Test drive Ford Fiesta 5 doors 2002 - 2005 hatchback

Fiat - “six hundred” and “bugs” Ford

When the price is mini, then the size is, respectively, small. What is a new lower price car? For such microbes, even a separate class was not invented - as well as the larger Ford Fiesta and Fiat Punto II, the low -ior Ford KA and Fiat Seicento cars are segment A according to the European classification. They say easier for us: a small class. Although in order to determine the class belonging of these two cars, you do not need to rummage in the catalogs: and so it is clear that the kids. Moreover, their miniature is placed at the forefront, since only ATVs and a double Smart can be less. But both models that came to our test have not two or three, but five places for passengers!

A special approach

Who will buy such a car? The one who does not need a large car. Anyone who does not go to the country every weekend and does not return from there with a trunk full to the top. Anyone who buys a car for trips, and not to solve all life problems, ranging from the transportation of furniture to travel throughout Europe. Anyone who really realizes that a small machine is inferior to large models in almost all operational parameters. Comfort, smoothness, internal space, the volume of the trunk - these important parameters do not even reach the level of golf class models. A family car such a baby can also be considered only with a stretch. There is a place for four to five people, but they are unlikely to like to travel in this car. The three -door body is not so functional, and other versions for both models presented in this test are simply not offered. In general, you need to come consciously ...

But for the role of the second car in the family, both seicento are suitable as possible. Small, maneuverable, quite dynamic and acceptable - for the city crowd of the best option, you can’t imagine. Again, the price plays an important role: few can afford to support two full -fledged cars at once. Especially in this regard, FIAT stands out. The cost of the basic version of Seicento deserves a separate conversation. At the same time, there can be absolutely everything in the baby - airbags, air conditioning, electric drives, etc. But Ford KA, even in the basic configuration, costs much more, and this despite the fact that there is no air conditioner - you need to order separately. But there is a driver’s airbag - it is immediately clear that the machine is for Europe. And also a power steering, because for a female car this is an indispensable attribute. Which, by the way, is not in Seicento - neither in the database or in the list of additional equipment.

First meeting

Approaching Ford Ka, I want to bother a little so as not to close the car with my shadow: it hurts little! Short, a little more than three and a half meters, low and round. True, when Seicento stopped nearby, I wanted to sit at all - this one is even less. Even in short, although it seemed that there was already nowhere less; Even narrower, some kind of square, which is why it seems even less. The touching rectangular-rounded headlights look somehow ingratiatingly, as if apologizing. He seems to be not confident in himself, so he takes a minimum of space, tries not to attract attention, to live modestly.

Ford, like a sleek European, is simply glossy - stylish lighting technology, sharp edges in combination with correct circles. Well, the design, of course, is very interesting. Ford has not released such a stylish car for a long time. But the food was a little walking - it feels like another person painted it, and he had time in a sawn -off shotgun. Otherwise, how to explain that the entire front end, profile and salon are completely triangular motives in combination with smooth contours, and some kind of circles and ovals suddenly began to play from behind. And so much so that the back seems to be a completely different car - just some kind of small fat man like Renault Twingo ...

When both cars stand nearby, one looks like a well -fed, pleased with the life of the Yankee, the second - on a Russian man of the times of developed socialism. According to Ford, it is immediately clear that the car is expensive. But that’s all the point: for that kind of money you can buy not only this kutsy three-door hatchback with a 1.3-liter engine, but also something more impressive. You can’t say this about Fiat, since only Zhiguli compete with it at a price.

The interiors of both cars are also striking, like external design: FIT's stylish Ford and Fiat toy. Although both turned out to be quite convenient, and the ergonomics did not suffer at all from the machinations of designers. And it is still unknown what is more convenient: stylish small switches for ka or large color in Seicento. Miracles of information content at a minimum size showed tidy. In both cars, they turned out to be microscopic-oval with a minimum of sensors. A speedometer, fuel level indicator, control lamps - that’s all the useful information that the driver of Seicento and Ka should know. There is not even an indicator of the temperature of the coolant ...

