Polo vs Fiesta

motthomas

Getting my first car for work and its a toss up between a '99 model Polo 1.0 or a '99 model Fiesta 1.25LX. The cars are the same price basically but since its my first time driving a car (been on motorbikes for a few years) the insurance is steep enough on both. Surprisingly though, the Fiesta is not too much more expensive to insure. Its about 100-150euro more expensive.

The question is which do ye reckon is the better car? I know they are fairly different (1.0 vs 1.25, etc.) but in reliability terms and ability to handle frequent enough motorway trips from Limerick to Dublin which would be the better choice? Anybody owned both? I'm leaning towards the Fiesta as it seems a better engine but then again Im concious of the €€s Ill save if I go with the Polo. Comfort and styling mean nothing to me!:p

Thanks lads!

R.O.R

Does that model Polo have power steering? If not, then definately Fiesta.

If both are similar price and specification, go for the best looked after one.

bryaner

Fiesta for me if anything goes wrong very cheap to fix + the 1.25 has a little bit of punch.

Polo's have some problems (pedal box, leaking inner door seals) and can be expensive to fix.

zulfikarMD

I own Fiesta GHIA 1998 1.25 16V and its good in driving. And never driven Polo. I would say you will get Fiesta way cheaper then Polo same year!

hairyman

For me its the feista,as that 1.25 Zetec is a peach,but they are a proper small car in terms of interior space.

Polo is a more spacious car but that 55hp 1.0l would not pull you out of bed on a Tuesday morning and this reflects in the fuel economy.
Reliable of course,but there is nothing on them to break,this is not always a good thing.

bladespin

Having driven both I have to recommend the Fiesta, I do think the VW is better built but it's underpowered and the gears are wrong for motorway work, lovely car otherwise though, the Fiesta is bigger inside and it just as easy to drive, servicing and repairs would work out a lot cheaper.

Stevie Dakota

Go for the Ford, more fun to drive and cheap to keep going. The 1.25 was co-developed with Yamaha and has links to the R1. As a former biker you will still have bragging rights!

Pimp Ninja

I do drive a 01 fiesta.1242 zetec. Roughly 42mpg. I do about 50 mules per day including M1 and m50.

Had the car since 2002 and never had a days trouble.

wayne0308

My parents had a 1.25 fiesta of the same year and it was wicked bad for petrol (they tell me about 28MPG). I have a 2001 polo 1.0L at the moment, so I assume it's the same engine and the cars would be similar on petrol, I'm getting about 44 MPG with it, with a good mix of town and open road driving.

If fuel efficiency doesn't matter, I'd just get the one that you reckon is the best looked after.

Max Power1

wayne0308 wrote: »

My parents had a 1.25 fiesta of the same year and it was wicked bad for petrol (they tell me about 28MPG). I have a 2001 polo 1.0L at the moment, so I assume it's the same engine and the cars would be similar on petrol, I'm getting about 44 MPG with it, with a good mix of town and open road driving.

If fuel efficiency doesn't matter, I'd just get the one that you reckon is the best looked after.

SOmething wrong with that one then. The 1.25 fiesta should get around 40 MPG.

I have the 1.3 (the older pushrod engine) in a mk4 fiesta and it gets 38-39 mpg and thats including town driving and some motorway.

wayne0308

Max Power1 wrote: »

SOmething wrong with that one then. The 1.25 fiesta should get around 40 MPG.

I have the 1.3 (the older pushrod engine) in a mk4 fiesta and it gets 38-39 mpg and thats including town driving and some motorway.

It was new when they had it, had a fair few problems at the time and a fair few trips to mechanic but the fuel efficiency was always about that they say. Could very well have been something that wasn't picked up. They had the car for about 2 years.

Mc Love

hairyman wrote: »

For me its the feista,as that 1.25 Zetec is a peach,but they are a proper small car in terms of interior space.

OP said LX model - :rolleyes:

The zetec is a nice little mover though.

Buy a Pug 206 - grand car, good to start off with too

R.O.R

Mc Love wrote: »

OP said LX model - :rolleyes:

But obviously :rolleyes: is sarcasm as you know that Zetec is a series of engines as well as specification levels :rolleyes:

hairyman

Mc Love wrote: »

OP said LX model - :rolleyes:

The zetec is a nice little mover though.

Buy a Pug 206 - grand car, good to start off with too

Buy a pug 206 as your first car!!!!!!,,:rolleyes:
Might as well get him to start lighting the fire with the money out of his wallet,,:rolleyes:


As Mr R.O.R has said,you can indeed get an LX fiesta with the aforementioned 1.25l Zetec.

Mc Love

hairyman wrote: »

Buy a pug 206 as your first car!!!!!!,,:rolleyes:
Might as well get him to start lighting the fire with the money out of his wallet,,:rolleyes:


As Mr R.O.R has said,you can indeed get am LX fiesta with the aforementioned 1.25l Zetec.

Had two Pug 206 and never had a problem with either 00 & 04

corktina

our 2002 Fiesta Ghia 1.25ZETEC is a peach...done about 80000 miles since we got it, cost us very little in repairs and does 45mpg no prob.

So good we now have a 1.6 fester as well which is even better

Mc Love

R.O.R wrote: »

But obviously :rolleyes: is sarcasm as you know that Zetec is a series of engines as well as specification levels :rolleyes:

My bad :rolleyes:

bryaner

Mc Love wrote: »

OP said LX model - :rolleyes:

The zetec is a nice little mover though.

