So. Farewell then, Ford Fiesta

It’s been reported that Ford is to end production of the Fiesta, still one Britain’s most popular cars but now in its fifth decade.

I’ve owned two Fiestas, both of them XR2s which in the Eighties and early Nineties was the ‘hot hatch’ option.

My first Fiesta, a Mark II XR2, was mercury grey and had twin spotlights which gave it a very sporty look, or so I liked to think.

Launched in 1984, I bought it in December 1986 to replace my ageing Austin Metro whose rusty fuel tank had ruptured, leaving gallons of petrol on the A303 in Wiltshire.

I had intended to buy a Ford Escort XR3 but after test driving both the Escort and the Fiesta I fell instantly in love with the XR2.

It wasn’t the best car I’ve owned but it was arguably the most fun.

My favourite memory is taking it to North Wales where it was ideally suited to the sweeping country roads but it was no slouch on motorways either.

Sadly, five years after I bought it from a secondhand car dealer in south London it was stolen from outside my house in Camberwell and although I reported the theft to the police it was never found.

I wasn’t too upset though because I already had my eye on the Mk III Fiesta that had been launched in 1989 so I quickly replaced the stolen car with a one year old XR2i.

In hindsight it was probably a mistake because the new model was a completely different car and there were better hot hatches on the market like the Peugeot 205 GTI and the VW Golf GTI Mk2.

A design fault also meant the car became increasingly difficult to start until it wouldn’t start at all.

Every few months I’d call the AA who sent someone round to clean the offending part and everything would be fine until the same cycle repeated itself.

On another occasion the timing belt snapped causing the car to limp to a halt in the middle of Chiswick High Road.

Until then I had never heard of a timing belt or the serious damage a snapped belt could do to an engine.

Luckily I was travelling so slowly (about 10mph) when the belt snapped that the engine escaped serious damage.

Another problem with my ‘new’ Fiesta was the colour. It was bright red and I was warned that the police were more likely to stop a red car, especially if it was a hot hatch.

I was sceptical but within months I had been stopped twice and forced to stand by the side of the road while they contacted the DVLA to confirm that I was indeed the owner.

Like its predecessor the XR2i was also a magnet for thieves. The spare wheel, which sat on a bracket beneath the boot, was the first casualty.

Thieves subsequently smashed their way into the car via the tailgate and it was only the fact that they couldn’t get the engine started (that design fault again!) that stopped it being stolen like my first Fiesta.

Thankfully there were no problems starting the car on my wedding day in April 1992 when it got us to Skye (and back) without incident.

In fact I kept it for another two years until the birth of our first child meant something more grown up and spacious was required.

That said, my wife later owned her own (sixth generation) Fiesta and although it was a perfectly good car her subsequent choice, a Mini Cooper, has given her a lot more enjoyment.

Nevertheless I’ll always have fond memories of my own Fiestas, the MkII XR2 in particular.

See also: ‘Our window cleaner drives a Bentley‘.

Ford Fiesta fans on why they love their cars (BBC News)

Comments

[Bucko]

I had a red XR2 when I was younger. I owned it for a few years, rebuilt the engine and heavily customised it
It was never stolen, but it did get vandalised once. At the time though, it was completely rotten and would never have passed another MOT. I got £100 for it for parts and bought a Capri