Fiesta Active

[Tony1]

What do people think of the Fiesta Active , thinking of buying one . Driving a Ford Focus Mk3.5 titanium x at moment .

Thanks for your input 

[DG97]

If I had to get an Active, i’d probably try to get an Ecosport instead. I haven’t driven an Active but sat in one and didn’t fully get the point. Bit higher than a normal Fiesta but equally as large alloys so you still have to be careful. Even though it’s higher, it’s not an suv or a crossover so to me, it lies in the “doesn’t really know what it wants to be” section.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Can't quote personal experience, but one of our friends and neighbours has one (after a Fiesta Titanium X and a string of MINIS) and is delighted with it. She finds it a little bit easier to access than the normal Fiesta and the wheelarch protection is handy for parking. Road tests I've seen seem to conclude that most of the normal Fiesta driving attributes are unaffected. Probably closer in feel to your current car than the Ecosport mentioned above, but depends what you are after I suppose.

[Mavroz]

I Think the active is something someone has thought up when they have been bored or under the influence. Not my idea of nice looking or refined whatsoever.

Have seen them in passing and always think the person driving it must put on a brave face and pretend to love it although on the inside i reckon they are always thinking "what have I done?"

It is a car only the designer can love.

As others have already said, i would prefer the Eco Sport if I was forced into having an abomination like the active.

Critical and harsh but just my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

9 hours ago, Mavroz said:

i would prefer the Eco Sport if I was forced into having an abomination like the active.

I would probably go the other way, as in my personal opinion the Active is much better looking, but neither is really my cup of tea tbh.

Going back to the original point, it's all about identifying your need and what best meets it. In our friends case, she has got the slightly easier ingress compared to her "normal" Fiesta, with a bit of extra scuff protection for the supermarket car park, while keeping the Fiesta driving characteristics that she enjoyed. Or you may just like the looks of one or the other, we all have different tastes.

At the moment, though, I'd be inclined to wait and see how the new Puma shapes up - if, as Ford claim, it really does combine Fiesta dynamics with a higher seating position and larger boot, it may well be worth a look. Plus it will be the first outing for their mild hybrid drivetrain, before they roll it out into the Fiesta and Focus.

 

 

 

[Tony1]

Many thanks think I might wait and have a look at the new Puma 

[DG97]

15 hours ago, Mavroz said:

I Think the active is something someone has thought up when they have been bored or under the influence. Not my idea of nice looking or refined whatsoever.

Have seen them in passing and always think the person driving it must put on a brave face and pretend to love it although on the inside i reckon they are always thinking "what have I done?"

It is a car only the designer can love.

As others have already said, i would prefer the Eco Sport if I was forced into having an abomination like the active.

Critical and harsh but just my honest thoughts and opinions.

Harsh but fair, it strikes me as a car that has been designed because making things into crossovers is popular nowadays but in my honest opinion, if you want something a bit higher and a bit more cross over like, why not just get one in the first place? There’s so much to choose from nowadays that there’s something for everyone.

[TomsFocus]

On ‎6‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 5:08 AM, Mavroz said:

Have seen them in passing and always think the person driving it must put on a brave face and pretend to love it although on the inside i reckon they are always thinking "what have I done?"

It is a car only the designer can love.

I'm pretty sure the majority of people don't care about looks in a car, especially a small SUV type thing...at one point there were Fiat Multipla's everywhere...you can't tell me people were buying them based on looks!  

21 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

...with a bit of extra scuff protection for the supermarket car park

I'd imagine most people driving these have blue badges for large spaces anyway.  The plastic arches will still scuff easily, the only benefit is that they're cheaper to replace than a whole wing.  If she needs the protection for herself parking by feel though, maybe a set of parking sensors would be more appropriate lol.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

I'm pretty sure the majority of people don't care about looks in a car, especially a small SUV type thing...at one point there were Fiat Multipla's everywhere...you can't tell me people were buying them based on looks!  

