1 hour ago, oldbob said:

I have no doubt I'll get used to it very quickly Stephen, and as for negotiating other cars, isn't that what bumbers are for . Seriously though, the thing me and the missus will have to get used too, is getting down into it as apposed to just sliding our bum cheeks in the higher up cars .

Agreed on the 7700k, its taken me a while looking around for a low low milage one local to me, and as it happens, my local Ford dealer got this one in just i time and at a price I liked  £10.5k (a little high for a 66 plate but the milage won me over) -  as I was about to go Toyota Yaris hybrid .

The thing I'm thinking over now is whether or not to get an extended warranty. The car was first registered Nov 16 so is it worth it?

I'll report back in a month or two on how I'm getting on with it, but I'm sure I'm going to enjoy the experience, plus this'll be my first manual box in over 20 years, should be fun right?

Believe me mate, when getting into that Nova with winter coats on, its was a juggle as to who belted up first lol, I'm a big lad, 6' 3", 22 stone and I fill the drivers seat literally and figuratively, my wife is half my size in weight but still moans she's fat - so we'll see who wins the juggle battle this winter .

Bob

You would win any day but I would guess you allow her to juggle in first, being gentlemanly 😉 I am about 60% of you and would not even try any battle, for audio self preservation reasons - my my mrs would just talk and talk until...

Luckily, the Fiesta's quick enough for me to zip off before she gets in 🤣🤣🤣

I actually paid 10k5 for mine too, and mileage was deciding factor tho I drove 90 miles from South Coast to Chelmsford for it.  After months of looking, st line or titanium x, I found one with decent mot history, 125bhp, right colour, etc - I can be a little obsessive 🙃

Anyway, I can see you having great fun Bob, esp in 2nd and 3rd when, to avoid traffic maybe, your chosen map application directs you down 8 miles of unknown hilly winding B roads.  I love it!

I might be a little bit excited for you!!  Hope it lives up to what you want, and I look forward to your initial verdict 😉👍

 

1 hour ago, oldbob said:

I have no doubt I'll get used to it very quickly Stephen, and as for negotiating other cars, isn't that what bumbers are for . Seriously though, the thing me and the missus will have to get used too, is getting down into it as apposed to just sliding our bum cheeks in the higher up cars .

Agreed on the 7700k, its taken me a while looking around for a low low milage one local to me, and as it happens, my local Ford dealer got this one in just i time and at a price I liked  £10.5k (a little high for a 66 plate but the milage won me over) -  as I was about to go Toyota Yaris hybrid .

The thing I'm thinking over now is whether or not to get an extended warranty. The car was first registered Nov 16 so is it worth it?

I'll report back in a month or two on how I'm getting on with it, but I'm sure I'm going to enjoy the experience, plus this'll be my first manual box in over 20 years, should be fun right?

Believe me mate, when getting into that Nova with winter coats on, its was a juggle as to who belted up first lol, I'm a big lad, 6' 3", 22 stone and I fill the drivers seat literally and figuratively, my wife is half my size in weight but still moans she's fat - so we'll see who wins the juggle battle this winter .

Bob

PS IMO extended warranty is not worth it, considering what it covers and more importantly, what it doesn't.

I went through my standard 12 month RAC one quite closely (dealer outsourced) and was told the extended would be with another similarly outsourced company.  RAC covers usual main items but I wouldn't fancy waiting for RAC and L**kers to battle it out for liability, and me going back n forth to Chelmsford etc.

Your dealer's local, you say, and may be altogether more customer focused, so if it gives you peace of mind....

I blackmailed L**kers to put a new MOT on, they said there's just over 6 months left on it but a lot can happen in 6 months of test drives! and had them spell out the things inspected in the much-vaunted 82 point presale check (on behalf of RAC).

And then decided 12 months warranty on a 66 plate.... hopefully I'll have given the car good exercise during that year, and will be happy to take responsibility from there

8 hours ago, srpocd25 said:

You would win any day but I would guess you allow her to juggle in first, being gentlemanly 😉 I am about 60% of you and would not even try any battle, for audio self preservation reasons - my my mrs would just talk and talk until...

Luckily, the Fiesta's quick enough for me to zip off before she gets in 🤣🤣🤣

I actually paid 10k5 for mine too, and mileage was deciding factor tho I drove 90 miles from South Coast to Chelmsford for it.  After months of looking, st line or titanium x, I found one with decent mot history, 125bhp, right colour, etc - I can be a little obsessive 🙃

Anyway, I can see you having great fun Bob, esp in 2nd and 3rd when, to avoid traffic maybe, your chosen map application directs you down 8 miles of unknown hilly winding B roads.  I love it!