The seats in the cars were far from the ideal: there are practically no lateral support, the loads are distributed unevenly. In the course of the dough, constantly transplanting from one car to another, I never noticed a particular difference: the feeling that the chairs are ordered from one supplier. Adjustments - minimum, and about heating or electric drives can be forgotten at all. Fiat liked the style of the salon: the two-tone black and blue seat upholstery looks much more fun than just the dark material of the ka.

An important question for three -door models: convenience of access to the rear seats. There is no definite leader here: Ford has a wide doorway, but Fiat will be higher. And therefore, when landing in the rear seat, Seicento does not have to bend into three deaths. Now, as for the comfort of the rear seats ... you can sit there, even for quite some time, but do not try to seriously believe that these cars are five -seater. Woe to the one who turns out to be the third passenger: he will not seem enough to him. With such a car width, three passengers from behind are nonsense. Two more wherever it went: they can comfortably sit, and there will be even some supply of free space. Especially in ka: it is both wider and seat more comfortable. Although it is too early to talk about some advantage, since the rear seats in both models are approximately at the same level in terms of comfort. Yes, more is wider in dimensions and because of this is more convenient, but in Seicento, but the ceiling is higher.

It is quite difficult to evaluate the trunk in terms of ease of use, and the male of its real volume in this class is quite difficult. Firstly, in both machines the trunk are quite small: 170 liters of Seicento (810 with the decomposed rear seats) and 185 (725) liters of KA. Let's just say a little. Secondly, Ford, even in the presence of a more convenient luggage compartment in the shape of, is unlikely to be useful as a car for travel. Because its carrying capacity is only 375 kilograms! Four riders in the cabin - and you can forget about baggage. Or vice versa: a full trunk or driver with one passenger. Seicento, let's say right away, the trunk is even less impressive, it is inconvenient in shape, and the volume seems insufficient. But then the car capacity cannot but admire: almost 500 kilograms! This speaks not only about the possibility of transporting heavy cargo, but also about the supply of pendants' strength. Here it is, a car for Eastern Europe, as Europeans often call our market ...

Theory of movement

Needless to say, a volume of 1.1 or 1.3 liters at a power of 52 or 60 horses - these are not the indicators that drivers dream of. But this does not mean that ka and seicento are phlegmatic cars designed for tedious transportation of passengers from point A to point B. Do not look at the modest herd under the hood, because these are far from the only numbers that characterize the dynamics of the car. Try to share these l.S. in the mind. For the equipped mass of cars - 890 kg at ka and 730 kg at Fiat Seicento. Even with approximate calculations, not such a bad figure is obtained: the ratio of mass/power in babies is very profitable. To be precise, 13.5 kg per 1 hp. Fiat and 14.8 kg/ 1 hp Ford ka. For comparison: VW Golf IV with a 1.4-liter gasoline engine with a capacity of 74 hp. It has a ratio of 14.8 kg/1 hp. It turns out that these two low -profiles, which at first seemed incredibly frail, are actually strong middle peasants in terms of accelerated dynamics. Not bad...

Real drive

Exactly so, and nothing else. Because driving on such cars is nice. Ford Ka and Fiat Seicento give completely different sensations than more expensive representatives of other classes. Inexpensive low -iorities drive cleanly - they do not have expensive electronic systems that filter all the reactions of the car. Therefore, if you pressed sharply to gas, then the car will go sharply and no electronic brain will independently install the optimal, from its point of view, the angle of opening of the throttle. They do not have ABS, and the brake drive is unusually informative, so you perfectly feel the degree of adhesion of the wheels with the road. Even the steering, although it is light, does not deprive the driver of the information he needs. And this cleanliness turns so that both of the cars we tested for the whole day, it seems, have never been calmly traveled. It’s just not interesting to go to them, since the machines are quite noisy, especially Fiat, and besides, their small weight does not help raise the level of comfort: they simply jump on each bump. But they do it completely differently ...

