Hi all

Sorry to say I'm a long-term Alfa Romeo owner, used to own a couple of fast Fords from yesteryear.

The question is for my daughter. She wants to change her troublesome 2009 Mini Cooper to a Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost.

I've read some horror stories about the little engine. My brother has owned a 2013 Focus 1.0 for about 7 years, with only issues with the cam belt.

What are the pitfalls of these engines? Are they as bad as their reputation? If they are what engine Fiesta would you recommend?

Best wishes

Firstly what age of EcoBoom is she looking to buy ? Not all of the 1.0 are the same design.

16 minutes ago, Veloce_Rosso said:

My brother has owned a 2013 Focus 1.0 for about 7 years, with only issues with the cam belt.

What are the pitfalls of these engines? 

I think you've answered your own question right there! You don't mention what age range you are looking at so that would help us give better comments.

Unfortunately since 2013 virtually all petrol Fiestas have been 1.0 ecoboosts (Other than the 1.6 or later 1.5 STs and the last of the 1.25 4 cylinder engines up to around 2016.) The design changed around 2020 but there are still some issues.

 

Firstly, thanks for replying.

Whatever she can buy for around £2,500, so it'll have to be an older model. I'll make sure it has a comprehensive service history, incl if the wet cam belt has been changed... and whom. If it's fitted by an authorised dealer (incl independent specialist) or if it was replaced by one man and his dog down the road. If it's the latter I think it's wise to avoid.

Other than the cam belt, what else is there to look out for engine wise?

 

4 minutes ago, Veloce_Rosso said:

or if it was replaced by one man and his dog down the road.

To be fair, the dog usually does a good job, I can't vouch for the man 🤣

Buying a £2500 Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost is a lot like buying a lottery ticket. You might get a winner, but far more are losers.

At the sort of age you would be looking at even with a full service record there would be little chance of knowing just how it had been looked after. Buy the very last of the Fiesta Mk6 (2008) with the 1.25 engine and it will last forever  👍

I'd have to agree with Unofix there. You might just about scrape a very early Ecoboost for that money (2013/2014). At that age they should have had the belts done but you'd need to check very carefully for proof. Bear in mind the belt replacement is an £ 1800+ job at a main dealer (we've seen members on here quoted up to £2600!) and around £1000 or so at a decent independent.

A 1.25 might be a step down from a Mini Cooper but its a reliable engine with loads to choose from and fun to drive. £2500 should get you a very good example of a very late Mk 6 or a newer Mk 7. (2008 was the changeover to the Mk 7 which is more of a "contemporary" shape if that matters.)

 

Thanks. I sort of see why they are referred to as an EcoBoom. But obviously insurance and road tax is a lot cheaper than her Mini.

It's whether the 1.0 is more reliable than her Mini. It's the 2nd generation model which, oddly, is powered by a Peugeot engine. Peugeot haven't produced a good engine since 205 GTI in the early 90s.

Certainly food for thought. The Fiesta 1.25 seems a safer bet.

Thank you gentlemen 

18 minutes ago, Veloce_Rosso said:

Peugeot haven't produced a good engine since 205 GTI in the early 90s.

Lol, you certainly don't want a Puretech!

I had the slightly larger (but only about 30kg heavier) 309 GTI 1.9 -  cracker to drive, somewhat let down by the build quality (Coventry factory at the time).

20 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Lol, you certainly don't want a Puretech!

I had the slightly larger (but only about 30kg heavier) 309 GTI 1.9 -  cracker to drive, somewhat let down by the build quality (Coventry factory at the time).

Indeed. The ma-in-law had a 307. It was in the garage more that it was out. LOL.

This is coming from an Alfa devotee too. That's a real achievement. Well done Peugeot 👏 

XU engine in the 306s was pretty good.  1.8 was light and revvy.  2.0 GTi-6 had the top end & sound track.  The common rail HDi was far superior to Fords effort at diesel as well.

The problems came when they released the 307 in 2001.  Lost the looks and the engines.  Just became a cheap runabout to be used on finance from A to B and scrapped after the warranty ran out.

 

Back on topic, the diesel Fiesta's are very cheap to fuel & tax, so they might be worth considering over a 1.0EB.  (They were also made by Peugeot of course!)

20 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Back on topic, the diesel Fiesta's are very cheap to fuel & tax, so they might be worth considering over a 1.0EB.  (They were also made by Peugeot of course!)

Yes, that's another tack to consider. Certainly the older XUD engines were very good. The 1.6 Fiesta TDCI we had for a while was a decent drive, but can't give a long term comment on that.

