I've had my 2018 140 Eco sport a few months now, really like it, a bit disappointed some of the extras appear to have been cut like the power mirrors,

auto wipers etc. Main area of concern is the wet belt of course, although I plan to change that early for peace of mind if I keep it. The loading space with the angled

seats instead of flat, is a bit silly, and that does present a bit of an issue as the car is used for work - those issues aside, I would have kept the car, but

given the various short comings, what would you guys recommend as an alternative to this car?

Cheers

If you want more toys then it will have to be Japanese or some other Asian brand.

EcoSport is a different model.  The engine is EcoBoost.

ST-Line never had auto wipers as standard.  You need a Titanium or an ST-Line X for those.  

Recommend researching trim levels before buying if you want all the extras on the next one.  Don't just buy the one that looks pretty on the outside.

57 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Recommend researching trim levels before buying if you want all the extras on the next one.  Don't just buy the one that looks pretty on the outside.

Seconded. Trim levels (across many makes, not just Ford) took a hit from around Covid-time onwards, and again from the Ukraine conflict, some not that obvious and traders adverts are not always 100% accurate. (Not necessarily deliberately, they have been caught out by manufacturers changes also.) 

If you want a Fiesta-type car, plenty to choose from as well as the later Fiesta, of course, just a few below (none of these are wet belt but as you probably know the later Fiesta MHEV is cam chain but still wet belt oil pump drive) :

VW Group cars (Polo, Audi A1, SEAT Ibiza, Skoda Fabia) are all mechanically basically the same but are equipped and drive differently.

Recent Renault Clio and related Nissan Micra. Dacia Sandero is a closely related budget option.

Toyota Yaris is very popular round my way, but hybrid might not be your cup of tea.

Honda Jazz - ditto but a very practical seat folding arrangement

Hyundai I20

MINI - various 3/5 door, estate, SUV variants all available

Suzuki Swift - a bit smaller than the supermini norm

NB: Stellantis Group superminis - Peugeot 208, Citroen C3 and Vauxhall Corsa - are all related to each other but petrols use a wet belt "Puretech" engine so not recommended).

Most of the above are mentioned in this article:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/best-cars/top-10-best-superminis

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

The engine is EcoBoost.

Or more often EcoBoom 🤣  but still not an EcoSport, which Ford love to call Echo Sport even though it's not spelt with an 'h'

2 hours ago, unofix said:

If you want more toys then it will have to be Japanese or some other Asian brand.

Not so much toys, just looking for possibilities to replace with something that doesn't have the same serious welt belt type of issue

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

EcoSport is a different model.  The engine is EcoBoost.

ST-Line never had auto wipers as standard.  You need a Titanium or an ST-Line X for those.  

Recommend researching trim levels before buying if you want all the extras on the next one.  Don't just buy the one that looks pretty on the outside.

Sorry - you're right it's the eco boost. The extras are misleading in the manual because it doesn't seem to clarify which models

get which things. The belt issue is the main reason I'm looking for something else though.

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Seconded. Trim levels (across many makes, not just Ford) took a hit from around Covid-time onwards, and again from the Ukraine conflict, some not that obvious and traders adverts are not always 100% accurate. (Not necessarily deliberately, they have been caught out by manufacturers changes also.) 

If you want a Fiesta-type car, plenty to choose from as well as the later Fiesta, of course, just a few below (none of these are wet belt but as you probably know the later Fiesta MHEV is cam chain but still wet belt oil pump drive) :

VW Group cars (Polo, Audi A1, SEAT Ibiza, Skoda Fabia) are all mechanically basically the same but are equipped and drive differently.

Recent Renault Clio and related Nissan Micra. Dacia Sandero is a closely related budget option.

Toyota Yaris is very popular round my way, but hybrid might not be your cup of tea.

Honda Jazz - ditto but a very practical seat folding arrangement

Hyundai I20

MINI - various 3/5 door, estate, SUV variants all available

Suzuki Swift - a bit smaller than the supermini norm

NB: Stellantis Group superminis - Peugeot 208, Citroen C3 and Vauxhall Corsa - are all related to each other but petrols use a wet belt "Puretech" engine so not recommended).

Most of the above are mentioned in this article:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/best-cars/top-10-best-superminis

 

 

 

 

Cheers Eric, I'll take a look at those options. I do like the sporty look of my Fiesta, so i would be inclined towards something that had a bit of that going for it.

Not really worried about performance as such. I think if i was to get something else, i would be looking to avoid any welt belt issues or other impending disasters.

9 minutes ago, Paulzx said:

I do like the sporty look of my Fiesta, so i would be inclined towards something that had a bit of that going for it.

Then I'd seriously consider a SEAT Leon FR, sporty looks, drives well, and no wet belt of course. (Conventional "dry" cambelt). But look carefully at the specs and I'd avoid 18" wheels.

