""{...}in May 1990 the Autocar said the HCS engine sounded like a sewing machine with worn bearings" In Portugal we call it Fiesta Singer because of how the engine sounds 🤣
A very popular car seen everywhere. But I must say for me if I was buying in the day the 205 would win me over. But it's in lovely condition. Another great vid from you.
"Cheap but sturdy...." That's so descriptive that I can almost feel the stalks click... Its so good to see how you improve with every posting and your subscriber numbers are proving that I'm not alone in being impressed. Well done again, another informing and entertaining video.. Thanks Ed, Please keep them coming. By the way, the "ribs" in the headliner are to make it more rigid.
One of the best car reviews I've seen. You remind me of Richard Hudson-Evans, Tony Bastaple and Chris Goffey - and I can think of no better compliment. I love the detailed comparison between different models in the range. It's the little things that matter.
Great review! My dad had a Mk3 when I was really young, remember going tons of places in it. Love these things. Ended up with a Mk7 Fiesta myself many, many years later.
Keep it up, you're videos and reviews are the most in depth and concentrate on the most interesting details, pros and cons and facts on the car your reviewing, no unnessacary stuff here, or as we call it, all killer no filler!
Great commentary and very professional. This brought back memories for me. My first car was a 1992 late J reg lead in 5 door Fiesta also in radiant red. The difference with your model is actually the upholstery was better quality, other than that it’s identical to the lead in model as far as I could tell. These cars did indeed have self cancelling indicators and I think your find that due to the age of your vehicle and wear and tear over time it’s contributed to them not working. These were ultra stylish at the time with the rear lights being my favourite as well and one of the main rivals was the mark 1 Renault Clio. For people of my generation (I’m 45) The ultimate car was the Ford Fiesta XR2i in either red or black. Unless you were rich then the insurance was unrealistically high. Pity it didn’t have the original radio. It was a basic radio without a cassette player in mine. Rusting was a very common issue around the time and typically rust bubbles would appear around the petrol cap. This happened to mine before the age of three years old so I managed to get it repaired under warranty. Another very common issue with these cars was binding brakes - it was quite common for me to drive with my foot flat down on a dual carriage way and the car would do 30 miles an hour eventually it would cut out on roundabouts and became rather unreliable. The manual choke was located on the right hand side and was my biggest nightmare. I never remembered to use it properly and it was the only car I’d ever driven that had this. A few months later with the introduction of the injection engine meant that K reg Fiestas onwards didn’t require a manual choke. Something I wasn’t made aware of at the time of purchase. I sold it after two and a half years of ownership. Although these cars weren’t the cheapest to buy they did retain their value compared with other super minis and therefore made excellent trade ins. Many thanks for the great upload.
Great vid....but previous owner incorrect about the indicators not self cancelling. MK3 FIesta suffered with the plastic lug breaking off on the stalk.. behind the steering wheel.... that contacts the shoudler on the steering wheel to knock the stalk back to the middle position.... Changed loads of them back in their prime. My XR2i had it happen also... so replaced it for new.
It's great how you come up with such well kept examples of nearly forgotten cars. Yes, they were once everywhere but now a much rarer sight. Very good, informed review, excellent viewing!
Great video - my first car when I was 19 in 1997 was a 1991 Fiesta 1.1 Ghia 5 door. This brings back a lot of memories! It was a great car and although it had shortcomings, engine in particular, for the time it was a fantastic little car. The dashboard was, and still is to some extent, pretty modern looking. Compared with many rivals like the Metro the inside still looks great. I've just bought a 2015 Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost in red, similar colour to my first car and found it had its first service was at the same small garage as my first car had been serviced at thirty years ago. So in some ways i have come full circle. Cars have moved on as has the Fiesta but the Mk3 was a great value car back in the day. Im sure there is a generation of us now in our early 40s that had a MK3 as our first car.
My first car! But mine was a 1992 K reg, which I bought in 1997. Engine in the Fiesta Bonus I had was a 1.1 though (1113). I loved that car! Even though the manual choke confused the hell out of me for the full 4 years I had the car. Also, I'm sure mine was a 5 speed with reverse on the bottom right.
Great review. I had a 94 Fiesta Quartz as a first car in 2009; it was ok but the 1100cc engine was hopeless. It got T-boned, and was replaced by an 88 Austin Metro, which was surprisingly better! I now have an 87 Metro 1000, which is much quicker than what I remember of my Fiesta.
I really enjoy your videos and your presentation style, I have to say. Informative and thorough. I’m still waiting for a review of my own first car, a mid-late 70’s Austin Allegro, and I’d love to see you review a Triumph TR7, too! Keep up the good work! 👍🏻
We had a Fiesta 1.1i C (which was the base model in Germany) from 1991 in the family and I drove it from 2004 to 2009. It was a nice start in my driving career, because *you* are the driver and not something else. Every (big) mistake can be your last one. It was a lot of fun in the city (okay, no power steering) and not so funny on the Autobahn (full throttle all the time). I learned a lot while driving under heavy conditions like snow and ice. No ABS, no nothing. I'm still alive. And the car was only wrecked to get a scrabbage bonus from the German government. The next car had a lot more features (AC, ESP, four doors, electric windows, trip computer, ...), but in review I admire the pureness of those cars. You can drive - and that's freedom! Frankly, I was never a fan of small cars. The 1.1i C had the exact same interior (in our case with the steering on the left). Thank you for this look in the past! I also think that the Fiesta might have looked really good in the late 80s / early 90s. I was too young at that time and I had only eyes for BMW. But compared to other cars in its class it was quite modern and round-shaped. Micra and Corsa came up not until '92/'93.
