Ford Fiesta XR2 Review

Good Points
Stripped down shape of things to come! Great handling, good performance and really easy to work on made this a breath of fresh air in the miserable early eighties.
Fantastic looks, subtle external cues and a real purposeful stance in the road.

Bad Points
Now it's rust, rust and more rust - particularly sills, arches, boot floor. Shocks start to struggle after a few miles and of course the usual Ford oil leeks! Finding a nice one with a relatively unspoiled interior is a challenge. Very basic by today's standards - but that makes me love it even more! Parts are becoming rare which can mean you pay over the odds for standard parts.

General Comments
I had a Ford Fiesta XR2 in the late eighties and remember selling it to my neighbour to get a Mk1 MR2.. Whilst the MR2 was great at the time I remember dropping my neighbour off to a party in the XR one night and I had a sinking feeling of regret come over me.
Have coveted them ever since and much to my wife's dismay bought a really great condition, low mileage Mk1 last summer.
Mide life crisis....who cares, it's still agreat car and an often overlooked step in the evolution of the family friendly hot hatch!