Buy a Pug 206 - grand car, good to start off with too

French motor..:eek:

Don't do it to yourself op.

furtzy

Wife has a 06 1.25 Zetec fester.....lovely rev happy punchy little engine. Handling is top notch as well. Actually like driving it ....although it is purple

motthomas

Wow. Thats a pretty overwhelming bid for the Fiesta!:) The more I think about it the better it seems alright. The bit of extra poke definately wouldnt go astray. Plus I can get the discount on insurance with aviva if I do the ignition course so that will drop it to acceptable levels.

Someone mentioned a 206... no interest whatsoever! A friend had one and it caused nothing but problems. I was also advised by a reputable mechanic to steer clear of anything French and Opel! As I said though size, comfort, extras, etc are not an issue at all for me. All Im looking for is a car to get me to and from work whatever the weather! I still have the bike for the weekend fun!:D Cheers!

R.O.R

motthomas wrote: »

Wow. Thats a pretty overwhelming bid for the Fiesta!:) The more I think about it the better it seems alright. The bit of extra poke definately wouldnt go astray. Plus I can get the discount on insurance with aviva if I do the ignition course so that will drop it to acceptable levels.

Someone mentioned a 206... no interest whatsoever! A friend had one and it caused nothing but problems. I was also advised by a reputable mechanic to steer clear of anything French and Opel! As I said though size, comfort, extras, etc are not an issue at all for me. All Im looking for is a car to get me to and from work whatever the weather! I still have the bike for the weekend fun!:D Cheers!

I wouldn't discount the Renault Clio just because it's French. Despite questionable build quality on the rest of the Renault range, the Clio has always been pretty rock solid, and probably a higher level of standard kit then it's competitors. Had 3 in the family between 98 and 2007 and the only issue was timing belt snapped on one after 8 years as it had never been changed (only €500 to get it back on the road).

Also - the 07 Clio 1.2 3dr Sport Plus downstairs in the garage with 177,695kms is quite a testimony to the little car.

hairyman

Nor would I completely discount the Corsa,,,,the 3 cylinder 1.0 is a dog but the 1.2 is a better effort.

motthomas

Im steering well clear of Opels Im afraid. As well as having mechanics tell me to, almost every one I know has pretty big electrical problems. That includes the family car which decided to catch fire one day a few years ago due to an electrical fault! Im sure theres good ones out there but Im not about to take the chance.

hairyman

What kind of shackles are you looking to spend mate?,

motthomas

In and around €1000 for the car looks like it will get me a decent mk4 fiesta or similar with tax and nct. Dont want to spend much more. Insurance is coming in steep enough for me too so Im not sure if I can afford much more than that for now either!

hairyman

You could also pick up the likes of a Suzuki swift or a fourth gen 80 series starlet.

No doubt they will be unburstable but they will also be miles away from the Fiesta or Polo in terms of refinement and driving pleasure.

Sneaking suspicion they would be dearer to insure.

Tea 1000

hairyman wrote: »

You could also pick up the likes of a Suzuki swift or a fourth gen 80 series starlet.

No doubt they will be unburstable but they will also be miles away from the Fiesta or Polo in terms of refinement and driving pleasure.

Sneaking suspicion they would be dearer to insure.

Driving pleasure? 50bhp Polo? I don't think so!

hairyman

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Driving pleasure? 50bhp Polo? I don't think so!

Lol!
You know what I mean.

motthomas

Id love one of the 4th gen starlets along the line! Love them old cars!:) Right now its a box with an engine that can get me from A to B that Im looking for!:p The Fiesta seems to be the way to go alright. A lot of positive views on them here.

David09

+1 for the fiesta. I've had a string of them, both zetec and pushrod engined types.
If you plump for a zetec, make sure that when the car is serviced that it gets 5w30 oil. The timing belt intervals are 80k miles and the whole kit should be bought, not just the belt itself.
Zetec is a little harder on fuel than the 1.3 pushrod, but zetec has more acceleration. The pushrod isn't a bad car either, just a little noisier at idle.

Zubeneschamali

David09 wrote: »

The pushrod isn't a bad car either, just a little noisier sounds like a bag of spanners at idle.

FYP

Max Power1

Sounds like a tractor engine tbh

cyrusdvirus

Used have the 1.25 99 fiesta...... Man i loved that car. Great city driving, good distance driving (I'm 6'2 so i knew about a long journey, but would be able to do Dublin-Tralee and still do a days work.)

Someone robbed and killed it on me though.

Tea 1000

David09 wrote: »

+1 for the fiesta. I've had a string of them, both zetec and pushrod engined types.
If you plump for a zetec, make sure that when the car is serviced that it gets 5w30 oil. The timing belt intervals are 80k miles and the whole kit should be bought, not just the belt itself.
Zetec is a little harder on fuel than the 1.3 pushrod, but zetec has more acceleration. The pushrod isn't a bad car either, just a little noisier at idle.

Ah the pushrod is chronic to be fair. The old 1.1 was thirstier than a 2 litre in a modern car too!

BronsonTB

OP: Fiesta every time (Had 4 and get a ghia model if you can)

hairyman

The 1300 pushrod is a great little engine,its tappety as hell but unburstable.