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| The Little Fiesta after dark, when most parties get going. |
It’s been a year and a half and 42,000 miles with my 2016
Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost.
Let’s start with why I bought this car. At the time of
purchase, I was spending over $1000 a month on gas in a two-driver household. I
drive a lot, what can I say? I was mostly riding solo or with one other person
and bringing back small items from the centers of blessed consumerism, yeah
capitalism!
If that was the case, it means that all I really needed was
a small, fuel-efficient car.
I love small cars anyway so shopping at the shallow end of the pool was no sacrifice for me; but I
do have a couple of very important criteria.
First, it must have a manual gear box. I believe that, short
of uncontrolled vomiting at a job interview, there is nothing worse than
driving a small car with an automatic transmission. I don’t care how efficient
the new auto-boxes are, they are un-involving and uninspiring. An automatic
versus a manual in a small car is the difference between driving a
weather-proof golf cart or enjoying a spirited little machine while channeling
memories of the original Italian Job movie.
I also believe that is why Americans hate small cars so
much; they get them with slush boxes. A small car with an automatic
transmission seems like less of a choice and more of a concession; a constant
reminder of your poor planning. That is also, I think, why small cars are so
abused; most people who buy them try to break them as fast as possible so
they can rationalize a payment, higher fuel costs, and more expensive insurance
on a bigger car.
My second criteria is this skate must be cheap. I need big
MPG, reliability, and low operating cost. This car will do the donkey work
while diverting as little money as possible away from my fun cars.
For most folks when they think big MPG they think hybrid;
and for most folks that’s fine. I drove many Toyota Prius and although lack of
a manual is a show stopper, the car’s inherent boredom keeps the show from
starting in the first place. I have never been entombed in a more lifeless,
uninspiring, soul-sucking transportation appliance in all my days. Driving a
Prius, my mind wanders and I’m alone with my thoughts. Soon, I’m questioning
everything and probing the pointlessness of my life. I don’t need self-doubt as
a roommate in my head, putting its feet comfortably up on the coffee table of
my mind. Even when you boot up the Prius there is the slightest delay as if the
car is asking, “Are you sure you want to do this? You may want to consider a
nap instead.”
There is only one hybrid with a manual transmission,
however, that is the two-seat Honda CR-Z. The CR-Z is an interesting car but I
want the option of carrying a third or fourth person in a pinch.
I found myself at a Ford store some 100 miles from my house,
first driving, then pressing hard on three copies of a sales contract. I bought
the car, out the proverbial door, for about $13,000. That price included the
basic features; power windows, cruise, the entry-level Ford Sync system and air
conditioning of course. A year and a half later, a three-cylinder thrum and
faint turbo whine has become the sound track of my life’s little journeys.
The car is a competent handler and can climb the 1,800 foot
mountains that stand between me and the civilized world in fifth gear at 70
miles per hour. The car averages about 43 miles per gallon up the mountain and
around town and up to 51 on the highway with as much as 530 miles between fill
ups. I think the worst gas mileage I recorded was 35 (keep reading for an
explanation). Since new, with 125 miles on the clock, the car increased fuel
mileage every 2,000 miles until it plateaued at 20,000 where it’s been consistent.
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| Badges we don’t need no…OK its been done. The Fiesta SFE, and the F stands for fuel efficiency; add a small f for fun. |
The only time we had to return to the dealer was to have the
front struts replaced under warranty. The first strut blew at about 10,000
miles with the second followed about 5,000 later. I don’t know who’s supplying
Ford with struts for the Fiesta but they need to renegotiate that contract.
Now that the car is out of the bumper-to-bumper warranty, if the struts go again
I’m replacing them with the Ford Racing stage one suspension kit, $300 for
struts, shocks, and lowering springs. Come-on bad shocks!
Last summer I was driving a 25-mile long wooded two lane,
straight as an arrow with no houses or business, just trees. I was doing about
70 MPH when a Dodge Charger passed me with a woosh and a slight push of his bow
wave. I let him get about a quarter mile ahead of me, then I stared pacing him.
We were doing between 90 and 100 MPH and the Ford’s little three-pot mill was
doing just fine for about 15 miles before I backed off as we emerged from the
trees to the first houses. The car was tracking straight and true with no shake
and the motor having more to give. I think back to the 1980’s and I doubt
few base-model econo-boxes could have done a hundred with so little drama and
with room to spare.
Our plan is to keep this car for hundreds of thousands of
miles, to that end, I change the oil with Motorcraft oil and filter at half the
recommended intervals. Unlike most folks, I don’t try to destroy the Fiesta
because it was cheap, I drive enthusiastically, but I take care of the car as well.
I believe the money in a cheap car is in the longevity; if it was already cheap
to buy and run, the longer you keep it the more you save. I would rather fatten
the financial kitty for more interesting cars than run an expensive daily
driver.
Another interesting note is that I replaced the car’s
standard low rolling resistance tires with Firestone 710 all-seasons. The
original tires were getting dangerous in the wet after about 30,000 miles of
wear.
I expected to lose some gas mileage with the all-season
tires but my mileage went from an average of 43 to 35, yikes! The wet and snow
traction improved dramatically but I didn’t expect such a fuel economy penalty.
As the tires broke in, however, my mileage started to climb back into the low
40’s.
I would recommend the 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta to anyone that’s
looking for an efficient small car that’s fun to drive with a smooth shifting
gear box and light clutch. The other fun triple out there in auto-land is the Mini, a fine car but with only two doors and no stowage room, you must
sacrifice a little day-to-day practicality. Which reminds me, my Fiesta is the
sedan, which was a bit of a blow to this hatch back lover. The trunk is
enormous for a car of its size, so I have no regrets.
Stay tuned to see the reliability of this car as we pile on
the miles. I expect the 60,000 mile power train warranty won’t make it past
this next fall with the summer trips we have planned. Once the warranty is out,
any problems with the little Ecoboost are up to my cunning and ingenuity to
repair; fingers crossed.
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