I'd imagine most people driving these have blue badges for large spaces anyway.  The plastic arches will still scuff easily, the only benefit is that they're cheaper to replace than a whole wing.  If she needs the protection for herself parking by feel though, maybe a set of parking sensors would be more appropriate lol.

Yes, there must be a good looking SUV somewhere, I just can't bring one to mind at the moment! I sort of liked the Multipla though - it seemed a genuine attempt to do something different and useful and never mind the appearance!

I've spent hundreds over the years having tiny chips and dents sorted because some pi**ock has nudged the car with a door or trolley, so I do think arch protection and rubbing strips are helpful for that, though not, as you say, in a full on scrape! Visibility for parking on most cars nowadays ranges from poor to abysmal, so anything to help, like sensors and cameras, is a good idea imo, and of course if everyone has them, helps other people to avoid backing into you!😀

Done a bit of blue badge parking in my time, had one for my mum, and in a lot of cases the spaces are no bigger than normal and not very well located, particularly when struggling with wheelchairs etc. One hospital I had to take her to, the blue badge area was further away than the normal car park, and you still had to pay, so what the point was, I dunno! 

 

[Mavroz]

Again, our personal preference is the car has to look smart, it has to be stylish.

I am pretty sure the majority of car owners on the planet do care about the way a car looks.

That is why ourselves and many others it seems (as another previous post showed) would always choose the St Line over the Titanium, looks..

Another huge factor in car selection is budget whether people care about the looks of a car or not.

It is all personal preference, if someone prefers a Suzuki Celeria to a Fiesta St Line, then so bet it as long as they are happy.

 

[TomsFocus]

50 minutes ago, Mavroz said:

Again, our personal preference is the car has to look smart, it has to be stylish.

I am pretty sure the majority of car owners on the planet do care about the way a car looks.

That is why ourselves and many others it seems (as another previous post showed) would always choose the St Line over the Titanium, looks..

Another huge factor in car selection is budget whether people care about the looks of a car or not.

It is all personal preference, if someone prefers a Suzuki Celeria to a Fiesta St Line, then so bet it as long as they are happy.

 

Most people in the UK honestly don't care about a cars looks in my experience, I can't speak for the rest of the planet but when you see K cars in Japan, dented hatchbacks in France and scruffy pickups in Africa I can't imagine any of them are overly bothered by aesthetics either...  Maybe you just associate with people that do like cars...such as people that care enough about cars to join forums lol...  

Just look at the cars as you walk through Tesco car park, the large majority will be cheap poverty spec rubbish in the free solid paintwork, covered in dirt, dents and scrapes with trim missing, scuffed hub caps and cracked windscreens.  A quick look inside shows a dirty interior with dog hair and ***** ends on the floor, and couch cushions on the seats because they chose such a low spec model it came with no seat padding.  It's a rare treat to see what I'd class as a nice car amongst all the cheap Supermini's and battered 'old' cars...  This reflects in peoples driving and parking style as well, you can see they have absolutely no interest in cars or driving at all, it just gets them from A to B.  From my flat I get a good view of our car park and often watch the carnage as people attempt to fit tiny cars into huge spaces without bashing other cars or flying straight through the space and ending up in the hedges...it amazes me how these people get anywhere with no spatial awareness, clutch control, steering feel or understanding of speed.  Fortunately there are 3 or 4 of us that can drive, so we all park together, and all reverse park every time leaving perfectly straight wheels...interestingly we also own the only cars that are kept clean and tidy...

I do agree it's personal preference for people that are interested enough to put some effort into car choice though.  I'm the opposite to most car forum members, I've always hated poser spec cars with sporty looks but no toys, Titanium over ST-Line for me any day!  

[John 1]

On 6/5/2019 at 5:08 AM, Mavroz said:

I Think the active is something someone has thought up when they have been bored or under the influence. Not my idea of nice looking or refined whatsoever.