I'm sorry but The Mk3 Fiesta XR2i/RS Turbo is probably one of the best looking pure '90s car on the planet, the base-spec Bonus, however, perhaps not. ;) Keep up your great videos, mate. They get better and better with every one!
It made me feel really nostalgic seeing the 4 speed gear lever! That's certainly a thing I remember with the Fiesta I bought 19 years ago; it was a 1.1 'bonus' from 1991, a white 3 door model with a red stripe running along both sides! Apart from the red stripe, it was very original. It was my first car, & when I took it for a test drive, the 1st time I went into 1st it felt like I'd gone into 3rd, cos of the layout! I also remember having to press the lever down to go into reverse. With the 5 speed box, reverse is bottom right beside 4th, instead of Top left beside 1st. It was quite easy to crunch the gears if you weren't careful. My Fiesta also had no rev counter or sun roof, being 1 of the 'low series' models which were made until 1992; the bonus & popular. It was light on petrol, & better than I imagined it would be without 5th gear. I was bad with the choke when I 1st had it tho, & that's a fault with a lot of young drivers who haven't used a manual choke before! It was as if I didn't know what I was doing with it. I would now!
This brings back memories. My first car was 1.1 popular plus MK3. It was a good little car although if you want on a motorway once you hit 60 you quickly realised a 5th gear would be handy and that there wasn’t much power left. Mine had few mod cons such as the clock, rear wiper and self cancelling indicators which I find hard to believe wasn’t standard by then. Even my dads old Morris Marina from the 70s (don’t laugh) had self cancelling indicators. One thing I do remember about the car was that every so often the rear wiper wouldn’t work because the boot lid was earthed through the hinges and after so long you got a bad contact. A tap with a hammer seemed to do the trick.
I can remember going out in my neighbours almost base spec special edition 'celebrity' with rear spoiler and colour coded bumpers in white, but with bonus 2 interior..it had self cancelling indicators from new.. They were just very fragile and broke readily.. Same stalks as a later Escort of the era.. they also decided to stop working and became manual versions! Loving your work and videos. Please keep the great content coming.
My dad bought a new H reg fiesta, we'd come from a much more expensive car, but as a kid, still loved the fiesta, it was such a departure from the fiesta that came before, until the dreaded rot stated. It used to pull a speedboat from the midlands to North Wales regularly though. It had the same material as that one, nice to see a survivor.
Girlfriend at the time in 1990 bought a white H reg Fiesta Bonus brand new after getting fed up with the second hand metro not starting. It was based on the popular spec but with a few extras such as passenger side door mirror, rear parcel shelf and white wheel trims (yes Ford did spoil you!). You didn’t get a radio (she paid the dealer to fit one) and you didn’t get a rear wiper nor a glovebox lid. Don’t remember the indicators not self cancelling, maybe they didn’t! Wouldn’t surprise me. The one in this video has survived really well.
Hello, a great review, its good to see the models so many people owned but never kept pristine or at all. Ford were pretty tight on their base models, but it is interesting to see over the 70's, 80's and 90's how they made the most basic kit like mirrors, cigarette lighters, carpets and sun visors, standard kit as time went on on the 'popular' models.
The first car I drove was a Fiesta Mk1, which I found it heavy to drive compared to my old Herald. My sister's boyfriend's mother had a sporty version that replaced her 1275. Knew someone with an XR2 Mk2, didn't like that. My old boss's wife had a new Mk3 (replacing her written off Mini Clubman Estate, drove that it was OK. A friend had a Mk4, a nasty base car. I preferred the Mini Metro that another mate had in the early '90's. Also drove a sporty Fiesta when new up the Goodwood hill climb at the Moving Motor Show in 2012 as a prize my wife won, also got lunch and a funky model of a prototype Ford that I still have. Now that was a great little car. Mk1 - 4, not my cup of tea. Great little video! Thanks.
Can't imagine not having intermittent wipers now. Got a new car recently, left key in the ignition whilst jet washing, imagine my surprise when I started jet washing the front and the wipers started auto wiping lolol
We had a G reg base model of these when I was 5. Same red. Didnt even have a radio. I remember my mum being excited that it had a passenger wing mirror...
Its amazing to think that back then passenger door mirrors, rear wash wipe, heated rear screen, cassette player and clock were not standard on cars. Now we get seven airbags, ABS, traction control and more on a base model! My H reg Ghia had Velour Trim - i was so excited LOL
Nice video. I really like the detail you go into. I actually have a digital copy of the mk3 Fiesta launch brochure. The Bonus model was really a special edition version of the base model Popular with white wheel trims fitted as standard and, I kid you not, the cigarette lighter and remote control for the passenger side door mirror. Storage wise, there is also a map pocket I'm sure down in the passenger foot well. As per the other comments, these did have self cancelling indicators - it'll just be the switch that has worn. I had an H plate Orion 1.4 LX as my first car which had the same problem. All I literally had to do to fix it was take the indicator unit out (easy job) and put a blob of super glue on the end of the piece of plastic that did the cancellation to ever so slightly extend its length and that sorted it.
I have a 94’ 1.1 Azura and a 91’ Fiesta SX 1600 Zetec, I drove around in the sx for weeks before i realised it had a heated front windscreen, couldn’t live without it now 😂 2.0 being dropped in soon 👍🏻 great vid!
