Mini vs Fiesta for the doris!

Skynet-T800 · 20 Jan 2015 at 22:19

Hi,

My wife is looking to upgrade from the Ford Ka which is a nice little runner but small and under powered.

She is torn between these two cars (both 5 doors) the Mini One 1.2 with a basic pack but covers all the essentials or a Ford Fiesta Zetec with the 1ltr ecoboost engine which I think is 3 cylinders plus a teeny tiny turbo which works a treat.

Anybody with any experience with the two? Shes not fussed about owt else just these two, price wise there roughly the same, the Mini dealership I have to say is much better is all aspects.

They both drove well the mini felt better built?

Any yays or nays with either?

Thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers

radderfire · 20 Jan 2015 at 23:49

Skynet-T800 said:
They both drove well the mini felt better built?

I've never been in a new Mini, but I would expect it to be better built and of superior quality to the Fiesta. Just looking at the interior it looks superior.

Also, I would rather buy German than American.

Rgds

eatcustard · 21 Jan 2015 at 08:00

Mini > Fiesta by a long shot, and the resale value will be much better with the Mini.

Mickey · 21 Jan 2015 at 09:25

Out of those two cars, I'd probably take the Fiesta.

I'm not sure how it varies between the different trim levels, but after having a Mini as a courtesy car a few times the only thing that sticks with me is how incredibly cheap the interior of them feels. I honestly can't believe how much people pay to sit in such a rubbish feeling car.

I've had the current shape Fiesta as a hire cars on holiday and it feels a much nicer place to be. The overall quality of the car might not be as good, but neither are going to be bad, and I'd rather have a car that feels nicer day to day.

Another option to look at is the Audi A1, we have one and to me it just feels a level above either of the others I've driven. Of course, it's possible that the A1 we have is just a higher trim level than either of the others I drove

Rybo89 · 21 Jan 2015 at 09:42

The minis interior just gives me a headache, utterly awful. The boot size is appalling.

If you have kids or like to do more than a £20 food shop, I would go with the Fiesta.

Mind you I am basing this on a 2004 mini cooper I had for a bit. So could be completely irrelevant when it comes to the new models.

They still look the same

DAIR · 21 Jan 2015 at 09:57

Sorry I disagree. The boot space on offer is extremely generous!

rodenal · 21 Jan 2015 at 11:23

lol, you know that's not comparable

It's got to be personal preference really, the Mini will cost a decent bit more to buy but may well even out in terms of real world residuals (i.e £'s lost, not %).

As above the fiesta is more practical if that's important to you, if you don't get one of the servicing plans (why wouldn't you tbh?) then the mini will likely cost a bit more to run over the term too

Dr Who · 21 Jan 2015 at 11:51

radderfire said:
I've never been in a new Mini, but I would expect it to be better built and of superior quality to the Fiesta. Just looking at the interior it looks superior.

Also, I would rather buy German than American.

Rgds

Mini is made in the UK with an engine made by tritec (1st gen) in Brazil or a Peugot/BMW engine assembled either in france or UK.

The fiesta is assembled all over the world, some in Germany.

So which is it your are recommending?

radderfire · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:11

I'm talking about the ultimate ownership of the company with regard to German v American. Regardless of where the manufacturing is actually done, in my opinion the Germans are better at producing a high quality product than the Americans. Also, I would rather support the European economy than the American economy with my car purchase.

Rgds

Kemik · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:27

Fiesta will be cheaper to service and maintain. Likely to lose value quicker but interior will roughly be the same in quality. Interior will depend purely on personal preference.

I'm surprised the Mini costs the same as the Fiesta, would have thought the Fiesta would be cheaper. MPG must surely be better than the Mini? The engine in the Fiesta is great. If buying new have you tried the usual websites such as Orange Wheels and Drivethedeal?

As for boot space, figures are below:

Fiesta
Boot space (with rear seats up) – 276 – 290 litres
Boot space (with rear seats down) – 960 – 974 litres

Mini
3DR: (with seats up) - 211 litres
3DR: (with seats down) - 731
5DR: (with seats up) - 278 litres
5DR: (with seats down) - 941

mccarf · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:30

When I drove a new fiesta I was extremely impressed with how quiet and comfortable it was for such a small car. The only thing that let it down for me was the seats which had no side support at all.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:31

radderfire said:
I'm talking about the ultimate ownership of the company with regard to German v American. Regardless of where the manufacturing is actually done, in my opinion the Germans are better at producing a high quality product than the Americans. Also, I would rather support the European economy than the American economy with my car purchase.

Rgds

This is a completely bizarre post - I sort of get the sentiment but it's absolutely not how it works. The benefit to the economy of both cars is probably roughly equal as pretty much everything to do with either is done in the EU using EU labour.

The Americans have almost no part to play in the Fiesta's production beyond perhaps final sign off.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:34

Kemik said:
Fiesta will be cheaper to service and maintain. Likely to lose value quicker but interior will roughly be the same in quality. Interior will depend purely on personal preference.