Have seen them in passing and always think the person driving it must put on a brave face and pretend to love it although on the inside i reckon they are always thinking "what have I done?"

It is a car only the designer can love.

As others have already said, i would prefer the Eco Sport if I was forced into having an abomination like the active.

Critical and harsh but just my honest thoughts and opinions.

As a Fiesta Active X owner I actually think why would you by a regular fiesta? Fords Future residual values better on the Active compared to those owning just your regular fiesta models as well.

I even went for the Luxe Yellow colour as well, another controversial colour some would think, but I’ve had lots of people asking me ‘what colour is your car’ ‘it’s really nice’, it certainly stands out amongst all your bog standard dull colours, silvers, blues & whites that seem to be the norm. 

And yep we’re also a 2019 Ecosport ST line owner to, I certainly prefer driving my Active. 

‘‘What have I done” well I prefer my Active X over an ST line anyday. 

[Mavroz]

Again, it is all personal preference.

Personally as I said in my above post, i think they look awful and that is enough to stop me even opening the door on one.

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

5 hours ago, Mavroz said:

Again, it is all personal preference.

Certainly is, and the manufacturers exploit this by spinning off as many variations as possible from the same set of basic components. I feel (personal opinion again!) that the "regular" Mk 8 versions look pretty bland, in a way that the Mk 7 didn't, no doubt because Ford are aiming to steer customers towards the higher profit versions. Similarly with the engine options - if you want a 140 Titanium it's "sorry, sir, you need a Vignale, ST-Line or Active for that".

The same comment could be levelled at other manufacturers of course, and VAG and PSA can play the same game across multiple brands.

Anyway, I mentioned above that our friend was pretty happy with her Active, finding small practical benefits with no apparent detriment to the performance or handling compared to her previous Fiesta, and she doesn't hang about. How are you finding it driving/practicality-wise, @John 1?

 

[othysseus]

I'm with Eric. 140 PS, shock absorbers, driving modes. Better option than Titanium X hands down.

[Rondy]

Having read all the comments on this thread I would just like to mention my experience. Having had a Ford Eco sport I wouldn't wish that on anyone (My personal feeling)

There are too many cons to outway the pros(Of which there are few)

The Fiesta activ is a much better car to drive and more economical too.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

25 minutes ago, Rondy said:

The Fiesta activ is a much better car to drive and more economical too.

Hi Ron, glad you're enjoying the car. Our friend who I mentioned in the thread has had hers 3 years now and she's still loving it as well!

Perhaps you could give us further impressions when you've had it a while? - not that many Actives on here.

[Nismex]

Had mine 1 year now, I do like it, roof rails are very useful (bikes etc.) the suspension handles the country roads round here amazingly. The 125ps is plenty powerful enough and it's fine for my 60 mile round trip commute. Like the slightly higher seating position etc.

Love the lack of chrome, I despise chrome on cars personally. 

Only gripe is I would be more than happy with slightly smaller wheels with more sidewall, although my concerns of the 205/45/17s spontaneously blowing up the moment I drove onto a pot holed road haven't happened.

The LED projectors are a huge step up from the older halogens, in fact next time I'll probably make sure I go full LED. 

[Tiexen]

On 6/4/2019 at 10:24 PM, DG97 said:

If I had to get an Active, i’d probably try to get an Ecosport instead. I haven’t driven an Active but sat in one and didn’t fully get the point. Bit higher than a normal Fiesta but equally as large alloys so you still have to be careful. Even though it’s higher, it’s not an suv or a crossover so to me, it lies in the “doesn’t really know what it wants to be” section.

The Ecosport is based on the "old" Fiesta platform and has poor reviews:

"The Ford EcoSport leaves much to be desired. The biggest problem, Autotrader and MT explain, is that the EcoSport was dated even before it came out."

Unless you really need the extra height a standard Fiesta is probably a better bet.