What's to like/dislike about WS Fiesta 2009

[EG30]

I find the lack of even minimal lighting for the rear passengers is very mean on their part, esp the front interior overhead lighting is great.

They really expect the rear passengers to carry their own torches....

Even for those who dont carry passengers, it would be nice to have better illumination when you open the rear doors to put stuff at the back.

[JutroXR8]

Originally Posted by Fiesta Girl

Only had the vehicle a couple of days which I know hardly makes me an qualified to talk about this but thought I'd mention the following and see what others might like to add or comment on.

LIKE
* Ride
* Appearance
* Paint quality (exterior)
* Instrumentation
* Headroom
* Voice recognition (A little gimmicky but works better than I thought it might)
* Gearchange (Admittedly, I did come from a Hyundai Excel and if you've ever driven one of those you'll understand why I think the gear change on the Fiesta is so much better)

DISLIKE
* Lack of paint finish under bonnet
* Some difficulty pressing the "up" section of the Navigation Control on the dash
* Lack of interior lighting for rear seat passengers
* Lack of "carpeting" on the back of the rear seats
* Lack of lining material beneath the hatch lock on the interior back of the vehicle. Even has some sealing material visible. Does everyone else have this as well or is this something I need to have looked at?

That's a terrible finish. I'd consider talking that back to the dealer and asking them if they used a blindman to cover the boot????

[BlackLS]

That's the view from inside the boot - normal day to day use you shouldn't see this. If you do happen to be in a position that you do notice this, it probably means you've been kidnapped and stuffed into your own boot and you should have bigger things to worry about. IMO the finish is a lot better than the nearest competitor, the Mazda2. Good on you Ford for trimming the excess fat and actually making a fun, good looking and affordable car.

[Fi.ES.TA]

I got my thankyou letter from ford today after 1 week but no freebies here : lol,i am happy though they have acknowledged me as a customer :

[dannyhilton]

I'm just some trailer trash guy who won $30,000 on the pokies and blew it all at once on a car...so sending me a letter would be a massive waste of their resources as once I crash this car is a drug/alcohol enduced rage I will once again go back to the 1984 Commodore 4-cylinder in the backyard with three tyres and no doors. Meh...

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by RapidTyphoon

I'm just some trailer trash guy who won $30,000 on the pokies and blew it all at once on a car...so sending me a letter would be a massive waste of their resources as once I crash this car is a drug/alcohol enduced rage I will once again go back to the 1984 Commodore 4-cylinder in the backyard with three tyres and no doors. Meh...

Do you want me to send you my Ford letter
:

It is only a letter mate, you have the car, it is a pearler, enjoy :

[Rude]

how dare they not send me a letter! im going to sell the car now!

haha

[EG30]

also noticing the following on my sister's zetec auto:

tick tick tick rattle from seat belt mechanism inside B pillar not far from your head so it's hard to ignore

unsightly/uneven gap between dash board and a pillar trim/moulding

no fuel filler cap lock, though to steal fuel from this car you'll need the plastic adaptor nozzle in the glovebox

cruise control accel & resume action savage, car assumes you want full accel under those conditions.

front headrest tilted too far forward ie forces your head in a crouched position ( reminds me a lot of the Hyundai Getz ), you can compensate by reclining the seatback rearward by assuming the bogan driving position which I'm not too keen on.

different paint finish between front and rear doors and on some colours it looks a slightly diff shade. Obviously different panels are painted by different robots on the production line.

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by EG30

also noticing the following on my sister's zetec auto:

no fuel filler cap lock, though to steal fuel from this car you'll need the plastic adaptor nozzle in the glovebox

The inner flap locks when you lock the car

cruise control accel & resume action savage, car assumes you want full accel under those conditions.

Haven't had a problem with it. Very smooth. Maybe yours has a problem that needs seeingtoo ?

front headrest tilted too far forward ie forces your head in a crouched position ( reminds me a lot of the Hyundai Getz ), you can compensate by reclining the seatback rearward by assuming the bogan driving position which I'm not too keen on.