Had a Ford Fiesta POP Plus for 12 years used every day let it go at 140000 miles , never let me down once , only cost usual stuff ; brakes tyres exhaust truly brilliant car in the snow as well
Bonus 2 was a 'Popular' model with wheel trims and rub strips (I think the Popular Plus has a glove box lid). My Dad had a couple of these new when I was a kid and whilst they weren't base spec models, they were fairly basic. A 1.1L automatic and a 1.3LA (also an automatic) miserable CVT units too if so remember correctly - a joint venture with Fiat with the transmissions which were also available in the Panda and Uno of the times. He never believed in larger more expensive cars but they were at least new. The first one, a 90 on a G plate was plagued with carburettor issues, the 93 on a K was much more reliable however even after a few years, rust was starting to show behind the door seals, but they took us as a family all over Europe. The velour trim in the midly facelifted cars from 93 onwards made the interior feel a lot nicer than the tweed found in the earlier base models. Slightly fond of them despite their shortcomings however that's nostalgia for you. Nice to see, thanks for the video! Owner desperately needs to give that a coat of wax!!! No beading at all!
I remember the end-of-line Fiesta Classic mk3 1.1 Base models had very little electric equipment, but the dark grey velour seat upholstery material pattern was the same as in a Mondeo GLX!
Another cracking video mate, my dad had a mark 4 escort Bonus with the same wheel trims! In regards to non self cancelling indicators I wonder if it was a design fault as when my dad got a mark 5 escort with the same style of indicator in popular spec his indicators never cancelled and I can remember him taking it back to Ford on a couple of occasions to get it fixed! Grandad had a later mark 3 94 equipe special edition and just looked like this with addition of airbag, clock and glovebox. The old HCS engine rumbled on for years sure it became a 1.1 and 1.3 and ended up in the ka. These engines alongside the cvhs blighted the launch of the mark 5 escort and you could still have a 1.3 HCS rebadged endura in a mark six escort until the late nineties.
My first car was a 1.0 fiesta mk3. I always remember if you forgot to turn the choke off you'd slowly sputter to a low powered halt. Also the gear stick had huge travel for 4 gears constantly banging knees of your passenger and yourself.
Great video! I had one of these on a 1993 k reg plate. I loved it. It was a brilliant reliable car. Never gave me any grief at all. Still got photos of it somewhere?????
I had a rover metro 1.1L it's was a belter of a car handled well and always left my mates nova same engine size for dust.The front seats were the best part along with my kenwood stereo
Impressive review Ed! I suddenly felt very old, my first Car was J reg Mk 3 Fiesta. Admittedly it must have been a step up from the Base model, but it's interesting to note that within that first year they must have addressed some of the specific issues you raised in this video: Definitely had self cancelling indicators. J Reg had a catalytic converter - so injection rather than carb, and an auto choke. Better more sculpted steering wheel More side support in the seats and generally better support Also - I had a factory fitted sun roof. So not a base model, but only an 1100 and not a posh one. It was great to drive - economical but fun. I drove to France, Germany and Belgium in it. But as my first car, I'm probably biased. Sadly Head gasket failure made it uneconomic to repair....if it had been now, I'd have fixed it myself!
I had one as a first car. The head gasket went on it after a couple of months and I sold it as parts and got a Maestro instead, which I found to be a much better car. I put MG Metro bucket seats in it and a few other things. I loved it.
Hey, I got a silver Gray metallic 1990 Fiësta MK3 CL with a CVT transmission with the same apolstery. Also with the same 1.1 HCS Valencia engine. Yes it's a sowing machine, and de CVT makes a hauling sound. I has driven now about 91.000km, and he is in storage now. He is only to come out on for an drive in the summer. Even after 6 month of inactivity, he starts up after 30sec of cranking. And runs great. I know the Fiësta from new, my grandfather bought is new. And after some time it became my second car. The only upgrades is did was: white front blinkers, OEM dark rear lights. And... A rev-couter with day counter. But further, still original (with some known rust)
cracking review again Ed, your reliable reviews deserve a better set up maybe? set up a patreon so we can help you buy a camera and gimble ? i would be happy to contribute for such good material....especially delivered by the next generation of classic car lover...
Thanks for another interesting video. I had a 1990 Fiesta diesel and it was almost the worst car I've owned. The steering was incredibly heavy and the seats had no lateral, shoulder or lumbar support. I'm pretty sure the indicators self cancelled but I'm in the habit of cancelling them myself anyway so maybe didn't notice.
Great job. I had a mk3 5 years ago as a runaround/second car. It was another special edition 'Frascati' in a metallic petrol pump green colour. It was a great car; always started and wasn't bad on fuel. It cost me next to nothing to run. Rust got the better of it in the end. I had a mk2 XR2 and will agree that the overall build (moreso inside) felt a lot better on the mk3. That Kent engine was around up until 2007 in the Ford Ka.
Had a 95 no.3 Classic. 1.8 diesel. Amazing car that kept going and saved my life on a couple of occasions. She would tell you if something was wrong with her. I'd buy another without a thought. Only thing I found was mine had Ford escort wing mirrors, power steering steering wheel but no power steering and no washer on the back despite having the hole and nozzle! Parts bin special! But I loved her and always will.
I actually love the MK3, I have one myself in very good condition, it's my first car and the one car I've ever wanted due to how rate they have become these days, I plan to keep maintaining it and using it daily
The MK4 may have looked like a depressed guppy but in 1.25L form it was fast and frugal and handled really well - quite a catch if you find a good one now.
