This is the first in a new series of articles where we do a deep dive on a particular make and model of car and see whether it’s a good fit for a new driver looking for their first car.
In this article we’re looking at the Ford Fiesta. The most popular car on the road in the UK, with 1.54 million of them on the road as of the time of writing it’s almost a given that the Fiesta will be one of the most common choices for people looking for their first car.
But is it the right choice for you? Just because lots of people have a Fiesta for a first car doesn’t mean it’s right, and in this article we’re going to look at some of the reasons why the Fiesta is or isn’t a good first car, and if you decide it’s not right for you, we look at some of the alternatives available on the market.
Fun fact - my first car was actually a 1997 Ford Fiesta 1.3. I loved that car - but it’s worlds away from the Fiesta you might buy nowadays!
What makes a good first car?
Let’s look at the typical first-time driver in the UK. They’re probably about 17 or 18, have just passed their driving test and are eager to get on the road with their friends and go for a road trip. What they want and what their parents might be willing to buy them, however, are two different things.
There are also those who pass later in life, and need a reliable, economical car for commuting, taking their children to school, etc. Therefore, we need to look at a number of things to determine whether the Ford Fiesta makes a good first car:
Reliability
Fuel economy
Insurance cost (very expensive for new drivers)
How easy it is to drive
How much it costs to buy and maintain
We also look at common pitfalls and problems you may experience on the Fiesta. If any of these are deal-breakers, you might want to consider another model.
However, it’s our opinion that for the majority of cases, the Fiesta is actually one of the best first cars you can buy. Here’s why.
Why the Ford Fiesta is a great first car
Low insurance group
The Fiesta is probably one of the cheapest cars to insure that you can buy today. The absolute abundance of parts available means that they’re cheap to repair and as such are cheap to insure. Insurance groups start at 2, and while they can go all the way up to 16 for a fully spec-ed ST-line and probably even more for the Fiesta ST.
In fact, we put in a standard insurance quote for a 17 year old male who’s just passed his test, is a student living at home in Cardiff, UK and plans to do around 6,000 miles a year in a 2014 Ford Fiesta.
The cheapest premium we found was £1,929.97 per year, or £160 per month. This compares to £2,030.78 for an equivalent spec Peugeot 208. So if you’re on a budget, the Fiesta is a great car to choose as it’s cheaper to insure than some of the alternatives in the market.
Small and easy to maneuver
The Fiesta is a really fun car to drive because it’s so small and easy to maneuver. There’s a reason it’s a really popular learner car, and you’ll very often see a Ford Fiesta with L plates on the front and rear. It has light and accurate steering with a small turning circle, and the visibility around the car is among the best in its class.
In terms of finding a comfortable position, the Fiesta seats are such that it’s very easy to find a good driving position. The clutch doesn’t bite too high and isn’t too heavy, meaning it’s easy to navigate for someone who’s just learnt clutch control. Most models of Fiesta also have hill hold assist - perfect for those moments where your muscle memory isn’t quite there yet!
The Fiesta, being so small and maneuverable, is very easy to park, too - making it perfect for someone practicing their parallel or bay parking.
Cheap to run and maintain
The Fiesta is not an expensive car to maintain. Parts costs are minimal thanks to the number of Fiestas there are out there on the road, and you’ll never be in a situation where you’re waiting days and days for parts - most motor factors will have nearly all the common parts you’d need for a Fiesta in stock.
In fact (not that you’re thinking you’ll need to do any of these repairs on a car you just bought, but it’s worth mentioning) we’ve priced up some common repairs on the Fiesta, and what could be massively expensive jobs on other cars turn out to be slightly less so on the Fiesta.
Average exhaust replacement cost: £900
Average tyre replacement cost: £100 per tyre for a premium tyre
Average clutch replacement cost: around £500
Average service cost: £149
Economical on fuel
The Fiesta is a fuel efficient little car. You can expect up to 51mpg combined from the 1.0L EcoBoost engine, although it goes without saying that you can expect better mileage from this engine in the city rather than on the motorway. If you do a lot of motorway driving, the Fiesta diesel might be a better bet - the 1.4L TDCi diesel engine will return up to 70mpg on a long motorway run.
The Fiesta has quite a small fuel tank at 42L, meaning the cost to fill it up to the brim with petrol (as of the time of writing when a litre of petrol was roughly £1.42) it would cost £59.64 to fill it up - which is very competitive. Be aware thought that you’re likely to be visiting the petrol station more often than if you ran a vehicle with a bigger fuel tank, such as the Peugeot 208 which has a 50L tank.
Safe to drive
Your parents will like this section - both the 2013 model and the 2017 model of the Fiesta scored a 5 star Euro NCAP safety rating - making the Fiesta among the safest cars in its class. The Fiesta is fitted with both driver and passenger front airbags and belt pretensioners, as well as side head, chest and pelvis airbags. Higher-spec’ed models even come with speed assistance and lane assist.
