The end of the Ford Fiesta

I’m just starting to look at cars, was going to be the new Civic but tempted by an ST now. Not sure if / when I’ll be selling but DM me and I can let you know.

I hope this kills Ford - or at least comes close enough to killing them. It's unforgivable, abandoning decent, worthy cars like the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo, in favour of pointless, ugly wastes of space like the Kuga and the Puma. The SUV/crossover craze can't go on forever. At some point, the fools who buy them will realise that they're being conned.

I think Ford in Europe is a complete mess now and it’s symptomatic of their problems when they are going to discard such a strong household name like this. Built up over decades.

Their range is awful, I like the Focus but looks like that’s going to be let wither on the vine too. The Kuga is uglier with the newest generated model. The Puma isn’t bad but it’s nothing special and certainly is nothing that Toyota or Hyundai are doing better. They still have a big dealer network in Ireland but that can’t last as it slips down the sales rankings.

I've one of those 125ps models as well (18), that remap is interesting. Is the whole process just a matter of plugging in the magic box & would you recommend it? Presume it can be reversed if needed also?

First car I drove, and later owned through inheritance, was a first gen 1983, 998cc or something. Brilliant car, light and quick. Not fast, though.

Second main car for me was a 00 Ghia. Bulletproof engine. Bugger all maintenance/repairs except standard wear stuff. But underbody rust did for it, and not even my previously trusted bodywork guy would do it. I had nursed it for 22 years, but too much hassle for him.

I salute the Fiesta!

Rust is/was a major issue on older fiestas and fords in general.

Never thought I’d say this but Opels range is far more appealing now than Fords. Give me a Corsa any day over the fiesta

Or an Insignia over a Mondeo because you can not get a Mondeo now lol. An Astra over a Focus. A real pity about the Focus as the original was so game changing. The brother had one a 5 door.

They lost there way do with the following generations. I really think once Ford started trying to be VW it all started to wrong for them. They should have stayed to being Ford, innovative and not afraid to rock the boat. They did come out with a few more gems like the S-Max and C-Max and the last two Mondeos but by then it was too little too late.

As for Vans anyone notice the latest VW Caddy is basically a Ford Transit Connect and looks so cheap. It does not look like a VW at all inside or outside. A pity as the Caddy used to be a great little van.

My first car.

I'm sure many people can say that..

My work got one of those new Caddy’s and it feels very VW inside, its got the software glitches just like a Golf, infuriatingly counterintuitive touch controls for things like lighting and heating too, and in VW tradition it has a 5 speed box with the 2.0 TDI engine detuned to 75bhp. Couldn’t be more of a VW. They also have Berlingo/Partner/Connect and to be fair the Caddy is miles ahead of those.

So what are Ford dealers going to be selling going forward? Puma, Kuga mustang E and a few commercials? I can understand them getting out of classes that are less popular but replacing them with nothing sounds like a road to oblivion. They really appear to be retracting to a North American only brand now.