I finally passed my driving test in one of these - it was a nice car to drive, but a bit too ubiquitous for my tastes. The later mk 7 models are superb cars
Fiesta 1.1 LX was the ubiquitous hire car in the early 90s and I drove one around and all over Scotland - I can say that the fit and finish and design was top of class as a good looking car yet dynamically dull steering let it down as well as breathless performance yet it rode comfortably- cornered the wheels off and this and escort of this era led ford to lift their game dynamically
I started with a 1.3 supersport mk1 fiesta in 94. Later I had a 1990 mk3 957 cc as a winter hack ( it cost me £40 ....) and yes the indicators did self cancel 🤣
I had one of these and it was epic on fuel. A totally unimpressive car, but it did its job. It's no fun to drive when the electronic distributor fails and knocks out 2 cylinders. It was like driving a heavy 2CV.
Drove a few of these in the 90's the indicators should self cancel but (and you'll see this on a number of forums) the mechanism fails. If I remember this can be caused by trying to cancel with the wheel still turned.
Hopefully, it’s putting a bit of a burden on my production. There are so many clips that are unusable because of wind noise and I want to get done as quickly as possible in these conditions!
I think the non opening rear windows is actually a good thing, better sealing and more secure. As for the headliner sometimes cheap feeling is better, the plush rover headliners found In The maestro and montego which seem more upmarket sadly would've sagged long ago.
The Mk3 was the first Fiesta sold here in Brazil. It was imported from Belgium at the time but was too expensive to be tagged as 'popular'. There are not many of these on the streets nowadays, giving it a 'collectible status'.
Personally I’ve always had a soft spot for the mk3 not too keen on the mk2 and as you say the mk4 has a sad Face ID love to get hold of a mk3 1.8 diesel one day great video 👍🏻
Another car Australia didn’t get. Ford Australia used a Laser a rebadged and Australian built Mazda 323. The Laser was built at Ford’s Sydney plant at Homebush. I’m not sure if other plants built it.
One of Girl friends had a (New at time), M reg Fiesta 1.1 Azure, I was driving an XR3i on an E plate, i was shocked at Nippy it was even with her driving it. I thought it was very nice and modern looking😏
I remember many of those occupying the roads, I knew many that had them back in the day, I never had one, I preferred Novas / cavaliers I had at the time.
Me too. I found the Fords too basic and still do to this day. If you bought the LX model, you got a digital clock and a sun roof that leaked. PS. The rust isn't an optional extra, that will show up when its 5 years old
![Seltener Klassiker? 1992 Ford Fiesta MK3 (GFJ) 1.3 Calypso Test! [POV]](/img/1.gif)
Ahhh the good old days, following a car with no head rests watching a couple of heads rocking about. Kids these days don't know how good they have it.
""{...}in May 1990 the Autocar said the HCS engine sounded like a sewing machine with worn bearings"
In Portugal we call it Fiesta Singer because of how the engine sounds 🤣
:-D
I had a 91 bonus same colour. And yes they had self cancelling indicators🤣
A lot of Transits of that era, including my own, ended up with non cancelling indicators. It was obviously a dodgy mechanism Ford used at the time.
Mine doesn’t!
Cognos1001 probably worn as it’s a standard feature across the range
barry jackson I had a five door 1.1 Popular Plus in the same colour and that definitely had sold cancelling indicators.
Learnt to drive and pass my test in one of these back in 96. Love 80s and 90s Ford's. Great video dude keep up the good work.
A very popular car seen everywhere. But I must say for me if I was buying in the day the 205 would win me over. But it's in lovely condition. Another great vid from you.
Thanks!
"Cheap but sturdy...." That's so descriptive that I can almost feel the stalks click... Its so good to see how you improve with every posting and your subscriber numbers are proving that I'm not alone in being impressed. Well done again, another informing and entertaining video.. Thanks Ed, Please keep them coming.
By the way, the "ribs" in the headliner are to make it more rigid.
100% agree, every video just gets better and better.
Good video. I bought a 1990 mk3 same colour in 96 was very excited. It was a good car sort from engine pinking we could never cure. Happy memories.
One of the best car reviews I've seen. You remind me of Richard Hudson-Evans, Tony Bastaple and Chris Goffey - and I can think of no better compliment. I love the detailed comparison between different models in the range. It's the little things that matter.
Great review!
My dad had a Mk3 when I was really young, remember going tons of places in it. Love these things. Ended up with a Mk7 Fiesta myself many, many years later.
Keep it up, you're videos and reviews are the most in depth and concentrate on the most interesting details, pros and cons and facts on the car your reviewing, no unnessacary stuff here, or as we call it, all killer no filler!
Great commentary and very professional. This brought back memories for me. My first car was a 1992 late J reg lead in 5 door Fiesta also in radiant red. The difference with your model is actually the upholstery was better quality, other than that it’s identical to the lead in model as far as I could tell. These cars did indeed have self cancelling indicators and I think your find that due to the age of your vehicle and wear and tear over time it’s contributed to them not working.
These were ultra stylish at the time with the rear lights being my favourite as well and one of the main rivals was the mark 1 Renault Clio.
For people of my generation (I’m 45) The ultimate car was the Ford Fiesta XR2i in either red or black. Unless you were rich then the insurance was unrealistically high.
Pity it didn’t have the original radio. It was a basic radio without a cassette player in mine.
Rusting was a very common issue around the time and typically rust bubbles would appear around the petrol cap. This happened to mine before the age of three years old so I managed to get it repaired under warranty. Another very common issue with these cars was binding brakes - it was quite common for me to drive with my foot flat down on a dual carriage way and the car would do 30 miles an hour eventually it would cut out on roundabouts and became rather unreliable.
