Hello, I'm a new user
 

Hello everyone,

I've looked at fuel economy on many cars on Fuelly for years. I do like to drive efficiently and have read all of the tips as well as used about every tip possible. I still have to browse forums for one answer to a question. I'm looking at buying a 2014-2016 Ford Fiesta Ecoboost 1.0. I looked at all the excellent data by contributors about fuel economy. What I still can't find is how reliable they are. I've had good success with a Ford and Hyundai previously. Any informative input would be appreciated. Thanks:)

Welcome to the forum :)

Most of us who have owned hybrids do not re-purchase a hybrid. A recent article on best 10 worst 10 vehicles listed the Focus and perhaps this one, although the outstanding worst manufacturer was Fiat/Chrysler.

The Fiesta isn't a hybrid; just a tiny engine with a turbo.

The current conclusion looks as if reliability is possibly higher than some news sources and credible websites state i.e. Edmunds, U.S. news car rankings, etc. Some of the information is just bogus. Some was based from recalls that may or may not have effected the car. There's tons of them on the road. I've never seen one broke down. There's some for sale with the 1.6 MT with 120-140k miles that haven't had any transmission swaps or rebuilt/replaced engines. Literally that's probably good enough for me. Maybe some users don't come on forums at all or much. Maybe I can email them to ask reliability questions. I've had older Fords that have had excellent reliability. I don't thrash any vehicles to begin with which is probably why there's a slight stronger persuasion to buy another one. Thanks for the replies. I'm not stuck on a Fiesta but it has all the performance criteria that I like. I'm going to keep researching.

The Fiesta is as reliable as any other modern, mass produced car. The 1.0 litre Ecoboost engine is quite highly stressed so proper maintenance protocol is very important. My sister-in-law had one and has just replaced it with a Ecoboost Focus, so she was happy.

TrueDelta is a source for reliability data submitted by actual owners. Need a subscription to see their entire database, but the free data is not skimped on.
https://www.truedelta.com/

From a quick look, the Fiesta suffers from issues in the HVAC system(blend door), leaking axle seals, and one 1.0L had a head gasket failure at 56k miles, with the entire engine replaced under warranty. The DCT isn't an option with the 1 Liter, so no worries about that.
https://www.truedelta.com/Ford-Fiest...-301,2014-2017

Here in the UK, warranty direct issue warranties on cars that have exceeded the manufacturers standard warranty. They collate the data and rank each car individualy, the closer to zero the better. The Fiesta score just 23 which is excellent, compare that to some of the German stuff that scores 300-400!

https://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/308

That all sounds about right. I'll be getting a U.S. spec. The UK data would be accurate though because of where the engine is made and how much longer people have had their cars on the model year vs. the U.S... I'm looking at ones with 50-60k miles. One has almost all highway miles and doesn't sound too scarey if at all. The prices have finally started to tumble fast from dealerships and private owners. It looks like these have timing chains and not belts? One dealer I emailed said a chain on the 1.6, so it seems the 1.0 would have one too? The other reason I know at least the engine is good is it's not in the 2018 U.S. Fiesta but it's still in the Focus and now added to the 2018 Ecosport so it has to have a decent track record theoretically or Ford would have axed it completely. Good information from everyone. It's greatly appreciated. One thing that doesn't bug me is if the car I buy didn't have the recalls taken care of I have no problem with that and I'm extremely strict on maintenance. I don't hot-rod anything unless it's absolutely necessary. Most all of my cars go between 100k - 200k without engine or transmission issues strictly by being conservative.

My only warning as regards to fuel economy, is that these tiny engines perform well in the lab tests, but in real life, they often work very hard and attempts to get decent fuel economy can be difficult. That being said, the Fiesta is quite a small car, so the effects won't be as great, but you get similar sized engines in mid sized hatches like the focus, even some small crossovers here, and aerodynamics and weight become challenges for small capacity engines like this.