I might be a little bit excited for you!!  Hope it lives up to what you want, and I look forward to your initial verdict 😉👍

 

 

Nah, I learnt the day I got wed she's the boss . Wife talks and I listen (selectively of course), then do my own thing as a gentleman would . I do like the 'self preservation' tactic though, brought a smile to my face .

My days of battles are long gone mate since the onset of the dreaded Arthur-Itis set into my joints 30 odd years ago plus I'm trying to get 25% less of me now too, it's harder as you get older.

Huh ho L*****s Chelmsford huh, around 20 miles from me, it was a L*****s I got my Lexus from 10 years'ish ago but the Rayleigh Toyota branch, they have since changed names. We got ours from Allen Ford and have never had a problem with them, they've always bent over backwards to help out and are very easy to deal with from the PA down to the delivery drivers, nothing is too much trouble and all great peeps.

10.5k isn't considered a lot nowdays, however you don't want to just 'throw it away' on a lemon, so being obsessive, picky and selective in what you choose is always the way to go.

Our 'new' Fiesta comes with a new full service plus MOT till 30th Aug next year, which was another bonus and added to the appeal, tax of course and Fords breakdown.

There are plenty of winding B roads here, and I intend to try a few out on Sunday when visiting some friends , and map application? wossat then? AtoZ mate and local knowledge .

Yep, you're more excited than me by the look of it lol, and I'm sure it will live up to expectations - I'll let you know .

Have a great day mate, I know I will as she's being delivered in 2 hours .

Bob

PS: I'll hold off on a 3 year warranty and look through the one it's supplied with before deciding .

 

On 9/17/2021 at 7:41 AM, oldbob said:

Nah, I learnt the day I got wed she's the boss . Wife talks and I listen (selectively of course), then do my own thing as a gentleman would . I do like the 'self preservation' tactic though, brought a smile to my face .

My days of battles are long gone mate since the onset of the dreaded Arthur-Itis set into my joints 30 odd years ago plus I'm trying to get 25% less of me now too, it's harder as you get older.

Huh ho L*****s Chelmsford huh, around 20 miles from me, it was a L*****s I got my Lexus from 10 years'ish ago but the Rayleigh Toyota branch, they have since changed names. We got ours from Allen Ford and have never had a problem with them, they've always bent over backwards to help out and are very easy to deal with from the PA down to the delivery drivers, nothing is too much trouble and all great peeps.

10.5k isn't considered a lot nowdays, however you don't want to just 'throw it away' on a lemon, so being obsessive, picky and selective in what you choose is always the way to go.

Our 'new' Fiesta comes with a new full service plus MOT till 30th Aug next year, which was another bonus and added to the appeal, tax of course and Fords breakdown.

There are plenty of winding B roads here, and I intend to try a few out on Sunday when visiting some friends , and map application? wossat then? AtoZ mate and local knowledge .

Yep, you're more excited than me by the look of it lol, and I'm sure it will live up to expectations - I'll let you know .

Have a great day mate, I know I will as she's being delivered in 2 hours .

Bob

PS: I'll hold off on a 3 year warranty and look through the one it's supplied with before deciding .

 

Hi Bob,

Hoping your new carriage is living up to expectations?

I've heard very good things about Allen Ford, and Sandicliffe is another, and if I'd found an equivalent car there I would have preferred going via them, but unfortunately they didn't have an equivalent at the time

I don't know if your Titanium X has navigation (I assume so as it has the works, doesn't it?) but I use Google maps anyway which advises on traffic conditions.  I'm afraid I don't have your local knowledge and, having lived Eastbourne for 5 years, still need maps for anything beyond the 7 miles between work and my house!

We'd be interested to know how you're finding the gearbox, and adjusting to fiesta space.

One thing I'm finding out is the need to drive bit differently to achieve either economy, or maintain engine, turbos etc

My previous Corsa C 1.4 SXi was relatively straightforward, but loosely minding the 'Miles to 0' figure seems to advise staying in gear longer, for higher revs than I would in the SXi, to achieve boost, better fuel efficiency, hopefully keep turbos in good working order - I cannot even pretend to have understood much about Ecoboost engines beyond the very basics, and it's a learning curve I'm still quite low on!

Course the engine affords loads of opportunity to just drive for fun too, gives you a nice shove in the back if you want and grips really well.

When it comes time to change tyres, I'll be examining 'best tyre' threads on here...!