The manual choke was located on the right hand side and was my biggest nightmare. I never remembered to use it properly and it was the only car I’d ever driven that had this. A few months later with the introduction of the injection engine meant that K reg Fiestas onwards didn’t require a manual choke. Something I wasn’t made aware of at the time of purchase.
I sold it after two and a half years of ownership. Although these cars weren’t the cheapest to buy they did retain their value compared with other super minis and therefore made excellent trade ins. Many thanks for the great upload.
Great vid....but previous owner incorrect about the indicators not self cancelling. MK3 FIesta suffered with the plastic lug breaking off on the stalk.. behind the steering wheel.... that contacts the shoudler on the steering wheel to knock the stalk back to the middle position.... Changed loads of them back in their prime. My XR2i had it happen also... so replaced it for new.
It's great how you come up with such well kept examples of nearly forgotten cars. Yes, they were once everywhere but now a much rarer sight. Very good, informed review, excellent viewing!
Thanks!
loving the reviews on these older cars but not too old keep up the good work.
I went on a school trip to Ford's Dagenham Factory in 1990, when Mk3 Fiestas and Sierras were being built.
The good thing about the headlining you mentioned, is that it's not likely to sag.
No lie, I watched this video and a week later im the proud owner of a 1994 freestyle II 1.3.
Thanks mate
Great video - my first car when I was 19 in 1997 was a 1991 Fiesta 1.1 Ghia 5 door. This brings back a lot of memories! It was a great car and although it had shortcomings, engine in particular, for the time it was a fantastic little car. The dashboard was, and still is to some extent, pretty modern looking. Compared with many rivals like the Metro the inside still looks great. I've just bought a 2015 Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost in red, similar colour to my first car and found it had its first service was at the same small garage as my first car had been serviced at thirty years ago. So in some ways i have come full circle. Cars have moved on as has the Fiesta but the Mk3 was a great value car back in the day. Im sure there is a generation of us now in our early 40s that had a MK3 as our first car.
My first car! But mine was a 1992 K reg, which I bought in 1997. Engine in the Fiesta Bonus I had was a 1.1 though (1113). I loved that car! Even though the manual choke confused the hell out of me for the full 4 years I had the car. Also, I'm sure mine was a 5 speed with reverse on the bottom right.
Great review. I had a 94 Fiesta Quartz as a first car in 2009; it was ok but the 1100cc engine was hopeless. It got T-boned, and was replaced by an 88 Austin Metro, which was surprisingly better! I now have an 87 Metro 1000, which is much quicker than what I remember of my Fiesta.
I really enjoy your videos and your presentation style, I have to say. Informative and thorough. I’m still waiting for a review of my own first car, a mid-late 70’s Austin Allegro, and I’d love to see you review a Triumph TR7, too! Keep up the good work! 👍🏻
I’d love to do an Allegro and TR7. Hopefully I’ll get the chance soon 😁
We had a Fiesta 1.1i C (which was the base model in Germany) from 1991 in the family and I drove it from 2004 to 2009. It was a nice start in my driving career, because *you* are the driver and not something else. Every (big) mistake can be your last one. It was a lot of fun in the city (okay, no power steering) and not so funny on the Autobahn (full throttle all the time). I learned a lot while driving under heavy conditions like snow and ice. No ABS, no nothing. I'm still alive. And the car was only wrecked to get a scrabbage bonus from the German government. The next car had a lot more features (AC, ESP, four doors, electric windows, trip computer, ...), but in review I admire the pureness of those cars. You can drive - and that's freedom! Frankly, I was never a fan of small cars.
The 1.1i C had the exact same interior (in our case with the steering on the left). Thank you for this look in the past!
I also think that the Fiesta might have looked really good in the late 80s / early 90s. I was too young at that time and I had only eyes for BMW. But compared to other cars in its class it was quite modern and round-shaped. Micra and Corsa came up not until '92/'93.
These were very reliable cars and great styling for the period
I'm sorry but The Mk3 Fiesta XR2i/RS Turbo is probably one of the best looking pure '90s car on the planet, the base-spec Bonus, however, perhaps not. ;)
Keep up your great videos, mate. They get better and better with every one!
It made me feel really nostalgic seeing the 4 speed gear lever! That's certainly a thing I remember with the Fiesta I bought 19 years ago; it was a 1.1 'bonus' from 1991, a white 3 door model with a red stripe running along both sides! Apart from the red stripe, it was very original. It was my first car, & when I took it for a test drive, the 1st time I went into 1st it felt like I'd gone into 3rd, cos of the layout! I also remember having to press the lever down to go into reverse. With the 5 speed box, reverse is bottom right beside 4th, instead of Top left beside 1st. It was quite easy to crunch the gears if you weren't careful. My Fiesta also had no rev counter or sun roof, being 1 of the 'low series' models which were made until 1992; the bonus & popular. It was light on petrol, & better than I imagined it would be without 5th gear. I was bad with the choke when I 1st had it tho, & that's a fault with a lot of young drivers who haven't used a manual choke before! It was as if I didn't know what I was doing with it. I would now!
This brings back memories. My first car was 1.1 popular plus MK3. It was a good little car although if you want on a motorway once you hit 60 you quickly realised a 5th gear would be handy and that there wasn’t much power left. Mine had few mod cons such as the clock, rear wiper and self cancelling indicators which I find hard to believe wasn’t standard by then. Even my dads old Morris Marina from the 70s (don’t laugh) had self cancelling indicators. One thing I do remember about the car was that every so often the rear wiper wouldn’t work because the boot lid was earthed through the hinges and after so long you got a bad contact. A tap with a hammer seemed to do the trick.
