New Fiesta, Underpowered?

[Willy]

Your Fiesta is still a great car so don't pooh pooh it just because it doesn't like hills.

The mother in law has the same car as you and that's what convinced me to trade the Focus ST. The only reason I didn't get a 1.25 was I wanted it to be something just that more powerful so I didn't miss the sound of the 2.5 ltr volvo engine in the ST.

[FOCA]

Looking at the tested dyno printout from superchips -

http://www.mybluefin.co.uk/curves/FiestaMk61.25.pdf

The 1.25 engine has a fkat spot between (approx) 4.3k and 5k, (stock/ black line)

there are 3 "stages"

The power rises nicely between 1.5k to 4.3k (where it makes approx 60Hp) then it "levels out" and the power does not increase untill about 5k/ and the torque takes a dive at these revs too (making the area between 4.3k and 5k "dead"/ the engine will not "pull")

Above 5k (5 to 6k) the power "recovers" / it makes good power again

the lighter load in the lower gears (1st and 2nd) you will (probably) not notice the dead spot between 4.3&5k, and the engine will (probably) rev to the redline at 6k, as the load increases (in higher gears, uphill, heavily laden etc ) the dead spot at 4.3k will start to become more noticable/ more of a problem, it will correspond to specific speeds depending what gear you are in

so effectively, you have a 60hp engine that revs to 4.3k (when the engine is under load)

I can only speculate why its like that -, as it is based on an older design, its probably being "strangled" by emission controls, that were "stuck on" as an "afterthought" to "ressurect" the old engine to get a bit more sales out of it before its completely replaced by the ecoboost

the 105Nm is about 77ft-lbs of torque, a bit less than you would expect from a sports motorcycle (that weighs a fraction of the weight of the Fiesta)

So its really only suitable as a city/ town car - weight makes a big difference, if you are a 7- stone woman, with no luggage etc, it probably "zips" along, 2 larger, heavier people may be 3x that weight or more - and it would make a big difference with this engine - load it up, 4-up with luggage etc - its going to be really struggling

So in my opinion its only really suitable as a city car/ not for heavy loads/ touring. You have my sympathy, but i feel you should have done your homework when making such an important purchase and chosen a more suitable car/ engine for you / your purposes - the 1.0L 125ps ecoboost has about TWICE the torque (200Nm vs 105 - a huge difference) of the 1.25 and smooth,progressive power/ torque curves

[JackieR]

I really like the car when not going up hill and my wife thinks its great,so with a bit of luck in a few months I might tempt her to take it and I can get myself something better.....I will start on convincing her from today lol

That's a really good idea .... you know what us women are like ... try and get her to think it's HER idea that you get something else, and that's bound to work !! We like when WE come up with a great idea !!!! LOL ;)

[Tynesider]

Your Fiesta is still a great car so don't pooh pooh it just because it doesn't like hills.

The mother in law has the same car as you and that's what convinced me to trade the Focus ST. The only reason I didn't get a 1.25 was I wanted it to be something just that more powerful so I didn't miss the sound of the 2.5 ltr volvo engine in the ST.

The reason I'm " pooh poohing " the car is because I go to the lake district about four times a year and there are steep hills there and we explained this to the salesman. We will have two pushbikes attached to a towbar on the car.

[bootsy]

With our car if when i am coming up to a hill I ignore the change up indicater and just go by the sound of the engine like i use to it goes up hills much better, this was true on the 1.25 that was a loan car for a day. As long as you dont go to far with the revs. It may sound like a silly thing to say and even harder to do if you are like me and stick to the change up arrow.

[Tynesider]

Hi FOCA, that's good info to know and I only wish I had read that somewhere before I purchased it, and is it posted anywhere else thats easy to find?

Saying that, I am not a car person and I know naff all about them. I did do my homework as far as I could by going to various good websites such as Whatcar.com and they all give the Fiesta's top marks and that's where people like me who know little about cars go to for advice.

[GraniteGirl]

I'd been fancying a Fiesta for a while as couldn't wait to get rid of sluggish Astra. Did think about downsizing to a Ka, but the one I took on a test drive was sluggish as hell. Made sure I gave the 1.0 ecoboost a bit of a thrashing on test drive and was really impressed. After reading reviews, went for the 99 hp. Having had some issues changing gear recently (broken wrist recovery) I found the car coped going from 1st to 3rd gears going up hills!