Let's start with Ford. By releasing Focus with a multi -link rear suspension, which is controlled best in its class, the manufacturer simply could not forget the rest of the models. And therefore, Ka is steaming if not at the focus level, then at least the other small -leafers are at least better. He has an unusually sharp steering wheel - you can get the car into a 90 -degree turn without intercepting your hands on the steering wheel. He reacts very quickly for each steering wheel, without delay. Suspensions match the steering: elastic, almost like GTI. Incidentally, one is one of the few models in the world, which has a back track larger than the front - like Formula 1 car. And this means that with stability the full okay - the car simply does not know what the rolls are. More precisely, the back axis does not know about this - the front in the bends is noticeably rolling, and the back almost does not change the position. It is only a pity that thoroughly charging the chassis, Ford, in its long tradition, saved on the engine - a 1.3 -liter unit is too pale against the background of a magnificent chassis. It would have approached the usual low -commandment, but for the groove, this power is clearly not enough. And the point is not even how many horses this motor gives out, but how it does it. Everything happens very tedious: no pickups, no drive, and even on the bottom is just zero activity. You can barely gain momentum by immediately switching the gears, or you can twist the motor to the limiter - the motor will still be surprisingly phlegmatic. Why this was done did not guess at once: during the years of the start of production in the Ford gamut, there was another excellent lighter - a stylish Puma. Everything was really there: a powerful 125-horsepower engine, and an excellent chassis, and the corresponding design. And it turned out that even with a 75-horsepower engine from Fiesta, the Ka model could repel buyers from a more expensive Puma ...

But Fiat Seicento could not squeeze any of the relatives in the market, so its creators did not drown out the model. Hence the result: a 1.1-liter motor simply tears and swords. It allows you to easily move from a place at idle and sort through the gears above, without touching the gas pedal. But the most interesting thing is when you unscrew it as it should, to the limiter itself. There is no tachometer, so you have to navigate by noise, although it is quite difficult: the motor is noisy in the same tonality both at medium and maximum speeds. And that is why few people twist it normally, everyone is limited to approximately 3500-4000 rpm. But it is worth slightly holding the leg on the pedals, miracles begin - the motor is surprisingly resourceful and allows you to squeeze almost 90 km/h in second gear! This is the Italian machine, and its drive continues in the third and fourth gear. It is only a pity that the chassis in Seicento is not as perfect as the ka, it has softer pendants. The steering is also less acute, so active driving on this car is not so pleasant. In addition, Fiat is very hard in turning. It seems from the driver’s place that the car is about to stir up the edge of the bumper on the asphalt, but in fact the wheels are still tenacious by the road surface.

Global problem

Yes, choosing between Ford Ka and Fiat Seicento is very difficult. As can be seen from the estimated table, both cars scored about the same number of points. But they scored them in different nominations - each of them is good in a particular environment, but is not appreciated for the other. Seicento, for example, has a very good motor. Despite the fact that he has a smaller working volume and loses in the livestock under the hood, in fact it is clearly more harsh and dynamic. It’s just more fun to go with such a motor: there are some kind of catching, the car starts. And Ford has excellent chassis: elastic pendants and acute steering. So the recipe for the perfect car for the city would look like this: the equipped mass and the engine from Fiat, the body, pendants and the steering from Ford. Well, the price, of course, is certainly like that of Seicento ...