Learned to drive in a J Reg 1.3 LX 5 door in red at a driving school was aged 17 nice car
Your a star, your attention to design detail is great, btw i do hope you are making loads of cash off the adds lol.
I can remember going out in my neighbours almost base spec special edition 'celebrity' with rear spoiler and colour coded bumpers in white, but with bonus 2 interior..it had self cancelling indicators from new.. They were just very fragile and broke readily.. Same stalks as a later Escort of the era.. they also decided to stop working and became manual versions! Loving your work and videos. Please keep the great content coming.
Thanks!
My dad bought a new H reg fiesta, we'd come from a much more expensive car, but as a kid, still loved the fiesta, it was such a departure from the fiesta that came before, until the dreaded rot stated. It used to pull a speedboat from the midlands to North Wales regularly though. It had the same material as that one, nice to see a survivor.
Girlfriend at the time in 1990 bought a white H reg Fiesta Bonus brand new after getting fed up with the second hand metro not starting. It was based on the popular spec but with a few extras such as passenger side door mirror, rear parcel shelf and white wheel trims (yes Ford did spoil you!). You didn’t get a radio (she paid the dealer to fit one) and you didn’t get a rear wiper nor a glovebox lid. Don’t remember the indicators not self cancelling, maybe they didn’t! Wouldn’t surprise me. The one in this video has survived really well.
Hello, a great review, its good to see the models so many people owned but never kept pristine or at all. Ford were pretty tight on their base models, but it is interesting to see over the 70's, 80's and 90's how they made the most basic kit like mirrors, cigarette lighters, carpets and sun visors, standard kit as time went on on the 'popular' models.
My first car! Never had a day's trouble with it, nothing broke, used no oil, remarkably well-designed and built for the price.
The first car I drove was a Fiesta Mk1, which I found it heavy to drive compared to my old Herald. My sister's boyfriend's mother had a sporty version that replaced her 1275. Knew someone with an XR2 Mk2, didn't like that. My old boss's wife had a new Mk3 (replacing her written off Mini Clubman Estate, drove that it was OK. A friend had a Mk4, a nasty base car. I preferred the Mini Metro that another mate had in the early '90's. Also drove a sporty Fiesta when new up the Goodwood hill climb at the Moving Motor Show in 2012 as a prize my wife won, also got lunch and a funky model of a prototype Ford that I still have. Now that was a great little car. Mk1 - 4, not my cup of tea. Great little video! Thanks.
Can't imagine not having intermittent wipers now. Got a new car recently, left key in the ignition whilst jet washing, imagine my surprise when I started jet washing the front and the wipers started auto wiping lolol
We had a G reg base model of these when I was 5. Same red. Didnt even have a radio. I remember my mum being excited that it had a passenger wing mirror...
Its amazing to think that back then passenger door mirrors, rear wash wipe, heated rear screen, cassette player and clock were not standard on cars. Now we get seven airbags, ABS, traction control and more on a base model! My H reg Ghia had Velour Trim - i was so excited LOL
Nice video. I really like the detail you go into. I actually have a digital copy of the mk3 Fiesta launch brochure. The Bonus model was really a special edition version of the base model Popular with white wheel trims fitted as standard and, I kid you not, the cigarette lighter and remote control for the passenger side door mirror. Storage wise, there is also a map pocket I'm sure down in the passenger foot well. As per the other comments, these did have self cancelling indicators - it'll just be the switch that has worn. I had an H plate Orion 1.4 LX as my first car which had the same problem. All I literally had to do to fix it was take the indicator unit out (easy job) and put a blob of super glue on the end of the piece of plastic that did the cancellation to ever so slightly extend its length and that sorted it.
I have a 94’ 1.1 Azura and a 91’ Fiesta SX 1600 Zetec, I drove around in the sx for weeks before i realised it had a heated front windscreen, couldn’t live without it now 😂 2.0 being dropped in soon 👍🏻 great vid!
Had a Ford Fiesta POP Plus for 12 years used every day let it go at 140000 miles , never let me down once , only cost usual stuff ; brakes tyres exhaust truly brilliant car in the snow as well
would love a 90s fiesta, how cheap are they? seeing as older fords seem to very popular right now would love to have one
Bonus 2 was a 'Popular' model with wheel trims and rub strips (I think the Popular Plus has a glove box lid).
My Dad had a couple of these new when I was a kid and whilst they weren't base spec models, they were fairly basic. A 1.1L automatic and a 1.3LA (also an automatic) miserable CVT units too if so remember correctly - a joint venture with Fiat with the transmissions which were also available in the Panda and Uno of the times. He never believed in larger more expensive cars but they were at least new. The first one, a 90 on a G plate was plagued with carburettor issues, the 93 on a K was much more reliable however even after a few years, rust was starting to show behind the door seals, but they took us as a family all over Europe. The velour trim in the midly facelifted cars from 93 onwards made the interior feel a lot nicer than the tweed found in the earlier base models.
Slightly fond of them despite their shortcomings however that's nostalgia for you.
Nice to see, thanks for the video! Owner desperately needs to give that a coat of wax!!! No beading at all!
I remember the end-of-line Fiesta Classic mk3 1.1 Base models had very little electric equipment, but the dark grey velour seat upholstery material pattern was the same as in a Mondeo GLX!
