Ford Fiesta 1.6S

I've owned my Ford Fiesta 1.6s City Car for a year now and at first I almost reluctantly bought it, but eventually it grew on me, it was in fairly rough condition when I bought it but now is almost immaculate through a lot of hard work and a bit (not a lot!) of cash, I've almost replaced everything in the engine and it now runs like new.

Performance wise its great, I've hit 60 in just under 10 secs - not bad for an 8v! The handling is great and the reliability is second to none for a car of its age.

The extra features such as the front fog lamps and boot spoiler are suttle but really set it off.

Overall its like a little rally car! Take it out to country rounds for extra fun!

I've recently bought one of these 1.6S Ford Fiesta s because the insurance on my XR2 was killing me.

What I've got is a car that's a second slower (than the equivalent XR2i) but a good 600 pounds cheaper to insure. I thinks it's worth the sacrifice!

The build quality is good and it's infinitely more solid than the previous fiestas.

It'll hit 60 in around 10 seconds and top out at around 125mph.

I like the car, it uses exactly the same engine as the old Fiesta XR2 which makes it a doddle to work on although it's so bullet proof you may never need to.

This engine does show its age a bit when compared to the K series rover engine and comparable vauxhalls but, like I said, it's solid and reliable.

With the cars twin-choke weber you get 'pleasing' performance and the interior and suspension give you a nice comfy ride.

The S model shares the same braking, suspension and anti roll bars (front and rear!) of the XR2i so it holds the road pretty well.

Things to look out for: Noisey engines (they SHOULD be quiet)

Rust around the fuel filler cap.

Rust on the front and rear vallances

Oil Leaks (usually from the sump or head)

Oil in the water bottle.. if you find this and some white sludge in the oil filler cap it could be new engine time!

Buy one. They only cost around 300 quid and keep the rain off your shopping!