If it were my pick, I'd try and get the 1.0. Litre ecoboost with 140 bhp, as it's the most powerful engine of that size, so you don't have to sacrifice performance in search of good fuel economy. Note, the diesel engined Fiesta recently got 126 UK MPG in a recent event, shame it's not available over there!

@Draigflag In the U.S. if anyone gets 35 mpg combined and up we're doing good. I'll only truly understand UK cycle if I travel some day and I would pick a diesel variant for a rental vehicle probably with a manual. All the good cars us enthusiasts want here in the U.S. are in the U.K. Our journalist throw it in our face daily. They always say we tested it but you can't get it. Whatever. At least our regulations recently got better since we get 4 to 5 new diesels this year as they were almost completely banned in the last 3 years. Some of the fuel efficient cars we have now are excellent. Here the Fiesta 1.0 usually averages 39-40 combined which is super high. Even more for hypermilers, etc. Usually people average 45 mpg in one when most of the hybrids hit the same numbers and don't have all the good driving dynamics and torque thrust.

car-enthusiast, be aware that US gallons, which are used in the US and some Latin American and Caribbean countries, are smaller than UK gallons.
A US gallon is 3.79 litres (to two decimal places) and a UK gallon is 4.55.
My car averages 54 UK mpg but only 45 US mpg!
Any UK mpg figures you read need to be divided by 1.2 to get an equivalent US figure.

Yea I hear you there, always disappointed just how boring the car market is in the US, must drive you guys nuts. Its ok if you want to waft around in a big slow thirsty SUV with zero character and a slushy gearbox, or a big bland sedan that handles like a yacht. Just not enough people who appreciate a good car or a good road to support the limited market.

Having said that, the older generation with their stubborn old fashioned attitudes towards certain brands are slowly dying out, and other marques are making it back to the US thank God. Alfa, Fiat, hopefully soon Renault or Citroën/Peugeot, cars with style and character that are actually awesome to drive and handle like a stabbed rat!

@JockoT Thanks for the conversion. So despite all conversions many numbers probably end up close to the same. I'm sure there's still a bunch of UK cars that dust ours here in the U.S. We still have the occasional few that hypermile their hybrids and claim 70 mpg but how sustained are those numbers? It's not a big deal relatively but it's nice for number crunchers who have turned it into a money-ball game. It's like the nerd's sport you could say and I don't mean that offensively. I've gone the full gamut of driving styles with different vehicles over the years. I beat every economy number people tell me I can't if I decide to, all safely and not annoying to other traffic.

@Draigflag (warning lots of info ahead) Here's one that easy to source if you Google this - and I stand by this - only 22% of Americans know how to drive a stick! No one teaches driving a manual at all. At driver's education courses for first drivers all of the cars are automatics. Even in rural or farm areas many still don't drive a stick. I agree with the whole anti-SUV sentiment. Blame that on the 1991 Ford Explorer, because it set off the true wave of super-sizing. My main cars have all been subcompacts, some even with one-size up interiors. They just about all rival what our 1998 era Toyota Camry was (midsize) back then. Most will not like this comment but the best car I ever drove for cities (parking, turning circle, interior space) was a 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage MT. It's effortless. Easy clutch, super sharp turn radius. It makes slow 90 degree turns like nothing I've ever driven. For the U.S. you don't even have to parallel park it's so small, you can just slip in forward most of the time. Everything is perspective but the smaller categories of vehicles have charm. There's more enigma there than with an 4-8k lb washing machine. Those cars are even easy to overtake even with a 74 horsepower car on a freeway.

Thanks to everyone for replies. Technically I should be on another forum category or start a new post. I can easily go on specific tangets. Cars are my hobby. I like to find the answers to automotive questions that aren't so easy to come by. Then when that happens I know what can be worked with and also help others. There is a market gray area, most of it's opinion but when your cars aren't reliable or you're not in a situation to easily replace one the learning curve can be fast. So there's my late true intro. A preference to drive smaller cars and even understand car culture abroad. It never gets dull. I just had to ask a few questions from car people and this seems like the right place.