Another cracking video mate, my dad had a mark 4 escort Bonus with the same wheel trims! In regards to non self cancelling indicators I wonder if it was a design fault as when my dad got a mark 5 escort with the same style of indicator in popular spec his indicators never cancelled and I can remember him taking it back to Ford on a couple of occasions to get it fixed! Grandad had a later mark 3 94 equipe special edition and just looked like this with addition of airbag, clock and glovebox. The old HCS engine rumbled on for years sure it became a 1.1 and 1.3 and ended up in the ka. These engines alongside the cvhs blighted the launch of the mark 5 escort and you could still have a 1.3 HCS rebadged endura in a mark six escort until the late nineties.
I love the mk3 fiesta’s, I have had dozens over the years and I currently have 2 now 💙
Got this car myself but the ultra rare auto model it’s the best car I’ve ever had
My first car was a 1.0 fiesta mk3. I always remember if you forgot to turn the choke off you'd slowly sputter to a low powered halt. Also the gear stick had huge travel for 4 gears constantly banging knees of your passenger and yourself.
Hermoso auto!!!! Yo tengo un Ford Verona 1991 era de mi papá. Lo estoy mejorando de a poco. Esta en excelente estado!👏👏
I sat in one of these in a scrapyard as shelter from the rain. Nice to see a survivor!
Great video! I had one of these on a 1993 k reg plate. I loved it. It was a brilliant reliable car. Never gave me any grief at all. Still got photos of it somewhere?????
I had a rover metro 1.1L it's was a belter of a car handled well and always left my mates nova same engine size for dust.The front seats were the best part along with my kenwood stereo
My first car, a 1.3i Classic. Conquered Czechia, the Stelvio Pass, blizzards, terrible downpours and many more adventures.
Impressive review Ed!
I suddenly felt very old, my first Car was J reg Mk 3 Fiesta. Admittedly it must have been a step up from the Base model, but it's interesting to note that within that first year they must have addressed some of the specific issues you raised in this video:
Definitely had self cancelling indicators.
J Reg had a catalytic converter - so injection rather than carb, and an auto choke.
Better more sculpted steering wheel
More side support in the seats and generally better support
Also - I had a factory fitted sun roof.
So not a base model, but only an 1100 and not a posh one.
It was great to drive - economical but fun. I drove to France, Germany and Belgium in it.
But as my first car, I'm probably biased. Sadly Head gasket failure made it uneconomic to repair....if it had been now, I'd have fixed it myself!
I had one, 1.3i. my first car. Never problems with it. Had it for 6,5 years and did 106.000 km. He was a food car😊. I miss it.
I had one as a first car. The head gasket went on it after a couple of months and I sold it as parts and got a Maestro instead, which I found to be a much better car. I put MG Metro bucket seats in it and a few other things. I loved it.
I think all Fiesta Mk3s had the trim going up to the top of the door and the interior adjustable mirrors
Hey, I got a silver Gray metallic 1990 Fiësta MK3 CL with a CVT transmission with the same apolstery. Also with the same 1.1 HCS Valencia engine. Yes it's a sowing machine, and de CVT makes a hauling sound. I has driven now about 91.000km, and he is in storage now. He is only to come out on for an drive in the summer. Even after 6 month of inactivity, he starts up after 30sec of cranking. And runs great. I know the Fiësta from new, my grandfather bought is new. And after some time it became my second car. The only upgrades is did was: white front blinkers, OEM dark rear lights. And... A rev-couter with day counter. But further, still original (with some known rust)
Wow, literally had one of those as first car, red 1.1 lx. Was good car!!
cracking review again Ed, your reliable reviews deserve a better set up maybe? set up a patreon so we can help you buy a camera and gimble ? i would be happy to contribute for such good material....especially delivered by the next generation of classic car lover...
Aww thanks for the kind words!
I am saving up for new equipment, including an action cam and a microphone.
My first car was an H reg one of these but in a maroon red. Never had an issue with room on that back seat when I was parked on a quiet country lane 😉
Thanks for another interesting video. I had a 1990 Fiesta diesel and it was almost the worst car I've owned. The steering was incredibly heavy and the seats had no lateral, shoulder or lumbar support. I'm pretty sure the indicators self cancelled but I'm in the habit of cancelling them myself anyway so maybe didn't notice.
Great job. I had a mk3 5 years ago as a runaround/second car. It was another special edition 'Frascati' in a metallic petrol pump green colour. It was a great car; always started and wasn't bad on fuel. It cost me next to nothing to run. Rust got the better of it in the end. I had a mk2 XR2 and will agree that the overall build (moreso inside) felt a lot better on the mk3. That Kent engine was around up until 2007 in the Ford Ka.
I drove a 1989 1.0 Popular in the mid to late 90's and the indicators cancelled fine. It was fun simple reliable motoring.
Had a 95 no.3 Classic. 1.8 diesel. Amazing car that kept going and saved my life on a couple of occasions. She would tell you if something was wrong with her. I'd buy another without a thought. Only thing I found was mine had Ford escort wing mirrors, power steering steering wheel but no power steering and no washer on the back despite having the hole and nozzle! Parts bin special! But I loved her and always will.
4 speed gears, that’s nostalgic
I actually love the MK3, I have one myself in very good condition, it's my first car and the one car I've ever wanted due to how rate they have become these days, I plan to keep maintaining it and using it daily
Old bangers last a lot longer than new cars!!
