Topic: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES; Day 1

[tpl]

I can hear the gas sloshing about when I drive the Fit.

The current Fit or the previous generation?  Maybe my wife fills the tank with special non-slosh gas. 

Jaeger

The previous gen  and the tank has to show below 1/2 full.  Don't need to drive aggressively, just go around corners at a reasonable rate.

FWIW  Mrs tpl likes the look of her Fit. 

[Jaeger]

I can hear the gas sloshing about when I drive the Fit.

The current Fit or the previous generation?  Maybe my wife fills the tank with special non-slosh gas. 

Jaeger

The previous gen  and the tank has to show below 1/2 full.  Don't need to drive aggressively, just go around corners at a reasonable rate.

FWIW  Mrs tpl likes the look of her Fit. 

So that's at least two exceptions to the "bikenut rule" then.    My wife likes the looks of her Fit, too.
Jaeger

[safristi]

..two wives FIT to be tied to the drive they buyed...........i'm sloshed after half a tank of Stella............

             my insignificant other!!! ..loved the Fit test drive .....it left me wanting.....(a) another wife...(b) another beer........c Another car..............answerver..............!!!!!??

[The Mighty Duck]

jaeger  the fit is sold in great quantities for lots of reasons, the last of which is its looks

if you actually drive your fit agressively , to the floor , your mileage would drop alot , 

I love the look of my Fit. It may not be as out there as the Fiesta, but it's better than a lot of what else is out there.

As to fuel economy... that can be said of any car.

I've said it before, but I really wish the Fiesta had been available last year when I bought my Fit. It would have made the decision a lot more difficult. I think the Fit will continue to appeal to those that want a reliable, economic, and damned useful little car. The Fiesta will appeal to younger buyers who want a bit more "sport" in their compact.

In any event, I think both are great cars, so if one is deciding between a Fiesta and a Fit, they can't make the wrong choice.

[John Meyer]

On long trips we average as low as 5.1L/100k in the '09 Fit.  Never higher than 5.5 unless winter conditions.  The 5 speed auto lets it turn at around 2150rpm at 100km/hr.

I've never heard any noise from the gas tank.

On the down side, the Fit tracks poorly - always have to keep correcting.  I'm not wild about the steering wheel as it is a more oblong rather than round in cross section.

When new tires are needed, we will get ones really strong in linear tracking.

Fit is a great car though but I'd expect the Fiesta to be nicer to drive overall.  Depends on the package you need.

The Yaris (higher end model) is also in this category and it is surprisingly nice on the road.  If you have the autobox, make sure you are in "D" and not "3" or else you will be turning 4200rpm or so at 120km as opposed to the 3000RPM needed in 4th.  Given the great confusion on this point, and after taking a look at the automatic shift gates on the Corolla and Yaris in the dealership last month, I'm sure there must be thousands of owners running around in 3rd.  Extremely easy mistake to make and once you've done it you will stick with it and just figure these are noisy highway cars.

Both the Yaris and the Fit are a step up from my beloved Echo hatch in terms of refinement but the Echo does a lot of things very well and isn't totally outclassed.  I'd expect it to come in a very distinct second to the Fiesta though in driving dynamics.  I'm getting between 5 and 5.4L/100k in the summer now driving mostly on secondary roads and employing some hypermiling techniques.  This also includes a few 80 to 100km stretches of 400 series highway and slogs into the "Big Smoke".

Cheers,
John Meyer

[bikenut]

re education , i dropped out of school but got my ged , i have worked in mines , cut down trees ,been flown in to fight fires and worked in construction . none of those jobs required me to type , excuse me , i never learned , my social skills are a little abrupt because of the crews i have worked with , but i make no excuses for people like you who want to complain on such minor things as typing
 if i make your life so difficult for you because of my typing , please don't read my post , anyone who complains about somebody elses typing proficiency , to me , is the one with the problem  

[John Meyer]

Forgot to mention the Fit fuel computer.  On long trips it appears to be bang on.  However, the girlfriend reports it is way off in the city.  She thinks it does not take idling into account.  Is this possible?  If true, it is incredibly stupid.