All cars are now designed this way although when we were shopping, the Fiesta was the least intrusive and havng been in it for some time, I don't see it as a problem at all. Find the headrests in the perfect position

different paint finish between front and rear doors and on some colours it looks a slightly diff shade. Obviously different panels are painted by different robots on the production line.

I actually think the paint matchng and paint in general is the best I've seen on cars at this level. Beats our GTI which costs twice as much.

I agree that there is a problem on some Fords though, many of the Aussie production vehicles.

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by EG30

also noticing the following on my sister's zetec auto:

tick tick tick rattle from seat belt mechanism inside B pillar not far from your head so it's hard to ignore.

All rattles are covered by warranty for the first 12 months.

Gap between dash and A pillar is even and acceptable on ours. It provides air flow onto the 1/4 window from the heater. Well designed.

[Fiesta Girl]

Ditto here Candyman2

Cruise control is fine but maybe its different on an auto. We have a 2007 Rav4 auto that suffers from "surging" when on cruise and going up inclines. A design problem with all of that model according to members of the Toyota forum.

The Rav4 also has problems with the headrests being too far forward. Definitely not a problem IMHO with the Fiesta.

Also IMHO, external paint is even across all areas of the vehicle and applied to a high quality. However, I've seen two videos on Youtube showing the Fiesta on the production line. One has it being shown being painted by robots...the other has four people spraying it by hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6HESy1pXHA
I guess Monday/Friday cars can still exist as well. :>(

[EG30]

good to hear the fuel filler shutter locks with car is locked candyman2, I thought it was purely mechanical so the flap opens when a right sized nozzle is inserted at all times.

with the paint, not too noticeable being a dark colour and havent had a chance to take pics to show you guys yet.

if you look at this pic of magenta's silver fiesta, you can see a diff shade on the whole rear door which is diff to the rest of car:

http://www.fordforums.com.au/attachm...chmentid=54030

I still find this acceptable given the price of car and the features you get with it, it's only when you resell the car down the track some buyers might not believe it never had panel work done on the car. If you have a look at a number of new fiestas on the yard in various colours you'll get an idea what I mean.

paint has great lustre and orange peel is better than most Euro cars, and much improved over the German built Focus XR5 where the early build ones in silver I have seen have excessive orange peel and patchy on the horizontal surfaces esp the bonnet.

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by EG30

if you look at this pic of magenta's silver fiesta, you can see a diff shade on the whole rear door which is diff to the rest of car:.

You are being fooled by lighting I think mate.

Most of the Fiesta pearls have this effect and also due to the panel lines.

To truly pick up any differences in paint you need to do so under controlled lighting and evern better, spectroscopic analysis.

I've seen quite a lot of the various colours now (Thomson has a stack) and not seeing what you describe.

My eyes are pretty good.

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by EG30

I thought it was purely mechanical so the flap opens when a right sized nozzle is inserted at all times..

It will when the car is unlocked and why you possibly got fooled by it.

Great idea although most of the new euros are going this way.

More secure than relying on the fuel door as they are easy to pry open.

[EG30]

Originally Posted by Candyman2

You are being fooled by lighting I think mate.

Most of the Fiesta pearls have this effect and also due to the panel lines.

To truly pick up any differences in paint you need to do so under controlled lighting and evern better, spectroscopic analysis.

I've seen quite a lot of the various colours now (Thomson has a stack) and not seeing what you describe.

My eyes are pretty good.

colour of panel can appear different when the contour of panel changes ie along panel lines as you suggested say a skirting piece next to bottom of door and reflects light at a different angle, or the same panel where there are different shapes to it where it reflects light differently ie the ws fiesta rear door where it flares up to merge in with the rear wheel arch.

in the case of different paint colours I noticed in the ws fiestas, they looked different even when viewed square ie about 90 deg to the surface 3-5M away, viewed on an overcast day outdoor where there is no surface change ie front and right rear has same contour/shape and quite noticeable on silver cars.

if you place spot lights ie halogen work lamp at close distance ie 1M illuminating mainly a front door and not the rear then they will look very different even with perfect paint matching; but viewed in daylight with a light source far away ( the sun ), diffused by the clouds is one of the best viewing conditions you can get. Hence good spray painters paint up a test swatch prior to painting the car and view the swatch both in the booth as well as in natural daylight.