Leon FR Sport comes with a slightly detuned Golf GTI engine.  And adaptive suspension.  But sadly that wasn't enough to make the 18" wheels tolerable for me.  Also noticeably less sound deadening and slightly cheaper plastics than the Golf.  But they are much cheaper than a Golf GTi, and arguably better looking, or at least more unique.

4 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Toyota Yaris is very popular round my way, but hybrid might not be your cup of tea.

There's also the GR Yaris, if the OP'd like a proper hot hatch.

Can be bought for Puma ST money.

1 hour ago, mickywrx said:

There's also the GR Yaris, if the OP'd like a proper hot hatch.

Can be bought for Puma ST money.

Indeed it can,but:

5 hours ago, Paulzx said:

Not really worried about performance as such.

 

14 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Then I'd seriously consider a SEAT Leon FR, sporty looks, drives well, and no wet belt of course. (Conventional "dry" cambelt). But look carefully at the specs and I'd avoid 18" wheels.

Just had a quick look at those - very nice! Excellent suggestion, I'll have a proper look at these

13 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Leon FR Sport comes with a slightly detuned Golf GTI engine.  And adaptive suspension.  But sadly that wasn't enough to make the 18" wheels tolerable for me.  Also noticeably less sound deadening and slightly cheaper plastics than the Golf.  But they are much cheaper than a Golf GTi, and arguably better looking, or at least more unique.

 

What's the issue with the 18" wheels then.. is this a ride quality problem?

12 hours ago, mickywrx said:

There's also the GR Yaris, if the OP'd like a proper hot hatch.

Can be bought for Puma ST money.

I do like the GR Yaris, don't think it has much loading space though does it? My 3 door ST Line would have decent loading

if the seats folded down flat. But that arrangement is a bit half cocked as we know

10 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Indeed it can,but:

 

Yep performance isn't the priority, it all depends what i can get for the budget really

31 minutes ago, Paulzx said:

What's the issue with the 18" wheels then.. is this a ride quality problem?

Yes, ride very poor and feel every bump jolt through the car.  Also a lot of road noise even at town speeds.

2 hours ago, Paulzx said:

What's the issue with the 18" wheels then.. is this a ride quality problem?

As Tom said, plus increased vulnerabllity to pothole and kerbing damage (ask me how I know!😀).

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Paulzx said:

I do like the GR Yaris

It's very impressive, but I get the vibe that a 280bhp 4wd with 6 monthly service intervals and, as you say, limited rear space, doesn't quite fit the brief!😀

17 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Then I'd seriously consider a SEAT Leon FR,

Lol, just realised I meant to say Ibiza there!😀 Posted about Leons so often my device "auto suggested" it and I didn't spot it. Both worth a look, though.

We don't know what age/budget you're looking at, but obviously looking at the next size up from Fiesta (e.g. Leon, Golf, etc) opens up some interesting possibilities on the used market.

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Yes, ride very poor and feel every bump jolt through the car.  Also a lot of road noise even at town speeds.

Okay so smaller wheels then because that doesn't sound good for a daily driver car

27 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

It's very impressive, but I get the vibe that a 280bhp 4wd with 6 monthly service intervals and, as you say, limited rear space, doesn't quite fit the brief!😀

In the real world, probably not - maybe for a personal car perhaps. I am selling my GT4 350z next year so maybe that might be an option to replace that car.

Can you get those for 10k? Probably not right?

13 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Lol, just realised I meant to say Ibiza there!😀 Posted about Leons so often my device "auto suggested" it and I didn't spot it. Both worth a look, though.

We don't know what age/budget you're looking at, but obviously looking at the next size up from Fiesta (e.g. Leon, Golf, etc) opens up some interesting possibilities on the used market.

My St Line is a 2018 3 door 140 model, 45,000 miles, got it for approx £10k so would be looking for something similar to it for same sort of money.

A year or two older, slightly more miles, doesn't matter too much, obviously i don't want to go backwards too much on what I'm getting for my money,

but £10k would still be the budget

28 minutes ago, Paulzx said:

Okay so smaller wheels then because that doesn't sound good for a daily driver car

Yes, but then you lose the looks.  That's the compromise.    Each trim level usually only has one size of wheel as standard.  To get smaller wheels you often have to chose comfort spec models instead of sports spec.

I've always had to stick to 'granny spec' cars for daily drivers due to health conditions making stiff suspension & large wheels intolerable.  But they never look as good as the ST/GTI flagship models.

4 hours ago, Paulzx said:

Can you get those for 10k? Probably not right?

Doubt it! New price has had a big bump of about £12k lately to about £45k which has had a knock-on effect on used values. Seem to be looking at about £25k upwards now.