5 hours ago, Veloce_Rosso said:

Hi all

Sorry to say I'm a long-term Alfa Romeo owner, used to own a couple of fast Fords from yesteryear.

The question is for my daughter. She wants to change her troublesome 2009 Mini Cooper to a Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost.

I've read some horror stories about the little engine. My brother has owned a 2013 Focus 1.0 for about 7 years, with only issues with the cam belt.

What are the pitfalls of these engines? Are they as bad as their reputation? If they are what engine Fiesta would you recommend?

Best wishes

I bought the mk7 (older) Fiesta 1.6 petrol for my son to use - old technology, but tried and tested.  I chose a Zetec S as the seats are much better than 'standard'.

So that's 2008 to 2012?  It's been fantastic - good to drive, and quality parts are cheap.  We even drove it to Valencia and back last year - ran perfectly and 47mpg over 2.5k miles.

I wouldn't go anywhere near an old diesel due to ULEZ - but old petrols are fine as they have a higher EURO rating.

(my other son wanted a MINI so I did risk an R56 1.6 - as you say the engine is poorly designed, but it has both French elements and BMW elements - the piston rings fail.  I found an expert in Cornwall who basically rebuilds the engine - he's very good and we still have that R56..... but it's still a moneypit compared to the Fiesta!)

Edited to add photo - and you can fit things in the back of a Fiesta, unlike the R56.

Yes, the 1.6 Zetec S is another option and nearer to a Cooper performance wise.

There are still some nice ones about, but the better ones I've seen advertised seem to be over the budget mentioned here. Often more than an early Ecoboost in fact - do they know something?😀

11 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Yes, the 1.6 Zetec S is another option and nearer to a Cooper performance wise.

Slightly off-topic - the Cooper R56 is the same power as a 1.6 Fiesta - both 120BHP ish - but the Fiesta is much livelier and much more fun - the Cooper feels more solid and a grown-up car.  Weight is stated as 1045kg vs 1075kg for the R56 - the downside is the stated emissions on the Fiesta push it into the next tax bracket up - 134g/km vs 129g/km for the R56.

But we get better MPG out of the Fiesta in actual use, so the tax difference is negated.

Seats in the MINI are awful, and the boot is half the volume of the Fiesta, AND the MINI rear seats are unuseable, if you have legs.

....and the headlights are crap on the R56 - really good on the mk7 Fiesta.

Our Fiesta 1.6 uses no oil, I mean none, and it's just ticked over 110,000 miles - every MINI Prince engine always uses oil, from new, and I was told that the design relies on the chain splashing into a FULL oil reservoir to oil various parts of the engine properly - if you let the level drop below half you'll get serious problems later on....

...I could go on, but you get the picture 😄 

16 minutes ago, orangecurry said:

but the Fiesta is much livelier and much more fun

I tend to agree. I've driven most varieties of BMW MINI since 2000 and not been that thrilled tbh. On the other hand a friend of ours absolutely loves hers - I guess you get the MINI "thing" or you don't.

(I had 3 of the originals back in the day but that's another story.)

See loads of ''Going Cheap'' fiesta's these days, some absolutely grand looking cars, but they all have the tiny engine and have above average mileage, so the belt most likely needs changing, some right bargin's out there if the belt can be done properly and cheaply. 

Saw a 7.5 four door Titanium X with a factory body kit with lovely Ford alloys in metallic blue, was high mileage but a beautiful looking car......£1,600 😮

1 hour ago, Ian Lanc said:

a beautiful looking car......£1,600

but would it still look good value for money if it was priced at £3200 ?

Changing the belts can easily cost £1600.

High mileage cars rarely 'look good' in person unless they've had a front end respray in my experience.  Most of my cars have been covered in stone chips and lacquer peel at the front.  Windscreens get scratched by non-auto wipers presumably being left on 24/7 given the state of them.  Saggy drivers seat with bolsters worn out.  There's a lot more to consider than just the engine with high mileage.

Thank you, gentlemen. Yes, the options are fairly limited at that budget. My daughter hasn't taken her driving test until the middle of next month. She's very competent.

The Mini has been a pig since buying it just over a year ago.  I find that BMW have made these Minis too grown up. I owned a 1977 Mini 1275 GT many moons ago and that was genuine fun. It couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, but performance wasn't the priority. These newer incarnations seemed to have the life sucked out of them. 

By contrast, my 2005 2.0 Alfa just makes you smile, whether you are doing 30 mph or 70 - it has "soul".

