Ford Fiestas, particularly absolutely standard ones with one-and-a-quarter litre engines, are not generally regarded as perfomance cars. Yes, it only had 75bhp. Yes, the kowtowing to emissions regulations creates a torque hole the size of Wales at about 3,000rpm. But let the little Yamaha-designed 16-valver rev how it wants to, and this thing would really shift. Coupled with one of the nicest front-drive chassis you'll ever find in what is basically a shopping car, this Fester is one of the few cars I've driven that can really punch above it's weight. On a point-to-point country lane blast, this baby Ford allowed me to leave far more powerful, expensive machinery behind at the merest hint of a twisty section.

  Bought new in summer 2000, on a W registration, the car taught me a hell of a lot about how much a good chassis meant when it came to making a car fast in the real world, and massively improved my driving in doing so. Although, as a Zetec model, it didn't get aircon, electic windows or even rear speakers for the sound system, I never really cared. I of course toyed with the idea of modifying it in some way, like a bigger engine or a turbo kit, but in the end, it would probably have ruined the balance of the car, and that would just be criminal. The only performance enhancement it received was a nicer gearknob.

  For some reason, this car was always faster than another, practically identical, Fiesta that my Dad had for his business. It may have just been that the other (five-door) car was a bit heavier, or it could have been down to the engine getting a regular workout all the way through it's rev-range, accompanied by a rigid schedule of oil changes (every 3,000 miles...). Even so, though, at the end of the day, seventy-five horsepower can only do so much. I hankered after more power, and wanted to get something rear-wheel-drive, so in the end the Fiesta made way for the BMW.

  I do admit to occasionally missing having the car around - the period in which I was having to drive the Shitroën AX, and thus find out how downright terrible a front-drive hatchback can be was a particularly notable example. But the call of driving eighties stuff again was just too strong to resist...

Current Status
  Sold.

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