 

 

8 hours ago, srpocd25 said:

Hi Bob,

Hoping your new carriage is living up to expectations?

I've heard very good things about Allen Ford, and Sandicliffe is another, and if I'd found an equivalent car there I would have preferred going via them, but unfortunately they didn't have an equivalent at the time

I don't know if your Titanium X has navigation (I assume so as it has the works, doesn't it?) but I use Google maps anyway which advises on traffic conditions.  I'm afraid I don't have your local knowledge and, having lived Eastbourne for 5 years, still need maps for anything beyond the 7 miles between work and my house!

We'd be interested to know how you're finding the gearbox, and adjusting to fiesta space.

One thing I'm finding out is the need to drive bit differently to achieve either economy, or maintain engine, turbos etc

My previous Corsa C 1.4 SXi was relatively straightforward, but loosely minding the 'Miles to 0' figure seems to advise staying in gear longer, for higher revs than I would in the SXi, to achieve boost, better fuel efficiency, hopefully keep turbos in good working order - I cannot even pretend to have understood much about Ecoboost engines beyond the very basics, and it's a learning curve I'm still quite low on!

Course the engine affords loads of opportunity to just drive for fun too, gives you a nice shove in the back if you want and grips really well.

When it comes time to change tyres, I'll be examining 'best tyre' threads on here...!

 

 

Hi Stephen, this could be a TL;DR haha, you did ask .

the jury's still out as we've only had her for nine days, but she's certainly growing on us. So far she's an 8 / 10 but I expect by the end of the month, she'll be a 10.

I can't fault Allen Ford here, they've been very good and nothing is too much trouble ~ for now .

We have the standard Titanium not the X pack, and yes, it does indeed have navigation - In fact I've just updated the nav with a new SD card, seems OK so far plus it has the 'live traffic' in the menu, no idea if it works though. Like you, we also use Google maps when needed which is very rare. I also updated the Sync from version 5.1 to 5.11.

Gearbox:
It didn't take long to get used to a manual box again, no 'bunny hops' yet, but I have to watch the rev counter and listen hard (deaf old boy) as the engine is very quiet when pulling away, I'll soon get used to that and the feeling of the clutch bite. I have to admit though, my left leg hasn't had this amount of workout in over 25 years of being an auto driver.

Adjusting:
So far we've had a couple of elbow bumps while I'm changing gear, wife growls I laugh . I do miss the reversing camera and front parking sensors but these are things I can adjust too. I don't miss the leather seats though, I find them too sweaty in the summer and too cold in winter, yeah I know the X pack has heated seats for winter use, but again, it's something I can live without. 

Space:
Hmm - space? What space? Haha  - In all seriousness, she is a lot smaller than what we're used too and half the gear I used to carry around with me, is now in the shed. The interior space isn't that bad tbh, the glove box takes all the bosses (wifes) rubbish which relegates me to the center console arm rest, the cup holders and small drop down under the steering wheel near the drivers door, plus theres the door card storage so not a great loss there. 
The boot could really do with a hidden/suspended floor imo as this is where I kept most of my rubbish, this would help in keeping the main boot floor area clear for shopping ect, I may have a go at making one up to raise the floor 5" or so.
Theres plenty of legroom in the front for me and the boss, and if I move my seat forward two notches, my 5' 11" daughter can comfortably sit in the back without her knees touching the back of my seat - just! 99% of the time its just me and the boss.

Driving style and fuel economy:
Driving style hasn't really changed much in town apart from up 'n' down the gearbox in traffic (more left leg exercise ), but fuel economy in traffic does take a hit when not using stop/start - saying that though, she still gives better economy in traffic than the Edge did, so far it's around the 36/38 mpg mark - much the same as the Lexus Hybrid. Having said that, we're very aware of her size in comparison to our last two cars and so drive her accordingly.
Taking her for a run is a different kettle of fish, I've had her up to 61 mpg on the straight (dual carrigeway) doing 60 to 70mph but that drops around 10-12 mpg on a long hill climb, not surprising really seeing as she only has a 3 cylinder 1.0L engine compared to a 2.0L or 3.5L engine, so overall I'm pretty pleased. With the Edge I'd get 46 mpg on a run, the Lexus hybrid was 42 mpg - both doing 60 - 70mph - both cars were around 2 ton plus and on a long hill, they would drop around 8-10mpg.

Like you, my knowledge of the ecoboost engine is next to nothing but I like what I've experienced so far, she's far nippier than she looks and her power to weight ratio is really nice. 