I had a look thru pics of fiestas on carsales, on silver cars it seems some are worse affected than others. Here is one I found taken from a sqaure viewing angle under bright sunlight:



when I come across a silver fiesta at my local ford yard I'll take a pic to show also, bright colourful hues such as fusion, squeeze dont seem to be affected, nor do white and black ones.

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by EG30

when I come across a silver fiesta at my local ford yard I'll take a pic to show also, bright colourful hues such as fusion, squeeze dont seem to be affected, nor do white and black ones.

LOL, that image and others have been floating around the car forums and the UK forums for a while.

Most were chopped images.

I've looked at half a dozen of the silver now in person - no such colour mismatches but no doubt there are lemons like any other manufacturers runs.

Good painters use controlled conditions of indirect light (with specific wavelength) which pick up colour differences and spectroscopic analysis.

You can't use the human eye at a distance on flat panels that do not run the same horiznotal line when in natural light : :

[Candyman2]

Maybe it was the same problem that the XR5 had - the orange was resprayed from transit damage and not matched (used a dfft paint code).

Thing is, you get to say no to a vehicle in the inspection. That is why you should always take someone with you detached from the purchase to check the vehicle over.

I've done it with all car purchases. We found a few problems on our GTI which the dealer fixed.

Silver is not a colour I'd ever consider so not a problem for me

Would be good to see any photos you have. I'll take a look at Power tomorrow. As I said, the 6 silver I've seen in person (after you saying something about it) were a perfect match across the panels.

[EG30]

Originally Posted by Candyman2

It will when the car is unlocked and why you possibly got fooled by it.

Great idea although most of the new euros are going this way.

More secure than relying on the fuel door as they are easy to pry open.

just tried to insert the fuel filler funnel adaptor into the fuel filler neck while car it's locked, and it goes straight in! ( in both locked and deadlocked positions )

where did you read about the fuel filler shutter locks when car is locked candyman2?

tried to find info about this in the owner's manual but it isnt very specific apart from filling procedures.

[dannyhilton]

You can still access the fuel cap with the car locked, your right EQ30. IMHO that would be rather silly to not have? Rest assured the cap is very secure. Without the correct nozzle, or the manual filling cap, it would be very diffucult to open it up. It's a lot more safe that a normal fuel cap which can be ripped off without much difficulty at all.

As for the colour matching issues, every single white one I have seen, including mine, has them. The plastic pannels do not match the metal pannels, the plastic appears more creamier. It's not massivly noticeable, but you can notice it when pointed out. Regardless, the car cost under $25,000 so to expect a BMW level of painwork, for the price of a Hyundai Sonata, well I'm not massivly concerned.

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by EG30

just tried to insert the fuel filler funnel adaptor into the fuel filler neck while car it's locked, and it goes straight in! ( in both locked and deadlocked positions )

where did you read about the fuel filler shutter locks when car is locked candyman2?

tried to find info about this in the owner's manual but it isnt very specific apart from filling procedures.

Ours locks - just tried it

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by RapidTyphoon

The plastic pannels do not match the metal pannels, the plastic appears more creamier. It's not massivly noticeable, but you can notice it when pointed out. Regardless, the car cost under $25,000 so to expect a BMW level of painwork, for the price of a Hyundai Sonata, well I'm not massivly concerned.

Plastic painted parts will not match as they contain polymers allowing the plastic to flex.

Same with all cars to a lesser or greater extent

However, that is very different to the image posted (which is interesting as the rear and front wheels are dfft colours too .... matched to the colours of the panels above them) :voldar02:

[EG30]

ic, in order for it to lock with the central locking system the shutter mech must be electrically controlled. If it's meant to lock ours must be malfunctioning, I'll enquire with the service manager when ours goes in for the 3k checkup and rattles fix.

will keep you guys posted on this one.

[dannyhilton]

Originally Posted by Candyman2

Ours locks - just tried it

I have a contact that was on the Mondeo development team, which this feature was launched on. The "mis-fuel inhibiter" DOES NOT lock. There is no real reason to have this, as further down there is an anti-siphen function which makes getting fuel out bloody hard. A few luxury cars have a function where the cap is locked ten minutes after the car is locked. Ford do not have this.