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A small car in the accident is always more dangerous than a large one. If a large -sized model has programmed deformation zones, then a small machine simply has nowhere to absorb the energy of the impact. She would save the main cage in which passengers and a driver are located, as a whole as possible. Nevertheless, even with minimal dimensions, the constituator can create a fairly hard body that can absorb the energy of the blow. A good example is Ford KA. The machine is just a little more than 3.5 meters not only confidently confronts the frontal clash, but also provides decent protection of the riders. The driver and the front passenger, if they suffer, are slightly. Only the feet of the driver’s feet are painted in red, and everything else is brown and orange. In the crash tests of the EURONCAP series, this baby managed to get three stars and seventeen points. For example: the largest Ford Fiesta, Daewoo Matiz and even the VW Polo of the previous generation received the same assessment. In the base, only the driver’s airbag has.

But Fiat Seicento coped worse with this task: the age of the model affects. Not only did the car are very small, when designing it, the issue of the security of the passenger and the driver seemed to have no decisive importance. The model received 12 points and only two stars, but a complete picture of destruction, I think, will give a photograph. The car is actually destroyed to the base: the roof turned out, the door went to the side, the frontal glass frame is almost vertically. It is not surprising that in the scheme attached to this picture, the driver is half painted in red. Especially a lot of chances to damage the head, left knee and lower leg, as well as the feet of both legs with a frontal collision. Apparently, the lack of air pillow has greatly affected the result - it is not proposed for the basic version of Seicento. True, it costs only 220 EUR, so caring for your safety will not be disorerous for you. In fairness, it is worth noting that the Seicento 1.1 Brush we tested has an energy -absorbing steering wheel, doors with protective transverse gangways and inertial seat belts. The fact that Seicento was not the only one that turned out to be a weak link on crash tests is a little soothing. The outsiders included: Citroeon Saxo, Nissan Micra (previous) and many other small class models.

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In the West, the main buyers of models of this class are either advanced youth from wealthy families or women. Both those and others do not mind experimenting with the appearance of the car. It is for them that many tuning companies produce various accessories to individualize the exterior of the car. Spoilers, aerodynamic skirts, anti -winged, new original lighting equipment - if desired, as well as if there is enough money, you can change your car to such an extent that they will stop recognizing Fiat or Ford in it. Although the manufacturers themselves do not disdain the production of sports modifications. Fiat, for example, likes to release all kinds of limited versions, such as Michael Shumacher, as it was with the previous small -scale model. Yes, and the tested copy, in the Brush version, also, in fact, is the object of corporate tuning. Two -color body painting, a stylish two -tone salon, a sufficiently powerful motor - than not Tuning Car? Ford, in the framework of corporate design, could not offer anything like that, although for a long time at exhibitions they showed a conceptual Streetka - a sports class based on an existing model. Now this model should go to production.

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Driving opinions:

Svetlana, driving experience 1 year: cool. I especially liked Ka - a very beautiful and cheerful machine. She is so funny that it is simply interesting to ride in her - to watch how others react to you.

Eugene, driving experience 2 years: I like Fiat Seicento. This is the same car that is quite suitable for definition not a luxury, but a vehicle. Small, economical, maneuverable. In general, the perfect city car.

The opinion of professionals: Seicento is a Bestseller model in many European markets, such as Polish, Italian. We, I think, will also turn out all the advantages of small -leafers in the ends of the ends. Moreover, the price of this model is quite Belarusian. -

Ford ka is definitely a second or third car in the family. But not necessarily for a wife or daughter, active male drivers should also like it.

Opinion AG: Ford KA - True Aryan. Stylish, pretty, beautiful. The price is slightly overstated, but in general the car is very pleasant. And the most interesting thing is quite spacious for a company of three or four people.
+Magnificent chassis
+Stylish design
+Economical motor
-High price
-Satous radio control unit

Fiat Seicento is the most affordable new car in our market. The closest competitors cost at least $ 1,000 more. Accordingly, it is simply incorrect to blame him for small sizes and an ascetic salon: try to do it cheaper. In the end, the VAZ looks much worse for the same money.
+Low price
+The traction motor
+Excellent visibility
-small external mirrors
-Small motor

Source: Auto -Gazeta / N 6 (398) dated 19.02.03