Does anyone else have experience with this?

Cheers,
John Meyer

[Jaeger]

re education , i dropped out of school but got my ged , i have worked in mines , cut down trees ,been flown in to fight fires and worked in construction . none of those jobs required me to type , excuse me , i never learned , my social skills are a little abrupt because of the crews i have worked with , but i make no excuses for people like you who want to complain on such petty things as typing
 if i make your life so difficult for you because of my typing , please don't read my post , anyone who complains about somebody elses typing proficiency , to me , is the one with the problem  

I can't imagine what ability you would have to make my life difficult, and you are correct that ignoring your posts would present no difficulty whatsoever.

If it's of any assistance to you, the shift key - the one with the upward-pointing arrow - is the one that magically turns a lower case letter into a capital letter.  I have a hard time accepting that this is beyond your ability.

Now, did you have anything at all related to subject of the thread to discuss?  I won't be responding to any more of your sniping.

Jaeger

[Jaeger]

I love the look of my Fit. It may not be as out there as the Fiesta, but it's better than a lot of what else is out there.

As to fuel economy... that can be said of any car.

I've said it before, but I really wish the Fiesta had been available last year when I bought my Fit. It would have made the decision a lot more difficult. I think the Fit will continue to appeal to those that want a reliable, economic, and damned useful little car. The Fiesta will appeal to younger buyers who want a bit more "sport" in their compact.

In any event, I think both are great cars, so if one is deciding between a Fiesta and a Fit, they can't make the wrong choice.

Another Fit owner that actually likes the looks of his vehicle - whodathunkit? 

I agree that for my money the Fit and Fiesta would be top picks in the segment.  I can well understand why some would choose one over the other.

Jaeger

[Mozeby]

Is it really any wonder that the Fit and Fiesta are considered the best of this class when they are both the 2 most expensive models.  I don't "get" premium subcompact cars like this when the idea behind them is economy and value.   A Mazda2 is a much better value and has most of the same qualities as the Fiesta (same platform) albeit with a weaker engine and only a 4 spd. auto.

[Ontariodriver]

Well I took a good look at the saloon today and I personally think it's much better than the Hatch. It seems a bargain to me. It has very High belt line. seems a lot more car for the money. Almost like a Mini Ford Mondeo. I think I'd rather buy the saloon. It's seems weird that the hatch is worth more for affectively what seems less. The interior looks so nice from the outside. I couldn't get inside because the dealerships are closed to day.

[tpl]

Is it really any wonder that the Fit and Fiesta are considered the best of this class when they are both the 2 most expensive models.  I don't "get" premium subcompact cars like this when the idea behind them is economy and value.   A Mazda2 is a much better value and has most of the same qualities as the Fiesta (same platform) albeit with a weaker engine and only a 4 spd. auto.

Its the difference between price and value.

As for the 4 speed auto in the Mazda 2. I'd suspect all three, Fit, Fiesta and Mazda were designed to be at their best with a manual transmission and, for the Fit anyway, smaller engines. 

[dirtyjeffer]

As for the 4 speed auto in the Mazda 2. I'd suspect all three, Fit, Fiesta and Mazda were designed to be at their best with a manual transmission and, for the Fit anyway, smaller engines. 

i think the PowerShift 6speed Automatic in the Fiesta is the transmission to pick...it is more efficient (gives an extra gear for performance/fuel economy) and means you don't need to bother with the manual in your rush hour traffic jams...as well, it isn't really any more expensive than conventional automatic transmissions from other brands.

[The Mighty Duck]

Is it really any wonder that the Fit and Fiesta are considered the best of this class when they are both the 2 most expensive models.  I don't "get" premium subcompact cars like this when the idea behind them is economy and value.   A Mazda2 is a much better value and has most of the same qualities as the Fiesta (same platform) albeit with a weaker engine and only a 4 spd. auto.

What's to get? Some people like small cars because they're easier to drive and park, get better fuel economy, and they don't need a bigger vehicle. In my case, the Fit was cheaper than a Civic and offers me more versatility and better economy.