I visited my brother this morning, as we had some spare time off work, and he was told by his mechanic he has a good 1.0 EB. It's been relative trouble free - most aren't.

That's nice! Don't often see the Sportwagon. I looked seriously at a 156 around 2002/3,  but bottled out** as I did with a 'Sud years before that!

My experience with a 1.0 EB over 5 years was very good, but I bought new and had annual oil changes.  A friend has been similarly happy over 10 years from new - the belts were done last year and his daughter and grandson are now using it.

From what we've seen on here, the real issues are with cars that have gone through multiple owners with no way of 100% verifying full/correct service history. If you could find one like my friends, you'd probably be ok.

(** Something electrical went wrong during my test drive (can't remember exactly what now). I had a similar experience test riding a Ducati a while before - we had to push start it then one mirror fell off part way through my ride!😀).

18 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

That's nice! Don't often see the Sportwagon. I looked seriously at a 156 around 2002/3,  but bottled out** as I did with a 'Sud years before that!

My experience with a 1.0 EB over 5 years was very good, but I bought new and had annual oil changes.  A friend has been similarly happy over 10 years from new - the belts were done last year and his daughter and grandson are now using it.

From what we've seen on here, the real issues are with cars that have gone through multiple owners with no way of 100% verifying full/correct service history. If you could find one like my friends, you'd probably be ok.

(** Something electrical went wrong during my test drive (can't remember exactly what now). I had a similar experience test riding a Ducati a while before - we had to push start it then one mirror fell off part way through my ride!😀).

Thank you. It's just passed the MOT last week. The Suds were poorly put together, most have rusted to nothing. Over a million made, less than 50 remain. Sad.

Re the EcoBoost, I think it's a risk too far. I'm trying to get her to go Japanese, something like a Suzuki Swift. They are bullet-proof (or as bullet-proof as you can get), so I'll wait and see what her next move will be. It's her call....

Mazda 2 (Sport) is a good shout as well.

3 hours ago, orangecurry said:

Mazda 2 (Sport) is a good shout as well.

Good call.

As long as she doesn't go near a Vtech. They scream like a cat that's been trapped by a skip load of Rottweilers. They rev so high it's otherworldly.

A Suzuki Swift Sport or even a Fiesta ST, perhaps?

If I was to buy another Ford, it would be a Focus ST. Don't like the look of the RS. Too boy racerish.

I used to own a early Escort XR3 with the Weber carb, but it was a 1982 (Y plate) just before the changed it to fuel injection, the better known XR3i. Shortly afterwards (2 cars later) I purchased a Sierra XR4i.

I was born and grew up in S. London and you can guarantee any ram raid, cars stolen were fast Fords: Typically Escort RS Turbo or Sierra Cosworths. I thought I've owned 2, I'll cut my loses while I'm ahead. I've never owned one since.

Hi all - I had just posted this elsewhere but realise it's more relevant to this thread sorry. Your thoughts (and commiserations) would be appreciated....

 

Well I have been caught out totally by this. I just bought a nice 1.0 Ecoboost with 96K on the clock, for my daughters first car.

Cheap to insure, no road tax, etc etc. Literally 2 days ago. I thought I might have to get the wet belt done and I thought it was going to be £600 ish. 

But no. I'm quoted 11 to 1400 quid by independents. I'm gutted as I had read reviews that said it's a great little car and the engine is great and fun to drive. Clearly I should have checked on Ford forums first. 

So if I get it done - belt, water pump, oil and filter change and gaskets - will I at least have peace of mind that it'll be good for a few years now, or are there any other horrors I'm going to encounter? Thanks.

12 minutes ago, Sonicboom208 said:

Hi all - I had just posted this elsewhere but realise it's more relevant to this thread sorry. Your thoughts (and commiserations) would be appreciated....

 

Well I have been caught out totally by this. I just bought a nice 1.0 Ecoboost with 96K on the clock, for my daughters first car.

Cheap to insure, no road tax, etc etc. Literally 2 days ago. I thought I might have to get the wet belt done and I thought it was going to be £600 ish. 

But no. I'm quoted 11 to 1400 quid by independents. I'm gutted as I had read reviews that said it's a great little car and the engine is great and fun to drive. Clearly I should have checked on Ford forums first. 

So if I get it done - belt, water pump, oil and filter change and gaskets - will I at least have peace of mind that it'll be good for a few years now, or are there any other horrors I'm going to encounter? Thanks.

Check the clutch and gearbox on a long drive.  Lots of sticking clutches and difficult gear selection at higher mileage.