Im interested in upgrading from my 1.3 petrol mk5 flight to a 1.6 diesel mk6 Zetec S. I was just wondering how this car compares to the petrol version and which is better to go for?

Do you travel a lot of miles? If so a deisel might be benificial if not id stick to petrol

Do you travel a lot of miles? If so a deisel might be benificial if not id stick to petrol

Hmm not really, work is only a 6 - 7 minute drive away, I occasionally make journeys that take 15 - 30 mins max.

The problem is finding a petrol one in my area that is good quality, I found one last week that looked really nice, drove well, 42k on the clock, different alloys, however after checking its history it turns out to be a Cat D write off...

Dont get me wrong theres nothing wrong with deisels but you'd get better fuel economy if you were to use it for longer journeys :)

Higher initial price for the diesels, BUT also more money when it comes time to sell it on again. Go drive the diesel, if its pre 2010 it won't have a DPF (diesel particulate filter) which aren't good for short journeys. So in my opinion the diesel is a good option, I only do short trips most of the time and I'm currently averaging around 48mpg, which is amazing, get this thing on a run and your into a genuine 60 plus mpg. The zetec S is a good looking car, but unfortunately lacks some of the high end kit which I wanted, so I sacrificed the sporty looks and went for a titanium model which had all (and more) of the creature comforts I wanted. And I'm not disappointed.

I see, I was worried about the whole DPF thing but its a 2006 model and its selling for £4000, about the same as petrols sell for.

Ahh, have a search on google for problems with these engines,,,, its the reason I went for a focus 1.8tdci (my last car) over the 1.6tdci (same engine as the fiesta) They had several reports of expensive failures due to blocked venting cases caused by an injector,,, end result basically was new turbo,,, pipes,, oil pick ups etc etc, ford were aware of the problem, but reluctant to help anyone who suffered with it. Apparently it was rectified by 2008 for the arrival of the mk7.

I have the 1.6 petrol and it is a cracking little engine! I cant comment on the diesel because I haven't driven it but the petrol is nice and peppy in traffic plus gives good mileage - I do about 600km/ 375 miles a week and one tank of petrol gets me through the whole week, with my led foot. ;)

Im not sure about petrol prices in the UK but in Australia diesel is more expensive. So if you don't need the diesel I would hunt around (maybe even travel a little bit?) and get a petrol. Im sure you wont be disappointed with whichever engine you buy, the mk 6/6.5 Fiesta's are great little cars to drive!