I think the assumption that compact cars must be cheap is misplaced. There's plenty of space in the automotive landscape for "premium" small cars. Given the choice, I'd take (for example) a loaded Fiesta over a stripped-down Fusion any day.

[John]

This Fiesta comes with an Interference Timing Belt engine.  Here's an article that explains it. Bottom line, NEW car with a Timing Belt = Deal breaker, IMO.  The Fit and Yaris come with timing chains.

TIMING BELT
Back to Car Care

Certain engines with overhead camshafts have timing belts that have a limited life span. Car makers use these belts instead of more durable chains because chains are noisier and cost more to manufacture.  Your vehicle owner's manual will recommend at what mileage the timing belt must be replaced.  These intervals range from every 60,000 miles to every 105,000 miles. 

The job of the timing belt is to turn the camshaft(s) at exactly 1/2 the speed of the crankshaft while maintaining a precise alignment.  This means that the crankshaft will make two revolutions for every revolution of the camshaft.  Engines will have at least one camshaft, or as many as four camshafts in some of the V-type engines.  The camshaft causes the intake and exhaust valves to open and close in time with the pistons which move up and down in the cylinders.  The valves must open and close at exactly the right time in relationship to the piston movement in order for the engine to run piston movement in order for the engine to run properly.

There are two types of engines that use timing belts.  They are described as: "Interference Engines" and "Non-interference Engines"  The difference lies in the proximity between the valves and the pistons.  On an interference engine, if the timing belt slips even one notch, the piston can crash into an open valve causing serious engine damage by bending valves and breaking pistons.  Non-interference engines will usually not self destruct, but in either case if the belt fails, the engine will immediately shut down leaving you stranded. 

Timing belts fail without warning and on some vehicles, are almost as hard to check as they are to change.  In most cases, your only protection is to change the belt at the recommended intervals. Timing belt replacement is not a cheap job but it is far less costly than the alternative.

Some technicians may recommend that you replace the water pump during a timing belt job even if there is nothing wrong with it.  This is because 90% of the labor to change the water pump has already been done with the timing belt job and some technicians consider it good insurance to replace the pump at this time.

[Jaeger]

What's to get? Some people like small cars because they're easier to drive and park, get better fuel economy, and they don't need a bigger vehicle. In my case, the Fit was cheaper than a Civic and offers me more versatility and better economy.

Bingo.  My wife went to the Honda dealer looking to replace her previous gen. Civic with the current model.  She preferred the Fit straight up.  The fact that is was cheaper, more versatile and got better fuel economy were all bonuses.  She found it more fun to drive than the Civic, and really liked the versatiliy afforded by the hatch and the magic rear seat.  And yes, she also preferred the styling - however hard that might be for some to accept.  Bottom line, if it were the same price as the Civic, she would have still chosen the Fit. The notion that subcompacts are only for those who can't afford anything "more" is a misconception.  I can't fathom selecting the Mazda 2 over either the Fit or Fiesta if I were buying one for myself.

Jaeger

PS - is our resident timing chain fetishist looking to derail yet ANOTHER thread with his unnatural fixation?  Obsession can be a really unattractive thing.

[rrocket]

Needs to change his name to Timing Chain Troll.

 

[Ex-airbalancer]

Needs to change his name to Timing Chain Troll.

 

It time to ban the troll until he signs up

[Jaeger]

Needs to change his name to Timing Chain Troll.

 

It time to ban the troll until he signs up

It's quite obvious that he is intent on turning every car discussion into an excruciatingly detailed examination of the merits of timing chains.  Ugh.

Jaeger

[bikenut]

john , at 240,000 kms between belt changes on the feista  you don't have anything to worry about
 
its only a pain in the ass if you really want to buy a belt driven used car with no proof when the belt was last changed

-- google timing chain failure , you'll be surprised

a toyota mechanic told me years ago the celica , many gens ago ,had timing chain failures till they switched to a double chain design
regardless , i think chains are better too