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Lucky lad - my 17 y/o had to make do with a 97 Punto 1.1
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When we were looking for a small car last, we had a budget of £2k and drove the Fiesta, Corsa and Clio as 1.4 versions. I have driven several older Fiestas and Corsas, and wasn't very keen on either to be honest, my gut feeling at the start being that we would end up with a Clio. But I didn't realise that the mk4 on Fiesta was such a good drive. The 1.4 engine feels as strong as some 1.6's, and revs so sweetly it's a joy to use. The chassis is just brilliant fun with stacks of front end bite and lovely, slightly weighty steering that constantly "chatters" through the rim as road surfaces and grip levels change. Of course it's a 1.4 shopping car, and it's not going to win any races, but it's clearly had an enthusiast's input at some point in its development. I liked it a lot.
The Clio is a better car in many ways, being more refined and still very nice to drive. It felt more "grown up", with cracking spec on the higher level models, a refined engine, and a lovely smooth ride. Great seats too. Apart from some gripes over the driving position where the pedals constantly felt too high, I thought it was a cracking little car, but SWMBO and I were just bowled over by the Fiesta's fun factor.
The Corsa we didn't like at all. I have never driven another car that felt so disconnected from the road, which is to my mind inexcusable in a small car. Where the Fiesta's steering and gearbox felt weighty and mechanical, and the Clio's gave some feel for what the front end was doing, every control on the Corsa just felt rubbery, lifeless and vague. It also had horrid overassisted steering, a lumpy ride, and an engine that was quite lively, but very coarse. It was the complete lack of feel from any of the controls that I couldn't get past however, and SWMBO got out after the test drive and used the word "joyless" , which I thought was quite accurate.
We went for a Fiesta 1.4 Zetec which hasn't been troublefree, but has hardly broken the bank to run either. Great chassis, great engine and low running costs. The quality is dreadful in places,but on a B-road it is more fun than you could ever expect from a small cheap runabout.
Cheers
DP
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Thanks DP.
It was the ENCAP rating of the Corsa that made the difference, The steering is odd, I would have preferred a later model Fiesta (mk 6?) but none in the price range.
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Never driven a Corsa C, but the B's I used to drive were truly awful, so vague.
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Actually having been a passenger in the last shape Corsa in both the front and the back, and having owned a MK5 Fiesta, I honestly think that the Fiesta was more roomy. I found I didn't have neough room for my feet in the frint footwell of the Corsa, and the back seat was terrible. The Fiesta on the other hand was very good in the front seat, and although it wouldn't win any awards, was just about acceptable in the rear.
As for driving, it's the Fiesta every time, especially with that cracking little engine that eclipses the Corsa's dreary 1.2 in every way.
For looks, I would say there's very little in it, the MK5 Fiesta is getting a bit dated now, although the 1.6 Zetec-S model is still a bit of a looker, the Corsa is pretty bland too, so not much to swing it either way.
For overall ownership experience I would personally say it has to be the Fiesta, he's also less likely to crash a Fiesta IMO as they are such a predictable little thing to drive, if he does crash it then he's really been trying! :-)
Blue
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If Dave W recommends the Corsa then that's good enough for me ;-)
The insurance for the earlier 1.25 Fiestas is too high for the budget, it's the later 2002 onwards (mk6) Fiestas that can be insured within budget, but very few mk6s appeared in the price range. No doubt Autotrader is stuffed full of them now. The insurance for earlier 1.3 Fiestas is within budget but the 1.3 engine is an elderly lump that should have gone years ago.
Surprisingly, the Yaris range includes a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing, the 1.3 produces 86bhp (it says here) and just about insurable. But image won the day. Shame, I would have enjoyed thrashing a Grannychariot in a wail of VVTi-induced high revs and snatched gear changes.
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This is an old thread but still a relevant question.
Could you elaborate, DaveyK? I think most people agree that a Fiesta is better to drive than the equivalent Corsa, but does the Corsa have other qualities that compensate?
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Corsa - cheaper to insure, alot more spacious than a fiesta, GM parts generally the cheapest around.
Fiesta is not bad, but the Corsa is under-rated.
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Hi all , just bought a 2005 1.4 fiesta and a 2002 1.0 corsa from a local auction .
I wanted the fiesta but wasn't that bothered about buying the corsa .but the price was right .I never thought much of the idea of that little 1.0 3 cylinder engine .it should be in a lawn mower shouldn't it ?
What a surprise ,the corsa was a better to drive than the fiesta and much quieter. I've not had either car serviced and motd yet ,so perhaps the fiesta will improve ,it certainly needs to .
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Hi,wouldn't really want to get into selling a car on this forum ,however just as an observation ,
I recently bought a tidyish merc c class with 90k miles 2003 .full history .the cost was just £200 more than I paid for the 2005 fiesta .
We live in strange times !
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Not really - you're over 36 and the OP was asking about 17 year olds.
And - as many will know - once you buy into the Janis Joplin dream, life can become a nightmare of one huge bill after another.
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Not really - you're over 36 and the OP was asking about 17 year olds.
And - as many will know - once you buy into the Janis Joplin dream, life can become a nightmare of one huge bill after another.
Hi ,
I don't keep any car long enough to spend real money on them .
However the point I was making ,is how can a Mercedes possibly cost nearly the same as a nasty little tin box fiesta .The Mercedes for all its faults is powerful ,reasonably good to look at and good to drive .
You could never accuse a 2005 fiesta of any of that .
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The biggest problem with Ford Fiesta (1995-1999) is that it is damn ugly. Corsa B may loose in handling, but it definitly wins in reliability, accelaration, and styling. There's a reason why so many of them are still on the road! You rarely see Clio, or Punto from the same time period on the roads anymore.
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That's true, good obvservation. There's still loads of old Corsa 'B's around.
My theory is that they were sold here in larger numbers and the well cared for ones are still around. The bodies and subframes don't seem to rust too badly for a small cheap car.
Fords of that age were still rustbuckets, it took them well into the mid 2000s to improve much.
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I would still say its 'reliability'. People get rid of a car when it's repairs cost more than its worth. That rarely hapens with Corsa, but often happens with Fiesta :-)
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Perhaps so. Ford parts prices are what the market can bear, in my experience, and soon go out of stock. GM seem to be lower, but still expensive.
Makes me wonder if a different type of person is inclined to purchase an old Fiesta rather than an old Corsa, and how his profile differs.
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