Never seen so many holes on a dashboard 😅😅 very basic, simple and honest this Fiesta. Nice one mate 👍
That Fiesta reminds me of how much basic my car is, a 95 VW Gol 1000i. Greetings from Brazil.
Rodrigo Tavares The 95 Golf was a great car. I feel they got over complicated in later models. (Oops I just learned that Gol and Golf were different)
Andrew Stones he meant the VW Gol,its a separate model
CoCo NuTNuT Thanks for that, I never heard of that before. I just looked it up, and learned all about it.
The MK4 may have looked like a depressed guppy but in 1.25L form it was fast and frugal and handled really well - quite a catch if you find a good one now.
I had a 1.1 LX with RS body kit and alloys, I loved it. A bit boy racer but I was only 21 :-)
I finally passed my driving test in one of these - it was a nice car to drive, but a bit too ubiquitous for my tastes. The later mk 7 models are superb cars
Fiesta 1.1 LX was the ubiquitous hire car in the early 90s and I drove one around and all over Scotland - I can say that the fit and finish and design was top of class as a good looking car yet dynamically dull steering let it down as well as breathless performance yet it rode comfortably- cornered the wheels off and this and escort of this era led ford to lift their game dynamically
Did we get there in Australia?
I had the lx model h reg I was 19 the car was a year old when I got it only problem the keys wore out great car
had one brand new on a j reg ballion blue 1.1 bonus drove great good car
I started with a 1.3 supersport mk1 fiesta in 94. Later I had a 1990 mk3 957 cc as a winter hack ( it cost me £40 ....) and yes the indicators did self cancel 🤣
I had one of these and it was epic on fuel. A totally unimpressive car, but it did its job. It's no fun to drive when the electronic distributor fails and knocks out 2 cylinders. It was like driving a heavy 2CV.
Drove a few of these in the 90's the indicators should self cancel but (and you'll see this on a number of forums) the mechanism fails. If I remember this can be caused by trying to cancel with the wheel still turned.
I think I sat in the Fiesta in the Scottish Motor Show in Glasgow SECC in 1990.
My mum had a 1979 mk1, HLT 83V. Basic but reliable, even if my brother and I had to cram ourselves in the back each day!
I never liked the design of this car. I had a mk1 when I was younger. Great video all the same 👍
Design is modern for early 90's but its great handling car. Small but the wheelbase is only 5 cm shorter than golf IV.
And was from 1992. Great video☺
Another great video. Maybe one day the sun will shine!
Hopefully, it’s putting a bit of a burden on my production. There are so many clips that are unusable because of wind noise and I want to get done as quickly as possible in these conditions!
@@TwinCam Thanks for the link to the promotional video. A classic of its time! Look! Lights! Wheels! A steering wheel!
My mum had a green one!
Great video once again Ed!
I think the non opening rear windows is actually a good thing, better sealing and more secure. As for the headliner sometimes cheap feeling is better, the plush rover headliners found In The maestro and montego which seem more upmarket sadly would've sagged long ago.
The Mk3 was the first Fiesta sold here in Brazil. It was imported from Belgium at the time but was too expensive to be tagged as 'popular'. There are not many of these on the streets nowadays, giving it a 'collectible status'.
When launched in 1989 the list price of a 1.0 Popular was £5,199. #anorak What is that adjusted for inflation in 2020 - £11-12k or thereabouts?
Personally I’ve always had a soft spot for the mk3 not too keen on the mk2 and as you say the mk4 has a sad Face ID love to get hold of a mk3 1.8 diesel one day great video 👍🏻
Had a few off these great little cars
Great video. It's funny how my 2019 compares to this model...
Another car Australia didn’t get. Ford Australia used a Laser a rebadged and Australian built Mazda 323. The Laser was built at Ford’s Sydney plant at Homebush. I’m not sure if other plants built it.
One of Girl friends had a (New at time),
M reg Fiesta 1.1 Azure, I was driving an XR3i on an E plate, i was shocked at Nippy it was even with her driving it.
I thought it was very nice and modern looking😏
Great video you absloutley must be related to furious driving I’m certain lol
I remember many of those occupying the roads, I knew many that had them back in the day, I never had one, I preferred Novas / cavaliers I had at the time.
Me too. I found the Fords too basic and still do to this day. If you bought the LX model, you got a digital clock and a sun roof that leaked. PS. The rust isn't an optional extra, that will show up when its 5 years old
Sarah Whitehead lol very true 😂
When will you review a Mark 1 new MINI?
Great and last ROVER designed cars!
When I get offered one, I’ll do a video on one.
Twin-Cam I’ve got a first generation (2004) MINI Cooper S JCW in Leicestershire you’re more than welcome to film and drive. Any time.
Thanks! Any chance you could email me?
twincamcars@gmail.com
@@TwinCam great! I have a 2003 British racing green Cooper s only a bit far away...the Netherlands! Love it though. 😁
hi, eh man, I've hot the dame since 1996, same color, 5 Doors , gazoline , my fiesta h as now 197.000kms (2020/02) and she is running fine .I love it.
You should test drive your cars, love the attention to detail reminds me of when I first saw one when I was 5 years old
I’d love to test drive them, but unfortunately insurance is prohibitive due to my age.
@@TwinCam that's a shame but keep doing what you're doing it's great
Hopefully soon I’ll be able to!
We got what I guess would be the Mark 1 here in the states in four trim levels from 1976-1980.
love these and mk5 good vid thanks
I reckon I may have sold this car when it was brand new, I worked at Trigon of Ely (Cambridgshire) in those days