Hi all. New to Ford Owners club. Been driving Fords since 1990 with one time out ( Rover big mistake!). I have 2015 Eco Boost lovely car bought in 2017 with 4,500 miles on clock and I ve had serviced yearly with Ford parts including ECO Boost oil. Now has 64,500 on clock. Alerted at my MOT in April that need to either : change cambelt (wetbelt) or buy another car. Think I ll probably opt to get a new car as whilst this one hasn't been any bother conscious getting older . So I m looking at one only 2/3 years old with minimal mileage .  Got about 6 contenders within a nearby radius and trying to fathom which might be my best option. Not much difference in price so thats not really a determiner. Its the models. A couple are ECO Boost ( i believe now chain not wet belt) , another is  1.1 TI -VCT Trend and a couple of MHEV s.  I tend to mainly drive on dual carriageway (max 50 speed limit) and locally. Only occasionally need to go on motorway since retired. Any thoughts .Thanks

Hi,

1.1 Ti-VCT has wetbelts like the old 1.0 EcoBoost.

MHEV engine is the same as the revised EcoBoost engine.  Chain for timing.  But still one small wet belt for the oil pump.

Trend is a very basic spec.  So depends whether there are any specific options that you particularly like or need.

Hello and Welcome to the Forum. 

The 1.1 is the Eco engine, ie EcoBoost, without Boost (Non-turbo), which you may find a little slow. However, it depends on what you use the car for. It might be good driving around town (shopping etc), I have no idea what the economy is like compared to an Ecoboost.

I would suggest, if you can afford it, go for an later (2020+) Ecoboost or MHEV which will have a timing chain. As Tom mentioned, they have a wet oil belt which has to done every 10 years, but there hasn't been any reports of it failing.  Possibly avoid the 'Trend' trim level as that's the very basic one. 

Hi and welome.

3 hours ago, Halls said:

A couple are ECO Boost ( i believe now chain not wet belt)

Care needed here. It depends on the power  - the 125ps and 155ps from late 2020 on are the revised  Ecoboost/MHEV engine. 

The 100ps version retained the old wet cambelt to the end.

 

Thanks for the advice. Going to book some test drives for Tuesday. Think  I ll look at the newest MHEV one first ( only has 5k on it) then the others. Ive just loved this fiesta and first I knew of the wet belt was April.  I have a friend drives a 2013 one and wasn't aware until yesterday of guidance.  

I hate car hunting and my husband is even worse . He's currently driving an Hyundai 2012 with 125 k on clock ! 

1 minute ago, Halls said:

He's currently driving an Hyundai 2012 with 125 k on clock ! 

Very brave of you to admit that he owns a Hymdo, have you considered getting a matching Herdo ? 🎉

17 minutes ago, unofix said:

Very brave of you to admit that he owns a Hymdo, have you considered getting a matching Herdo ? 🎉

Sounds as if they're reliable, then!😀

No Hyundai for me ! Just so used to Fords and when I have other cars not had much luck with them.  

1 hour ago, Halls said:

Just so used to Fords and when I have other cars not had much luck with them.  

Do let us know how you get on. I'd try and approach test drives objectively with an open mind and not be swayed by your previous cars. In 2015 the Fiesta was pretty much the pre-eminent supermini, things have changed since then.

Have a good read about issues with Mk 8 and 8.5 Fiestas on here, and I'd suggest having a look at other makes if only for comparison/elimination. For example VW group have 4 takes on their supermini - Audi A1, SEAT Ibiza, Skoda Fabia and VW Polo. Core engine on all is a 3 cylinder 1.0 similar to an ecoboost but not a wet belt in sight. The later Renault Clio has had good reviews also. 

On 7/19/2025 at 2:23 PM, Halls said:

I hate car hunting and my husband is even worse

Thats a shame - I rather enjoy winding salespeople up!

PS I concur with your comments about Rover. I had 2 as company cars in the 90s and both broke down on the day of delivery!😀