Are you just making this up as you go along? 'Likely' and 'roughly' seem to imply you've no real experience of either car and are just making assumptions. Which is fair enough but surely this is of limited value.

The servicing costs on the Mini are probably about as low as it gets - 99% of new Mini's are sold with a TLC package which includes all servicing for 5 years. It is extended after 5 years for limited cost. The depreciation on the Mini is also very low - IMHO in terms of total ownership cost I doubt there is a single supermini that is cheaper to own than the Mini.

I'm surprised the Mini costs the same as the Fiesta, would have thought the Fiesta would be cheaper.

To be fair he is looking at the absolute worst Mini you can get - the 1.2 litre One. It's therefore not a surprise that a base Mini costs a similar amount to a half decent Fiesta. This for me is the only really argument in favour of Fiesta, it'll be a better spec example for the money.

MPG must surely be better than the Mini?

Why must it 'surely' be better? I'd imagine both are broadly similar?

ElliottJames · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:39

My thoughts - don't cry troll.

If she wants to be taken seriously, get a quality car, preferably of the German make. A C class or A4 or even a 3 series. It oozes class, and is not to expensive, in fact quite cheap. Remember, people form an opinion on you within 3 seconds of seeing you. A ford fiesta or mini is just too common, why buy something where the person in front of you or behind is driving it.

Look at a 1 Series 120i or an A class 220/AMG if you have the budget to stretch

Not troll btw, image is everything - you wouldn't buy a £30 suit would you if you had to use it everyday? So why buy trash.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:43

Yes, a 3 Series, a fantastic alternative to a 3 cylinder Fiesta.

Stupid post, as per usual.

A ford fiesta or mini is just too common, why buy something where the person in front of you or behind is driving it.

Actually you raise a good point. Definitely get the 3 Series. It's rare and exclusive. For extra exclusivity be sure to get one with all the important look at me bling spec and none of the substance

Kemik · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:44

[TW]Fox;27511722 said:
Are you just making this up as you go along? 'Likely' and 'roughly' seem to imply you've no real experience of either car and are just making assumptions. Which is fair enough but surely this is of limited value.
...
Why must it 'surely' be better? I'd imagine both are broadly similar?

Don't hold back mate... No, I'm not making this up as I go along. I've had two of these model Fiestas (Zetec S and ST though so different engines granted), my brother has had two, and my Dad has had one. My mum and gf owns Mini Coopers and my brother has the new model Cooper S. My service point was wrong but the rest were perfectly true. Interior is down to personal preference. Some like the big, bold look of the Mini interior. Others prefer something a bit more traditional and composed. Fiestas don't do well at holding value. Minis have an imagine around them so yes, I'm guessing they do.

The reason I guestimating is because I'm not up to date on the latest model Mini that got released last year. I know the Fiestas do amazing MPG from the Ecoboot engine (50+ mpg) and Minis have never previously done particularly well in my experience. This obviously could have changed with the latest engines.

The servicing costs on the Mini are probably about as low as it gets - 99% of new Mini's are sold with a TLC package which includes all servicing for 5 years. It is extended after 5 years for limited cost. The depreciation on the Mini is also very low - IMHO in terms of total ownership cost I doubt there is a single supermini that is cheaper to own than the Mini.

Fair enough. I'm only going off the experience that BMW parts are expensive and Ford parts are cheap. Suppose it depends on how long they are keeping the car.

To be fair he is looking at the absolute worst Mini you can get - the 1.2 litre One. It's therefore not a surprise that a base Mini costs a similar amount to a half decent Fiesta. This for me is the only really argument in favour of Fiesta, it'll be a better spec example for the money.

Mini One vs Fiesta Zetec - I personally would go for the Fiesta. They're more practical and come with more extras included in the price. Not sure how insurance and road tax compares.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:46

Parts costs are an irrelevance really, its a brand new with inclusive servicing for at least 5 years, a comprehensive warranty that is cheap to extend, etc etc.

ElliottJames · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:46

[TW]Fox;27511767 said:
Yes, a 3 Series, a fantastic alternative to a 3 cylinder Fiesta.

Stupid post, as per usual.

Actually you raise a good point. Definitely get the 3 Series. It's rare and exclusive. For extra exclusivity be sure to get one with all the important look at me bling spec and none of the substance

It sure isn't as common as a Fiesta, heck I'm not even bigging my 3 series up because it's not amazing in the scheme of things - hey, an X6 is a bit better than a 3 series surely Fox my friend.

Kemik · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:51

[TW]Fox;27511782 said:
Parts costs are an irrelevance really, its a brand new with inclusive servicing for at least 5 years, a comprehensive warranty that is cheap to extend, etc etc.

Well at least you were right to flame my entire post for one point then hey

Ignore all of the other points I made.

Rybo89 · 21 Jan 2015 at 12:51