Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3L

I was given this car (1997) by a relative free of charge 18 months ago. He had it from new and it has a complete service history. It has 135k on the clock, 30k of which is mine. The handling is superb on bends - much better than the mk2 which was scarily unstable. In fact, the handling is better than any other car I've owned, although it has to be said that I've always driven crappy old cars. Clutch and gearbox OK. It hasn't got power steering so it can be a pain to park. Fairly quiet inside. Good on the motorway. Fuel consumption not too bad but I've had better out of an Astra. Spare parts are cheap.

I recognise the engine from the Mk1 and 2, but there are none of the problems with the points gap because it doesn't have any! Starts first time every time. Has intermittent stalling misfiring problems especially in cold weather, not cured by changing the stepper motor. Could be TPS or mass air sensor but who knows? ...not worth spending the money to fix it as it doesn't actually break down and it rights itself after a while. Still on original clutch and brake pipes. Burns 1 pint of oil per 1000 miles.

The worst feature of this car is the position of the oil filter - behind the engine and only accessible from underneath - the oil runs down your arm if you're not careful when unscrewing the filter.

These cars eat front lower suspension arm bushes and I expect to have to have the arms replaced at next MOT (already replaced once according to its service history).

You're supposed to adjust the tappets regularly but this has never been done on this particular car and I'm not going to start now...the tappets aren't noisy and the valves have never burned.

Overall a nice cheap car if you can tolerate the stalling problem.

This Car Wont break! its cheap and very reliable.

It will embarass alot of cars at the lights if you drive it properly. Handling is superb compared to its rivals. Although the zetec model has 15 more bhp. Ive done 0-60 in under 10 seconds which is faster than most cars smaller than a 1.8. It will leave cars like saxo's, 106 quicksilver, Corsa SXI, astra's, The new mini coopers, Golfs etc trailling behind, but once you get to about 50 mph the power will run out and they will fly by you. At that point you can make up an excuse as to why you apparantly came of the throttle. The biggest car ive beaten is a hyundai coupe 2.7v6 as my dad owns one and we went head to head and i thrashed him all over untill 60 mph.

Ideal student car (cheap)

Drive it as hard as you want because it won't break.

Its not the safest car on the planet so only thrash this car in a controlled enviroment. e.g on a drag strip or circuit.

i havnt owen this Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3L long but its a good car and i baght it cheap enuff, it has a few little problems but havnt spent a penny on fixing it yet

The Ford Fiesta Encore was my first car and I love it. I have had it since it was 2 years old in that time it has never needed anything done save the usual services and MOT type stuff, MPG and Tax are inexpensive and even as a new driver it didn't cost a lot to insure. I live up in the very North of Scotland and even in gale force winds and on icy, snow covered roads I feel safe in it, and when I go into the City it is nippy and easy to park. What more can you ask for!

I had a problem with the revs on mine with high revs and stalling etc. Had the AIR FLOW METER changed and the THROTTLE METER and it runs like a dream now.

Good luck with solving the problem.

Fiesta Encore 1.3 5 door:- looks good, runs great, smoooth gear changes, reliable, easy and cheap to run, perfect first car and starts everytime.

I can only see one problem with it, which is stalling, but this is because I'm a learner driver mabye?

The Ford Fiesta Encore is a brilliant car very cheap to run, mpg is phenominal ideal first car highly tunable wouldnt part with it for an Audi r8!

I bought a Ford Fiesta 1.3 1998 Encore second hand . I actually downsized from a 2.8 VW Golf.

I bought the cheapest running car I could find, my Fiesta only has 40,000 miles, it drives like new and it starts what ever the weather. It really is a go cart and you can throw it into corners knowing you wont die. The boot is huge for such a small car and it pulls of the lights really well. the car is fantastic for long journey's as I drive to Holland regularly and can get from Epsom (Surrey) to Amsterdam on one tank of petrol.

Tyres are cheap, parts are cheap (if not purchased from Ford) and servicing is really cheap! (Again if not done through Ford!

Basically this is no frills no luxury driving, and if thats what your looking for then thats what you will find.

A tank of petrol sets me back at about £25 and goes a very very very long way!

My only advice to you if your thinking of buying one is to make sure it has power steering as mine doesn't and sometimes it can be annoying.

Also try to buy a low mileage, with no rust. Rust spreads very very quickly on these cars.

Not a bad car for students, but not a good car for a life time.

Great ideal first car. My car doesn't have P/S, ABS, Electric Windows, Sunroof, A/C but it has been perfect as a first car to drive to and from college and work. Have had no reliability issues in the two and a half years I have owned it. Starts first time every time, even in the winter. Very nippy car and has an excellent gearbox. Never have I driven a car with such a smooth gear change. 25 litres will do well over 200 miles.