Fiest ST vs Alfa 147

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HumberMart

HumberMart

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My son, now 21, has decided he can afford to insure a 'sportier' car than his 1.4 Ibiza, and despite my recommendations that he could drive away a new A Class for £199 a month, or a Clio 1.2 for as little as £169 a month, he has set his heart on a Fiesta ST.

It seems that an ST worth buying (say 55 reg and 50K miles) will cost about £6K. Such poor value, I'd never buy one myself.

The most I've managed to turn his head is to an Alfa 147, and prob the 1.9 diesel.

Has anyone got experience of either Fiesta ST's or Alfa 147's to give any advice?
 
I can see why your son wouldnt want an A class.

Is a BMW 1 series within reach @ £6k. Nice RWD chassis and badge appeal galore. MK V golf for £6k, might not be as "sporty" as an ST but an altogether better proposition than a 2litre supermini.
 
My missus has a 147. 1.6TS petrol.

I still have a problem with the thought of diesel Alfas! There is a great website - alfaowner.co.uk - which would be worth a read through to get a perspective on what goes right/wrong. Beware cambelts!!

From my personal experience, I would much prefer the 147 over a Fiesta, but I know a lot of people are put off by the thought of things going wrong. But in our case at least, nothing ever has, so we can only say that it has been a pleasure to own and drive. The steering in particular is exquisite and makes the car worthwhile on that count alone. It is kart-like - lovely!
 
I know Alfas fairly well (as I work with them) and whilst they have made some great cars the 147 isn't great now.. It drove well when it was new but things have moved on considerably since it's development, compared to some new cars though it still drives great, like compared to the Corsa for example.. The diesel engine is a Vauxhall and isn't the most reliable engine, you'd be better off with a petrol. But I admit it does look very pretty, especially in facelift guise.

Now at the other end of the sprectrum, the other brand I work for is Skoda....
I'd would honestly much rather have a Skoda Fabia vRS than a 147 JTD. The 1.9TDi PD130 engine is very torquey even more so if you remap it to circa 180bhp with torque similar to an M3. It doesn't ever go wrong and they are built well. Only problem is (depending on what your son is like) is the brand I guess, plus the interior is very dated on the MkI Fabia it does look quite a bit like a Mk3 Golf.

Failing that, what about the obvious? Another Ibiza or a Leon, but the faster ones. You can get the Ibiza with the 20v Turbo engine which is a flying machine.
 
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Fiesta ST's are probably one of the best hot hatches made in a while. They handle really well, have plenty power and are actually really fun to drive.

Build quality is poor though as is the driving position (common to all the new small cars). Compared to a Corsa C it feels cheap inside, the Corsa D is leagues ahead again IMO.

How about the Fiat Panda 100HP?
 
Lugy said:
How about the Fiat Panda 100HP?
Click to expand...

We had a Panda PX against a new Brera V6 and it was pretty hilarious to drive, although I suspect to a 21 year old it isn't a particulary cool car.
 
I ran a 147 2.0 (petrol) until a couple of years ago. Over three years i did just under 100k trouble free miles in it.

147s have been around for ten years now so some of the tech is a bit old. The diesels are pretty good units - I believe GM used FIAT/ALFA diesels in a lot of their range when the two companies still had a tie up. (ALFA got the raw end of the deal when they got the GM block for the later V6 engines to replace the classic 'Busso' unit.)

There are various flavours of the 1.9 diesel engines ie jtd, jtdm with varying power outputs so shop carefully. These engines also respond very well to remapping. As said before, ask around on alfaowner.com - there are a lot of folk on there who know an awful lot about these cars.

Build quality is pretty good given the vintage of the original design - certainly up there with the MkIV golf of the era and the interiors are a nice place to sit. Most people seem to prefer the slightly more aggresive look of the pre-facelift cars which also have the cowled instruments which were lost on later cars. Just check for the usual FSH. Suspension bushes and corroded back exhaust boxes seem to be common gripes.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling reply.
 
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Wow thanks for all the prompt and useful responses!

I think I better let him read them himself - there's certainly a bit of marmite flavour to many of the comments. He's pretty tall, so he would better sit in and test a 147 before he gets too keen on them.
 
Iain said:
Can you get a Alfa Mito for 6k yet?
Click to expand...

No. Alfa just put the price of new ones up by £1k which will keep residuals strong.
 
Iain said:
Shame, 'cos this is the 1st really good small car from them for ages. I also love it's quirky looks. It's ugly in an endearing sort of way!:confused:
Click to expand...

It looks suprised from the front. It drives remarkably well. The new multiair 170bhp will be a right little beast, as will the GTA if it ever comes out. The 120TB is fast enough though for most purposes.
 
Another vote for the Skoda Fabia vRS. And if he doesn't like the badge, SEAT did a version of the Ibiza with the sme 130hp diesel motor. Both are a hoot to drive, and both are well screwed together. The Fabia vRS has a bit of a cult following too, as it's an almost perfect small Q-car.
 
I've found a good deal on a Cat D stolen-recovered ST (non-damaged).

Are there any really bad issues to consider when buying such a car, or is it mainly that it would be harder to sell on?

Also, does anyone know if the Ford warranty would still be valid (it's under 3 years old)?
 
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