It's coming up to a year since i got my trusty MK6 Escort and i'm getting very fed up with the poor performance and economy of the pathetic 1.3 litre engine it contains. My budget is around 3-4k and the MK5 zetec-s seems the best compromise on performance, economy and insurance costs. Has anyone owned one of these & are they any good?
MK5 fiesta Zetec-s?
- Thread starter Janesy B
- Start date
My Friend has one. Its a very nice little nippy car.... Fuel Economy is quite good when driven sensibly too... Nice little hot hatch
haha 0-60 in over 10 seconds hardly makes it a "hot hatch". They are "nippy" at best. Nice little cars if thats all you want, pretty good looking and they have the running costs of a fiesta so that's even better
the handling makes up for it. plus the lump in these are quite tunable... have a look at the topgear vid where its all over the saxo VTS
great little car! i was set to get one myself until my mileage tripled and i required a derv.
only thing which puts me off is the price of them. they hold their value so well.
i was looking for one about 2 years ago now and they are still practically the same price.
get one, panther black or imperial blue. nothing else counts.
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Yeh, i've had one in the past. Great cars. Only got rid of it because Id had it for years and it required a bit of work.
Do miss the ZS though. Great handling, not a bad engine, no speed demon though.
Nice sporty looks, dont need to change much really, just maybe clear side repeaters and de-tango the headlights. Maybe a little lower if youre into the modification scene.
Go for it, im sure you won't be disappointed.
Do miss the ZS though. Great handling, not a bad engine, no speed demon though.
Nice sporty looks, dont need to change much really, just maybe clear side repeaters and de-tango the headlights. Maybe a little lower if youre into the modification scene.
Go for it, im sure you won't be disappointed.
Isnt it a 1.6? Surely it must be quicker than than if so?
nope. same engine as in the focus.
some had ones out of the factory further towards the 110 mark, but generally they only have 100bhp.
I'm not looking for anything really quick due to insurance costs. The saxo vts would kill me with the insurance plus it's french! When i do get the zetec-s now that i've pretty much made up my mind, i'll keep it bog standard for a year and once the insurance drops down a bit more then i'll spend a few grand on it to make it a proper hot-hatch and maybe even stick the puma 1.7 lump in it
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Well its faster than a normal hatch and designed to be better at handling.... So i call it a hot hatch
I think warm is more appropriate. If the Zetec-S is "hot" then a Focus ST would be a supernova hatch!Well its faster than a normal hatch and designed to be better at handling.... So i call it a hot hatch
have a look at the topgear vid where its all over the saxo VTS
Got a link? I refuse to believe that one of these can run rings round a Saxo VTS.
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i hope you mean racing puma lump
now that would be quite something, a 150bhp mk5 ZS. all other cars after this would just be plain boring
Last time i checked, youtube had taken it down. Tiff was driving them both and the ZS edged the VTS everywhere bar straight line performance. A Corsa SXi was also in the review, and as expected, it was awful
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Saxo VTS is surprisingly crap... I had a little "race" with my friend. He was in a standard VTS and i was in my Panda 1.3... And im telling you now... he didnt get away at all.
120bhp vs a 70bhp diesel? Both weigh the same, and have the same torque. Does your friend only have one foot or something?
im afraid he fails at driving then. or its only badged as a VTS
Most probably a badged VTS....his is probably like a 1.1 or something lol
i hope you mean racing puma lump
now that would be quite something, a 150bhp mk5 ZS. all other cars after this would just be plain boring
Last time i checked, youtube had taken it down. Tiff was driving them both and the ZS edged the VTS everywhere bar straight line performance. A Corsa SXi was also in the review, and as expected, it was awful
I'll see what comes up engine wise, the 1.7 standard engine is still very good and with some money spending on it 160bhp will be within reach, the thing is i don't want to spend a lot money making it go like stink if i can't before to insure it. Like i said i'm not after something really really fast. Just something that won't bore me silly while i build up my no claims bonus and then do something with it. I get too emotionally attached to my cars, i know for i fact i'll miss my 1.3 escort despite how crap it is
My mate has had 3 in the last year. Nothing wrong with them really but he had two lemons. But he sold mainly because he's a tool and **** with money.
Basically, from the passenger seat and alongside my CTR it's a great little car. Handles well, sounds alright and is cheap on insurance and fuel.
It's easy to buy a lemon, really do your homework as some are knocking on 70k+ miles. There is also a facelift model with nicer alloys and black interior rather than grey which is more desirable. Wear in the coloured areas of the steering wheel is very common and unavoidable but can be touched up cheaply.
Basically, from the passenger seat and alongside my CTR it's a great little car. Handles well, sounds alright and is cheap on insurance and fuel.
It's easy to buy a lemon, really do your homework as some are knocking on 70k+ miles. There is also a facelift model with nicer alloys and black interior rather than grey which is more desirable. Wear in the coloured areas of the steering wheel is very common and unavoidable but can be touched up cheaply.
