Ford FIESTA ZETEC S 16 16v
If The RS Is Fords Hot Fiesta And The ST Is The Warm Hatch Of The Range, It Would Seem The Zetec-S Is Hovering Around Room Temperature. It's Still Enough In 1.6-litre Petrol Form To Generate Some Fun - As Andy Enright Reports
Insurance companies have a great deal to answer for. Back in the day, the apple of any spotty youth's eye was a Fiesta XR2, 84bhp worth of the hottest wildest Fiesta money could buy. As insurance costs rose ever higher and cars became a good deal more powerful, teenagers were priced out of the market. Or have they been? The Zetec-S represents the first rung on the Fiesta performance ladder these days and is a good deal more powerful than the original XR2. What's more it's even reasonably affordable. Who said youth was wasted on the young?
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The Zetec-S is in many ways the spiritual successor to the Fiesta S, a car that those with long memories or huge magazine collections will recall was available in either 1.3 or 1.6-litre guise and while mechanically similar to more regular models in the range, offered ritzier styling. Trouble was, back then ritzier styling encompassed side stripes, some gaudy seats, a rev counter and a rear anti roll bar.
These days, things are a good deal more sophisticated. The Zetec S wears 16-inch alloy wheels and a rear spoiler and features a trick sports suspension set up. Sporty small Fords have always been greeted with great enthusiasm in the UK. Some of them have turned out to be lemons but others have gone down as minor classics.
The Escort RS1600i, the early XR2 and the Escort Cosworth are all well worth a pedal. The Fiesta RS Turbo also proved a hit with aftermarket tuners, many of whom could extract over 200bhp by turning up the wick on the engine software! While the Fiesta Zetec-S can't promise that sort of thrust, it shares its predecessors enthusiasm for a decent set of well cambered bends where it can really show its stuff.
"The Fiesta Zetec S shares its predecessors enthusiasm for a decent set of well cambered bends where it can really show its stuff"
Two models are being offered. There's a petrol version with the 99bhp 1.6-litre engine that will be familiar to Fiesta Ghia and Zetec buyers and then there's a 1.6-litre TDCi diesel-engined version that will appeal to those who prefer a lazier slug of torque and who savour the excellent economy of a diesel engine. With 90bhp on tap, the Zetec S TDCi may not be quite so quick off the mark as the petrol-engined version but it will feel quicker and more muscular when out on the open road, thanks in no small part to its 200Nm of torque - about the same as that generated by a Renaultsport Clio 182. The 16-valve 1.
6-litre engine is certainly no ball of fire but its enough to render the Fiesta a warm hatchling.
Ford claims a sprint to 60mph in 9.9 seconds and a top speed of 114mph and we wouldnt argue with such figures. The engine note is rather uninspiring, but the exhaust sounds a little fruitier in Zetec S guise and a combined fuel consumption figure of 41.
5mpg coupled with manageable insurance ratings means itll doubtless appeal to younger buyers. Where the Fiesta really scores is in the handling stakes. Its road manners have been elevated to a position above and beyond any existing supermini whilst its ride and refinement is comparable with the class best cars like the
Volkswagen Polo and
Skoda Fabia. The steering was obviously engineered by somebody who understands the needs of keen drivers, being nicely weighted and rich in feedback without becoming a wearing distraction.
The seats are a different matter altogether, lacking lateral support at the sort of cornering speeds the excellent chassis routinely coaxes you into. The Fiesta shrugs off mid-corner bumps well and has a genuine big car feel. If theres one complaint about the Fiestas handling, its that it may almost be too clever for its own good. The verve and pizzazz of the old cars handling has been smoothed out.
In making the car more competent, a little of the fun factor has been excised. Get comfortable in the narrow drivers
seat and youll be greeted with a dashboard that adopts many of the quality conventions of the Mondeo range, and thats good news. For those who enjoy tracing the lineage of the design, the Mondeos interior designer was poached from Volkswagen and it shows. Its easy to see where cost has been excised from the Fiesta, competing as it does in a class where margins are utterly cut throat.
Some of the fascia plastics feel somewhat hard and nasty and side airbags cost extra even on this plushest model. Ford have appreciated that the bits of the cars we physically touch most often lend the strongest impression of quality, and to this end have fitted leather-trimmed steering wheels and tactile gear shifters. Another example of intelligent design comes in the shape of rear head restraints that are deliberately uncomfortable when not slid up into their deployed position. This encourages rear seat occupants to utilise them properly but gets around the issue of encumbered rear vision when rear head restraints are traditionally fitted.
The driving position is fairly good, with light pedals and a height adjustable drivers seat. The way that Ford have raised the gearlever onto a pedestal places it quickly to hand. On a practical note, the seats are easy to fold down, those integrated rear headrests making the operation simplicity itself. Where the Fiesta falls down is in the lack of clever cubbyholes and the singular lack of any cup holders.
Grab a takeout from KFC and youd better get used to the Colonels Hot Wings tasting of Fanta. Now that Citroens Saxo and Peugeots 106 are looking a little dog-eared, its time for Ford to re-establish itself as the first choice for keen younger drivers. Some might accuse the Fiesta Zetec S of being a sheep in wolfs clothing. Chances are they wont have driven it.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Ford Fiesta Zetec S 1.6 16v
PRICE: £11,595 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 7E [est]
CO2 EMISSIONS: 159g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 9.9s / Max Speed 114mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 30.7mpg / (extra urban) 52.3mpg /(combined) 41.5mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver's and passenger airbags, IPS, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height 3921/1683/1468mm
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