Why you might want to avoid a Fiesta for your first car
It’s the most stolen car in the UK
With popularity, comes unfortunately the heightened risk that your car might be stolen or stripped for parts. The sad reality is that even though the top 10 most stolen cars in the UK is usually filled with high-end, luxury cars, the Fiesta takes the top spot, with 5724 stolen in 2022.
The reason for this is obviously because they’re so popular, it’s easier for thieves to sell on the stolen car, or to strip it for parts to put onto other vehicles. If you take sensible precautions, such as making sure your car stays locked, and watching where you park at night, you shouldn’t worry about this too much, but unfortunately the fact of the matter is that a Fiesta is more likely to be stolen than say, a Renault Clio or a Citroen DS3.
It can be expensive
Because the Fiesta is so popular, it does hold its value well. This can be either a good or a bad thing - if you buy a Fiesta now and sell it in three years, you’ll likely get a greater proportion of the vehicle’s value back than if you bought, say, a Vauxhall Corsa. However, this means that you’re also likely to pay much more for it to begin with.
To demonstrate this, we looked at two types of car - a Fiesta with a 1.0L EcoBoost engine from 2014, and a Peugeot 208 with the 1.0L PureTech engine from 2014. Very similar spec’ed cars, and we looked for examples with around 50,000 miles on the clock. Simply put, exactly the kind of car that a first car owner would be looking for.
First we looked at purchase price. You’d pay an average of £7,000 for the Fiesta at the time of writing. Some examples were going for as much as £8,000. The Peugeot, however, fared much cheaper - around £5,900 average.
The resale value, however, does tip in the Fiesta’s favour - as we put examples of both cars into a popular car buying website and came up with a buyback price of £4,000 with 70,000 miles on it, versus £3,000 for the Peugeot with the same mileage.
It’s actually quite dull
Honestly, this is a matter of opinion, and it may be that just because there’s so many on the road that the Fiesta kind of blends in, but I don’t think the Fiesta is a particularly exciting car, both to drive and to look at. The styling has become so commonplace that it’s hard to get excited about how the Fiesta looks, and the interior, while pleasant enough, is just a little bit boring.
I’d much rather drive around in a Polo or a Clio because they are interesting to look at and they’re not so commonplace that they blend in - and the interior on both is a really nice place to be - in my opinion, more so than the Fiesta.
This is a matter of opinion though, and you may disagree.
Alternatives to the Ford Fiesta you may want to look at
We’ve spoken at length about alternatives to the Fiesta - so let’s discuss a few.
Peugeot 208
Probably my favourite car in this class (I owned one for three years.) They’re actually pretty reliable - there’s a few things that go wrong with them but not many. The new shape, if your budget can stretch this far, looks incredible - probably the best looking small car on the road.
Volkswagen Polo
A really, really nice car - perfect if you have a little bit more money to spend on something that’s a bit of a step above the Fiesta in terms of build quality and longevity. I really like the Polo - it’s fun to drive, cheap to maintain and of course, there’s the prestige that comes with the VW badge.
Citroen DS3 / DS DS3
Pretty much the same car as the Peugeot 208, but in my opinion, much better looking. The DS3, while now discontinued as a hatchback, is also a really popular first car. Great to drive, the diesel engines are bulletproof and the interior is a far nicer place to be than the Fiesta.
Renault Clio
The design of the Clio has been effectively the same since 2013, much like the Ford Fiesta. However, Renault’s range of engines and the clever styling make this French supermini a compelling alternative to the Fiesta.
Toyota Yaris
Bringing Japanese quality and reliability to this list, the Yaris is a tried and tested Fiesta alternative. These are really well made cars, and they’re fun to look at, depending on your taste - I’m no fan of the interior though, and they are expensive cars.
Vauxhall Corsa
The car that was nipping at the heels of the Fiesta in terms of being the second most popular car in the UK. While the interior is a bit dull and uninspired, and it’s not a particularly great car to drive, the newer version is actually based on the Peugeot 208 (although the 208 is a nicer car) and has come on leaps and bounds since the old version.
Whatever you choose, good luck out there on the road!
References
Ford Fiesta - the most stolen car in the UK in 2022 - https://www.rivervaleleasing.co.uk/blog/posts/uks-most-stolen-cars-update-rivervale-leasing
Ford Fiesta - 1.54m on the road as of 2021 - https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/guides/most-popular-cars-in-the-uk
We've written a number of articles on the Ford Fiesta if you're looking for more information on the car.
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About the author
Marcus Brown is editor-in-chief of The FatMech and is a mechanic with ten years' experience based in London, UK. Having worked for major dealerships for many years, Marcus now works for a local independent garage and has experience working on nearly every make and model of car. Marcus also has a passion for writing and teaching, which is where the idea for The FatMech came from. In his spare time, Marcus enjoys playing golf, doing home renovations and gardening. He lives just outside London with his wife and son.