Maybe your not inserting the nozzle correctly

[Candyman2]

Originally Posted by RapidTyphoon

I have a contact that was on the Mondeo development team, which this feature was launched on. The "mis-fuel inhibiter" DOES NOT lock. There is no real reason to have this, as further down there is an anti-siphen function which makes getting fuel out bloody hard. A few luxury cars have a function where the cap is locked ten minutes after the car is locked. Ford do not have this.

Maybe your not inserting the nozzle correctly

Dealer showed it to us when we bought the car.

Worked when I have tried it a number of times now.

Ours also has a rear passenger light (which others do not seem to have)

I don't know why.

[dannyhilton]

I'll have to contact Matt tonight, but Ford looked at using Volvo's version of the system but thought it was unnessesary (Volvo have a time delay of 10 minutes IIRC?). There may have been system chages, but according to my conversation with his a few months back the system is not electronicly controlled in anyway. It's just designed as a stop guard from putting diesel in a petrol car and vice versa. Is there a delay with your system, or does it lock automaticly when the doors lock?

Quote intriged with your rear lights too, as I could have sworn somone said months back they had them too? Are you able to take pictures of the rear lights mate?

I'll contact Matt about this, as more than likley he'll know someone that was on the Fiesta team. I'll keep you updated.

[greenfoam]

Originally Posted by Candyman2

Dealer showed it to us when we bought the car.

Worked when I have tried it a number of times now.

Ours also has a rear passenger light (which others do not seem to have)

I don't know why.

So yours really does have the rear light, you seem to have the only Australian Fiesta that has that, very lucky ! because that's one of the more anoying things, I just take a torch to the car:P

[EG30]

awesome to have a one off car candyman2 with rear factory fitted dome light and possibly locking fuel filler shutter the others dont have...

may be it's for another model avail in other markets and they accidentally fitted to yours? Or they ran out with trim without the rear light and used the other ones to finish a batch for the au market?

good news for the rest of us too, at least we could buy a factory dome light unit and retrofit to our cars without too much effort.

[dannyhilton]

Riteo, well I got a reply from my contact in Ford Europe. The verdiect? No Ford that uses the the Easy-Fuel capless refueling system has a lock-down function, in any country, equiptment level or otherwise. At any time, wether the car is running, locked, dead-locked, or open does the Easy Fuel cap lock. It is locked at all times in the sence that you can't stick your finger down there, or put a syphon in the tank, but you can put a fuel nozzle is there, or the manual fuel filling cap, in the tank at any time. The system has been designed so it won't lock down in the middle of re-fueling, as some previous systemes did, hence why Ford chose not to have the lock-down function. In reality, has anyone tried to get fuel out of a modern car, with all the fuel lines and the placement of modern fuel tanks? It's near impossible, and if you did know what you were doing you're going to get fuel out of most cars anyway!

I think you may have a problem with your Easy-Fuel system, there has been some issues with the system on early Mondeo's where it would lock perminently?

How'd you go with the pictures of the rear light. I definitly want that in mine lol!!! Are you able to get the numbers off the light so I know what to order?

[EG30]

great to have a contact in Ford Europe Rapid Typhoon, your fren should be so proud of their easy fuel invention and application on a mass market affordable car. The fuel cap has been around for over 100 years and amazing it took so long for someone to come up with such simple yet neat solution.

may be your contact could give us some inside info on future models such as the Fiesta ST/XR4 release date instead of the official NO word; and how close is Ford offerings of small sized (1.2-1.6L) turbo petrol engines and mass release of their dual clutch automated manual box rather than only very selected models to date.

I'm considering getting a zetec manual myself as my daily now that my civic is used primarily for track work and A/C and P/S are about to go so I need a practical hatch with good fuel economy and good load space to carry computer goods for my work. I wont mind waiting for another year for the right model to arrive.

[Candyman2]

Ours also has a glovebox light which I don't think the other Zetec's have.

Might have to start looking for more things it might have that seem to be unique.

Weird