Fun:
Oh she's certainly a fun to drive car, we took her on a 75 mile round trip last week driving mostly winding country roads, she returned 48 mpg by the time we got back home. The steering is great and she sticks to the road extremely well compared to the last two cars, the Edge didn't mind the bendy bits to be honest, though you couldn't throw that around like the Fiesta, the Lexus much less so, she was a straight road only car, if you took any bends a little too hard, you'd slide out of the seat.

Like you, I'll be checking the 'best tyre' threads when the time comes, at the moment she has Conti Premium Contact 2's fitted with plenty of tread, so maybe next year I'll change depending on the wear they give.

Given our very short time with the car, I'd say we're very pleased. She does everything we want her to do, she's nippy enough in traffic and comfortable enough on the bumpy roads we all now have to put up with - no idea how we'd fare on a long 200/300 mile run though.

Is she a keeper:
I'll let you know at the end of the month .

Bob

5 minutes ago, oldbob said:

Hi Stephen, this could be a TL;DR haha, you did ask .

the jury's still out as we've only had her for nine days, but she's certainly growing on us. So far she's an 8 / 10 but I expect by the end of the month, she'll be a 10.

I can't fault Allen Ford here, they've been very good and nothing is too much trouble ~ for now .

We have the standard Titanium not the X pack, and yes, it does indeed have navigation - In fact I've just updated the nav with a new SD card, seems OK so far plus it has the 'live traffic' in the menu, no idea if it works though. Like you, we also use Google maps when needed which is very rare. I also updated the Sync from version 5.1 to 5.11.

Gearbox:
It didn't take long to get used to a manual box again, no 'bunny hops' yet, but I have to watch the rev counter and listen hard (deaf old boy) as the engine is very quiet when pulling away, I'll soon get used to that and the feeling of the clutch bite. I have to admit though, my left leg hasn't had this amount of workout in over 25 years of being an auto driver.

Adjusting:
So far we've had a couple of elbow bumps while I'm changing gear, wife growls I laugh . I do miss the reversing camera and front parking sensors but these are things I can adjust too. I don't miss the leather seats though, I find them too sweaty in the summer and too cold in winter, yeah I know the X pack has heated seats for winter use, but again, it's something I can live without. 

Space:
Hmm - space? What space? Haha  - In all seriousness, she is a lot smaller than what we're used too and half the gear I used to carry around with me, is now in the shed. The interior space isn't that bad tbh, the glove box takes all the bosses (wifes) rubbish which relegates me to the center console arm rest, the cup holders and small drop down under the steering wheel near the drivers door, plus theres the door card storage so not a great loss there. 
The boot could really do with a hidden/suspended floor imo as this is where I kept most of my rubbish, this would help in keeping the main boot floor area clear for shopping ect, I may have a go at making one up to raise the floor 5" or so.
Theres plenty of legroom in the front for me and the boss, and if I move my seat forward two notches, my 5' 11" daughter can comfortably sit in the back without her knees touching the back of my seat - just! 99% of the time its just me and the boss.

Driving style and fuel economy:
Driving style hasn't really changed much in town apart from up 'n' down the gearbox in traffic (more left leg exercise ), but fuel economy in traffic does take a hit when not using stop/start - saying that though, she still gives better economy in traffic than the Edge did, so far it's around the 36/38 mpg mark - much the same as the Lexus Hybrid. Having said that, we're very aware of her size in comparison to our last two cars and so drive her accordingly.
Taking her for a run is a different kettle of fish, I've had her up to 61 mpg on the straight (dual carrigeway) doing 60 to 70mph but that drops around 10-12 mpg on a long hill climb, not surprising really seeing as she only has a 3 cylinder 1.0L engine compared to a 2.0L or 3.5L engine, so overall I'm pretty pleased. With the Edge I'd get 46 mpg on a run, the Lexus hybrid was 42 mpg - both doing 60 - 70mph - both cars were around 2 ton plus and on a long hill, they would drop around 8-10mpg.

Like you, my knowledge of the ecoboost engine is next to nothing but I like what I've experienced so far, she's far nippier than she looks and her power to weight ratio is really nice. 

Fun:
Oh she's certainly a fun to drive car, we took her on a 75 mile round trip last week driving mostly winding country roads, she returned 48 mpg by the time we got back home. The steering is great and she sticks to the road extremely well compared to the last two cars, the Edge didn't mind the bendy bits to be honest, though you couldn't throw that around like the Fiesta, the Lexus much less so, she was a straight road only car, if you took any bends a little too hard, you'd slide out of the seat.

