features, the quality of the interior is great. The seats are great for such a cheap car, and the interior is finished pretty good. Not the best though... like some things I have realised. Oh, and how good is that instrument cluster?! The tachos just make me want to rev the thing, with that red ring getting reder where ever the revs are. Oh, its sooooooo good at night!

Disadvantages:
- Features; Missing some features I would expect on a car built in Europe and with a premium price. Like, some dead locks (when windows are open!) and it would be great to also have MP3 (think the new model might come with this???)
- Service; Well, we all know the Ford service...
- Fuel Economy; My Fiesta likes to drink alot of petrol, especially when going to about 4000rpm here and there and the a/c on! Hell, from what i have read and heard, the Renault Sport Clio uses WAY less fuel, and its a 2.0L!
- Hatch; I would like a pressure pad on the rear hatch (ala Suzuki Swift) to open it. Gets very annoying when the other two cars in the family both have handles to open it without the key and when i get into my car again, i forget and end up looking like an idiot when i go to open the hatch with the key in the car (to take out open 4 inspection signs... everyone staring... and THEN you remember!)
- Does it work?; Those side moulds... a little too low that they dont really protect the door like they should!
- Failures; My rear lights seem to blow all the time!
- The side mirror.... what is the point in closing it in a tight street? Reeallly all it does is max the car 2cm more narrow LOL. Not much help there!
- Rear Access; Front seats do not retract forward when you pull the backrest forward for someone to get in. Just means the ALREADY HUGE door needs to be open more. The doors also ИИИИ me off. Being so big, i have to pull the seat all the way back before getting out in some tight parks. Kind of defeats the purpose of the "small car, park in any spot" theory.

BARINA
Strengths:
- Steering; Well, sometimes i get sick of the Fiesta's stiff steering when parking... it is here where i LOVE the Barina. Soooooo easy to park and drive.
- Engine... not bad for a 1.4L, even if it does sound more electronic and less spirited then the Fiesta
- Fuel; With the engine, it drinks NOTHING
- Features standard; MP3 Player and Dead locks. Oh, and the rear hatch is easier to use. Also the steering buttons are much easier then the column on the Zetec!
- Interior fit and finish is pretty good. So far no rattles or squeaks, even if it does feel more cheapy
- Headlights. Seem much more brighter. SRi comes with projection headlights!
- Reverse lights; there are two. No comments like "you have a light blown"

Poor:
- Seats. THEY ARE SO THIN! Quite hilarious really. Also, no rear centre headrest!
- Well, the steering being sooooooooo light also means i dunno what the tyres are doing. Oh, and its a little delayed. You turn it the opposite direction to where your heading, and the car takes its time to react to a change in direction
- Brake Assist without ABS. How does that work?! Doesnt it just mean its going to lock up harder then what it already is?
- Um, well the engine doesnt like to rev, but it works well
- Gearbox; Quite a long throw, and can be very notchy and hard to shift.

Well, this week we are heading to Port Stephens, so it will be interesting to compare the two on the open road. Ive got the suspension mods and 16s. My mate now got the 1.5 inch drop with pedders (like me) and also got SRi rims (205/45R16... again like me). At the moment though, the Fiesta is loving the mods WAY more then the Barina. No doubt about that! The Fiesta handles much better.... it is the drivers car. The Barina is a city car... and that is where it belongs. No corners, just straights and parking!

Now, I'm yet to drive a SRi, which i guess is much more comparable to a Fiesta, but then, in saying that, the SRi is much more $$$. And, since in reality the LX is like a Zetec, but without a few mod cons, its more comparable to a base model Barina. If anyone has driven an SRi, let us know how it was!

VS

Teki04 · 15-01-2006, 12:09 AM

Not to mention that the Fiesta also shows up some quicker cars around the bends. Sure, it doesnt have the go out of the corner, but its a great car. Oversteer isnt too hard to get, but generally it grips hard and corners harder! Ive had the experience with alot of Renault Sport Clios, 205 GTIs, 206 GTIs... and also shown a 156 JTS where to stick it around the roundabout... about three times!

I even read the NRMA Open Road current issue, about the best of 05. The Getz won, purely because the Fiesta performs and handles much better, however it is not what the MAJORITY of light car owners are after. So, it falls short because it is the Drivers car, not the womens car!

Pieoter · 15-01-2006, 12:22 AM

Your complains thats you get pure economy when you rev it out to 4k. USE YOUR MAN your not ever gonna get good economy if you rev it out to there.

Teki04 · 15-01-2006, 12:49 AM

Well, im getting about 9-10L/100km with normal driving. Seems the Suzuki Swift gets the same in city driving. This is with a few revs, but generally its city driving. I know people with more powerful cars getting far less L/100km. When i increase the revs, the L/100km increase dramatically. Just saying its not as economical as i thought a 1.6L would be. Its almost getting up there with the 2.0L. I guess it comes with it being spirited....

Anyway, see ya guys!
I'll let you know how the drive goes to Port Stephens and back. Think we are taking the long way back too....

mitch_lx · 15-01-2006, 06:42 PM

Ive noticed the same with fuel, although the other day i filled up, and so far ive done 450 km and the fuel is sitting just under half way.

Teki, i HATE IT when people say i have a reverse light out and a rear fog light out.
My brothers know this now... and say it just to annoy me :P

Looking at those pictures... i know which car id take. Hmmm barina.. or fiesta ;)

Pieoter · 15-01-2006, 08:25 PM

I get about 7.5 to 8L and that included traffic light gps and such don't know what you guys are doing but i find fuel economy to be great. This is ALL city driving.

mitch_lx · 16-01-2006, 09:24 AM

i drive around like a granny though, so i dont know whats up with fuel economy.

Tell you what has helped, my car got its first clean out in a long while recently, a trip down to sydney. all the way there doing 110. the car felt 'different' after the long drive.
Most of the time my car just gets driven for about 15 minutes then turned off (plus a 5 minute engine warm up).
and when i drive around i tend to granny shift, i shift every gear at 3.5 thousand.
sometimes i get terrible economy, other times its great, might be due to bad fuel batches (optimax)

Scareybear · 16-01-2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mitch_lx

i drive around like a granny though, so i dont know whats up with fuel economy.

Tell you what has helped, my car got its first clean out in a long while recently, a trip down to sydney. all the way there doing 110. the car felt 'different' after the long drive.
Most of the time my car just gets driven for about 15 minutes then turned off (plus a 5 minute engine warm up).
and when i drive around i tend to granny shift, i shift every gear at 3.5 thousand.
sometimes i get terrible economy, other times its great, might be due to bad fuel batches (optimax)

I agree, a big drive cleans things out relly well, now after an 1900km round trip to nsw, I feel like I've got my new car back (discounting a really bad tank of vortex, I DON'T reccommend caltex in Kempsey). But now even though I'm revving it more (hitting 5500 more often) I'm still getting about 550 kms to a tank round town.