much of a difference ... ???

Toryglen-boy · 15 Dec 2006 at 22:40

i have a mate who is going from a Fiesta 1.25 Zetec, to an Escort 1.8 Ghia and he asked me if i would notice much of a difference in the cars poke ..

i dont know much about motors at all, so i thought i would ask you guys, as there are a lot of petrol heads on here

is the difference from weight to horses etc. enough to notice a difference?

ta

Adam · 15 Dec 2006 at 22:43

Not really, having driven both the Escort felt very sluggish like a tank. Quite unpleasant to drive imo.

Always have fond memories of my Fiesta 1.25 Zetec, quite nippy and a great little runaround.

Acolyte · 15 Dec 2006 at 22:43

About the same off the mark to about 40 i would imagine, then the 1.8 would be superior top end.

Ive been in both cars and would say thats fairly accurate.

[TW]Fox · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:01

Won't be that much quicker but he will notice a considerable degredation in handling - the Fiesta is a tidy handling little car, the Escort was a dog which was way past its day.

mattpc · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:07

Yes I always thought my parents Fiesta handled well. It used to get a trashing from me, particularly the month before it went back to the lease company. Not driven the Escort but am always puzzled why people do things like swap Mondeo and Fiesta for them. Is the Escort really that much of a chav icon? I guess maybe so because a ***** I used to work with until recently thought that his mate had got a great deal swapping a mk2 mondeo for a riced up Escort LX...

Toryglen-boy · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:23

so whats your advice?

bigger engined fiesta or mondeo? or .... ?

[TW]Fox · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:33

1.25 is pretty much best engine choice in the Fiesta, the other choices are not noticeably quicker really, 1.3 is dire, 1.4 only a little better than the 1.25 and the 1.6 not available until later in the ridiculously overpriced Zetec-S.

Mondeo for the win, then.

Firestar_3x · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:34

Depending how much he has to spend, if you want something thats almost as much fun to chuck around as the fiesta an early focus 1.8 could be an option?

Guigsy · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:37

[TW]Fox said:
1.25 is pretty much best engine choice in the Fiesta, the other choices are not noticeably quicker really, 1.3 is dire, 1.4 only a little better than the 1.25 and the 1.6 not available until later in the ridiculously overpriced Zetec-S.

Mondeo for the win, then.

Totally agree. The 1.25 is definately the sweet spot. Nice peppy motor in a good chassis. It feels like a much bigger car than it is too. I learnt to drive in a white Escort 1.8 with a large spoiler (my driving instructor looked like Arthur Daily, had a cockney accent, smoked cigars and wore a donkey jacket). Unfortunately he was the best guy in town. The Fiesta is nicer to drive and will probably feel quicker.

Focus would be the obvious choice (except the 1.4), but they are probably too expensive.

Early PETROL Mondy would be a good bet.

Phil W · 16 Dec 2006 at 00:07

No the 1.8, but my friend had a 1.6 16v Escort, and i had my little 1.25i 16v Fiesta.

He couldnt get away from me AT ALL, infact he was rather embarrased!

PMKeates · 16 Dec 2006 at 01:55

Phil W said:
No the 1.8, but my friend had a 1.6 16v Escort, and i had my little 1.25i 16v Fiesta.

He couldnt get away from me AT ALL, infact he was rather embarrased!

He probably didn't hold the gears long enough - it's 40 in 1st, 65 2nd, 100 3rd. I pipped many a 1.25 Fiesta in my 1.6 Escort

Mr_White · 16 Dec 2006 at 02:24

It'll be about a second faster to 60, he'll feel the extra torque, top end is irrelevant since you wouldn't want to take either of them to it.

If he's doing it for extra speed, it'd be completely pointless.

Fox is right, mondeo.

Jonny ///M · 16 Dec 2006 at 02:45

Mr_White said:
It'll be about a second faster to 60, he'll feel the extra torque, top end is irrelevant since you wouldn't want to take either of them to it.

If he's doing it for extra speed, it'd be completely pointless.

Fox is right, mondeo.

Fox never suggested a mondeo? Twas the guy above me above the other guy.

Mr_White · 16 Dec 2006 at 02:49

Jonny ///M said:
Fox never suggested a mondeo? Twas the guy above me above the other guy.

Ermm, yes he did.

He was the first to suggest it.

Then Guigsy backed it up, and so did I.

Jonny ///M · 16 Dec 2006 at 03:03

Mr_White said:
Ermm, yes he did.

He was the first to suggest it.

Then Guigsy backed it up, and so did I.

****.....

no more cans for me

Toryglen-boy · 16 Dec 2006 at 05:38

Mr_White said:
It'll be about a second faster to 60, he'll feel the extra torque, top end is irrelevant since you wouldn't want to take either of them to it.

If he's doing it for extra speed, it'd be completely pointless.

Fox is right, mondeo.

he just wants something thats faster than the fiesta from a standing start, and got a bit more pull ... top speed is irelevant, although i should imagine a 1.8 will do motorway speeds way better than a 1.25

come to think of it ... is the 1.8 zetec ??

Mr_White · 16 Dec 2006 at 05:48

Toryglen-boy said:
he just wants something thats faster than the fiesta from a standing start, and got a bit more pull ... top speed is irelevant, although i should imagine a 1.8 will do motorway speeds way better than a 1.25

come to think of it ... is the 1.8 zetec ??

The Escort isn't great, but I'd much rather drive an Escort than a Fiesta for motorway cruising.

It's certainly faster from a standing start, and the extra torque will give it the pull.

Book times are 10.0 seconds 0-60 for the escort, and 11.9 for the fiesta.

Got any more info on it?

Since it might have either the 113bhp engine, which is 9.8 book time to 60, or the 103bhp.

The 1.8 will be Zetec, yes.

I still wouldn't want to spend money on it if I had a perfectly good working car though, tell him to hold off for a while so he can afford something that'll be a far bigger upgrade.