Like you, I'll be checking the 'best tyre' threads when the time comes, at the moment she has Conti Premium Contact 2's fitted with plenty of tread, so maybe next year I'll change depending on the wear they give.

Given our very short time with the car, I'd say we're very pleased. She does everything we want her to do, she's nippy enough in traffic and comfortable enough on the bumpy roads we all now have to put up with - no idea how we'd fare on a long 200/300 mile run though.

Is she a keeper:
I'll let you know at the end of the month .

Bob

Hi Bob

You can get an adjustable boot floor. I have one fitted to my titanium x but is available on most fiestas. Mine was fitted when I bought my car 4 years ago (car is now coming up up to 7 years old) cost about £200 but it takes away the lip when you open the boot.

I have Conti Premium contacts 2's on my car and found them very good and long lasting. I have them on the back and Premium contact 5/6 on the front.

Hope this helps

2 minutes ago, statts said:

Hi Bob

You can get an adjustable boot floor. I have one fitted to my titanium x but is available on most fiestas. Mine was fitted when I bought my car 4 years ago (car is now coming up up to 7 years old) cost about £200 but it takes away the lip when you open the boot.

I have Conti Premium contacts 2's on my car and found them very good and long lasting. I have them on the back and Premium contact 5/6 on the front.

Hope this helps

Hi Paul,

thanks for the heads up on the raised boot floor - £200 huh, I wonder if I can haggle one from the dealers , they can all certainly benefit from having them fitted as standard, but Fords being Fords haha.....

So far I'm pleased with the Conti Premium Contact 2's, they did well in last Sundays rain on country roads but I have found them a little noisey on certain surfaces - maybe that's also becase she's a lot lower down than my last two cars were. 

My Conti's are the standard 195/50/16R 84V size, I was looking at the Continental Eco Contact 6 88V XL 195/50/16R, do you know if there's much difference in size seeing as they are XL's?

Bob

 

16 hours ago, oldbob said:

Hi Paul,

thanks for the heads up on the raised boot floor - £200 huh, I wonder if I can haggle one from the dealers , they can all certainly benefit from having them fitted as standard, but Fords being Fords haha.....

So far I'm pleased with the Conti Premium Contact 2's, they did well in last Sundays rain on country roads but I have found them a little noisey on certain surfaces - maybe that's also becase she's a lot lower down than my last two cars were. 

My Conti's are the standard 195/50/16R 84V size, I was looking at the Continental Eco Contact 6 88V XL 195/50/16R, do you know if there's much difference in size seeing as they are XL's?

Bob

 

Hi Bob

just had a look the boot floor was £296 but might vary from dealer-dealer.

The conti 6's mine are 205/40/r17 88v XL. I think the sizes you have said are the same I think the 84v and 88v are the speed ratings. It might be best sticking with what replaced the conti 2's as a higher speed rating might invalidate your insurance if you have to make a claim.

Hope this helps

Hello folks,

Just butting in on the tyres... the XL bit means extra load - the 2 digit number is the load rating. It'll mean the tyre sidewall is a bit stiffer so the tyre can take a higher load - likely to give a slightly firmer ride and maybe crisper steering but otherwise I doubt it'd make much difference day to day.

🤓

On 9/27/2021 at 3:08 PM, statts said:

Hi Bob

just had a look the boot floor was £296 but might vary from dealer-dealer.

The conti 6's mine are 205/40/r17 88v XL. I think the sizes you have said are the same I think the 84v and 88v are the speed ratings. It might be best sticking with what replaced the conti 2's as a higher speed rating might invalidate your insurance if you have to make a claim.

Hope this helps

Hi Paul,

thanks for the info on the boot floor, thats a bit rich for a lump of hardboard , so I'll stick with making up a compartment style storage using 25mm lightweight polystyrene sheets and cut them to size, that way the original floor will sit on top and I'll still have easy access to the spare if needed.

Thanks for the info on the tyres, I'll keep that in mind for when my current ones need changing.

Bob

On 9/27/2021 at 11:05 PM, wordchild said:

Hello folks,

Just butting in on the tyres... the XL bit means extra load - the 2 digit number is the load rating. It'll mean the tyre sidewall is a bit stiffer so the tyre can take a higher load - likely to give a slightly firmer ride and maybe crisper steering but otherwise I doubt it'd make much difference day to day.

🤓

Hi Blair,

thanks for the info, what drew me to them was the A ratings on economy and wet grip, plus they're nearly a tenner cheaper per corner than the Conti 2's ... madness .

Bob