Car has easily handled a trip to York and has another long trip ahead of her this weekend! So far, glad I opted for the 1 litre, no road tax and nippy for running around town. OP, definitely try and convince your wife to take your car, but don't let her drive your new one ;)

[merman]

I feel rather sorry for Eric (Fiesta 1.25). I know how he feels when he steps on the accelerator and the response is poor. I bought my Fiesta Titanium Automatic 1.4 Petrol in December 2011 and I am not at all happy with it's performance. It takes ages to pick up speed and when it does, petrol consumption is at it's highest. Like Eric, I feel rather disgusted when trying to keep up with smaller cars 1 Ltr.

[The Dark Knight]

The thing is, while the ecoboost is only a 1.0, it is turbocharged and that makes all the difference. It has the same torque figures as the diesel and coupled to that is low running costs and free road tax.

Stock vs stock, the new ZS is faster on all fronts than the previous ZS which was a 1.6 NA engine. Turbos and smaller engines are the future lol

[ScotsFocus]

I would agree that the Fiesta 1.25 Zetec is underpowered but it certainly is a much better drive than say the Corsa 1.2, 1.4. I was forced to drive a 63 reg some 600miles last week. Stir it and keep the speed up seemed the best policy. It did feel like a bit of a come down from my usual 2.0tdci Focus, just had to plan more and not be so opportunistic with the overtaking. I've yet to drive anything with the 1.0 ecoboost engine.... It still fills me with dread with 3 cylinders.... Fiesta with a 1.6tdci engine sounds better to me. However, by the time this 63reg got handed back to hertz it's willingness to rev seemed to have improved with just over 4k on the clock. I think yours will improve,

[The Dark Knight]

Unless you do enough miles to justify the diesel scotsfocus, ecoboost is the best plan. Cheaper to buy, economical and free to tax. It's also faster in 125ps guise and matches torque of diesel. You would think differently after driving one. Feels like a diesel with the turbo but it revs well too.

[Tynesider]

I only travel about 8 miles a day to work aqnd back and around the doors on my day off. We go to the lake district about 4 times a year and even that is only 100 miles each way so a diesel wouldnt be any good for me.

I had my car looked at by Ford service yesterday just to clear my mind that the car was ok and as I thought they said there is nothing wrong with it and it really just needs running in. I must admit the longer I have had the car the better it is performing and that coming down from a 1.6 to a 1.25 takes some getting used to where the gears are concerned.

I really like the car,it's comfortable and is driving better and it looks great.

[bigmunkynutz]

My partner has the same 1.25 82ps and its terrible when compared to my 1.0 125ps it's like stepping back in time. My car however managed a full load with full roof of too no problem in the lakes. I'm imagining it'll be much better when I've picked it up after a remap.

[The Dark Knight]

How much have your insurance company charged so far for the exhaust and remap? Or are you with a specialist insurer that accepts mods?

[bigmunkynutz]

Insurance before exhaust £319 post exhaust £327, remaps only going on today but the insurer though a 25bhp gain would push my insurance to around £350. So £30 ish, and their not a specialist insurer by any means, perhaps they'd not accept high end mod ie hardened internals, twin turbo or superchargers etc.

[FOCA]

Insurance before exhaust £319 post exhaust £327, remaps only going on today but the insurer though a 25bhp gain would push my insurance to around £350. So £30 ish, and their not a specialist insurer by any means, perhaps they'd not accept high end mod ie hardened internals, twin turbo or superchargers etc.

Many insurers find it difficult to catogorise rare/ "high end" modifications, and the mod(s) may not cost more at all & it depends what you call it/ them - strengthened internals could be catogorised as safety/ reliability

That seems very reasonable for a 25HP gain

I Just thought you might want to know that the "ram air intake" in your signature makes no difference on a road car and at legal speeds or even when your car is "flat out" the effect is insignificant and it may even have a detrimental effect if it collects flies/ dirt or has an additional filter/ grille - even on an F! car it only supercharges the air by 3% and thats at 180mph and thats with a big intake scoop with no filter - the shape of the air intake and the intake air temp makes a much bigger difference (without "ram air")

[conkezz]

I have the same complaint at times I find my fiesta is a bit sluggish.now have a new eco boost on the way.