77TSI DSG v Fiesta Zetec WT DSG

[funtastic]

Hi guys,

Looking at a buying a small car and have narrowed my list down to the above. In the specs I want its ~28k for the polo (sports pack/audio) and 23.5k for the Fiesta (WA prices).

The polo is my favourite of the 2 but I am trying to justify the extra 4.5k. Basically I am after some biased opinions from polo owners to sway me over

I am not really a mechanically minded person when it comes to cars so would appreciate any advice on what the extra 4.5k is getting me in terms of extra features safety or other.

[pologti18t]

4.5K is a significant difference. 20% more than the Fiesta in fact.

The other point is that you will probably have to wait for a Polo (for months?) but you maybe able to pick up a Fiesta fairly soon.

The polo will be more refined, better finished and the engine will be gustier midrange. The fiesta has (from all reports) a better ride/handling balance and to my eyes looks more stylish (and a wider choice for colour).

Does the Fiesta run on regular ULP? What are the servicing costs for the Fiesta? I would assume cheaper than the Polo.

[funtastic]

[QUOTE=pologti18t;647666]4.5K is a significant difference. 20% more than the Fiesta in fact.

I don't mind waiting a few months...have been borrowing an old bomb since someone rear ended me in Oct No aircon through summer in Perth was murder though!

Have driven the polo...feels really good and nice and zippy. Have not yet driven the zetec. Plan to do so this week if i can find a demo WT zetec.

From what I have read the Fiesta only requires regular ULP but people seem to say it runs much better on premium. Also many people have reported horrible after sale service from Ford which worries me a bit.

[QIK-R]

hi funtastic.

any car runs better on premium, but i run my fiesta demo on e10 all the time and theres no problems.

the fiesta zetec is a nice car to drive, havent driven the golf but i would imagine a nice drive nonetheless. this is not a biased opinion because i am a ford salesperson. i do like the fiesta, but i have only driven the fiesta, the polo may just be a bit better.

also, are you prepared to wait months for a polo when you can probably get into a fiesta relatively soon?

[FJ Steve]

the wait for the Polo will be worth it.

12 months after owning the Fleaesta you will have wished you had have waited. We test drove the Fiesta when deciding between Polo/Mazda2/Yaris/Fiesta/i30/Tida/Lancer/Corolla/Jazz. It simply didn't rate (for us).
So so happy with "MARCCO". Awesome fuel economy, big car feel and solid construction which was simply not found in the other test cars.

Would do it all again (6 month wait)

[soulighter]

I was in similar situation a few months ago. I test drove both cars and apart from both being small hatch, there's little similarities.

Engines: Fiesta has more power, but Polo has more torque. Fiesta has more sense of urgency and a bit more responsive in 1st n 2nd gears, whereas Polo is a bit slow to get off the mark with DSG (which is very smooth but everyone has their opinions on this), but it's very smooth and there's always more in reserve when you need it. To me, Polo is very sophisticated with plenty of oomph whereas Fiesta feels more grunty. To me, Fiesta is louder as well. Winner: Polo.

Interior: Polo is very simple but sophisticated, you can feel the quality looking at the soft touch plastics on the dashboard vs hard plastics of Fiesta. The instrument panel of Polo is very classy with brushed chrome and white backlit display. However, the central console of Fiesta is very "modern" looking, with lots of bells and whistle vs the simple and functional of Polo. Fiesta definitely has more extras e.g. bluetooth (I'm in NZ so may be different in WA). The interior cannot be more different, it's simple sophistication vs bells n whistles. Winner: Polo (for me).

Exterior: Polo now looks like a little Golf and this latest incarnation is a little "boxy" and has more sines and sharp corners; it takes a bit to get used to, you will either like it or hate it. Fiesta on the other hand looks more modern and space-age. To me this is may be the only area where Fiesta has a slight edge over Polo, but personally I like the Polo- the more you look at it, the more it will grow on you, whereas Fiesta will catch your eye but then novelty wears out after a while. Winner: Fiesta (for me, it's Polo but I'm biased)

Space and comfort: Both being a small hatch you are never gona have too much space, but Polo surprising has more room then you think just looking from the outside. It's been a while I'm in the Fiesta so I can't remember what it felt like inside. Polo definitely has better seats vs hard cushion of Fiesta. Winner: Polo

Economy: I'm still running my Polo in and fuel economy it's about 550km for 40L if i'm doing 90% city get around, and 630Km if I do a bit more motorway run. Don't own a fiesta so not sure.

Maintenance: Polo is my first European car and I'm slowly come to realise that it's probably gona be more high maintenance. But then again so if Ford, despite the fact that I keep thinking it's Japanese because it looks and feels like one, not that there's any wrong with that. Winner: Tie.

Value: Fiesta is probably better bang for buck, but Polo I imagine will have better resale value.

Overall winner: Polo TSI.

Just my 2c worth. I'm biased, I bought the Polo and never regretted; I still enjoy driving it everyday 4 months down the line.

If you haven't done so already, go test drive both- you will know which one you like. Look at it this way, for the sake of 4.5k, you don't want to live with regrets everyday for the next few years.

[Sword_Dude]

I looked at the Polo, Swift, Fiesta and 3 about 6 months ago, test drove them all.

The Swift has no storage space, just too small.
The 3 was too ummmm girly.
The Fiesta was too "Klingon", I don't think it will hold value and I didn't like the fact the back seats don't fold flat.
The Polo was the most solid, ticked all my boxes, safety, economy, price maintenance, size and too boot was fun to drive.
By all means test drive the Ford but I think that the interior will date really quickly, it is fun to drive though!

[triode12]

I have test driven both cars. The Polo is better all all points esp interior. The Fiesta's interior is cheap and nasty (and in the demo I tried, a part of it was already loose). Plus it has plastic headers in the engine. nasty.

The Polo's steering was a bit light compared to the Golf but it is on par in terms of high speed stability. At 120km/hr, the Polo was as stable as both my Golfs.

Buy the Polo.

[kaanage]

Another thing to consider is that the Polo is turbocharged so you can quite easily get a sizeable power increase with a simple ECU remap. The Fiesta can't be powered up so easily - bit it does look much more avant garde.

[marcs]

im sorry but to me the polo design externally in sportspack is beautiful, best in its class by farrrr. Its hard to pick a colour, because they all look beautiful every colour! except yellow.I personally even prefer the look to a Golf. I could have got a golf to, spent 30k on my polo!I dont like the Fiesta at all. After owning vintage alfa romeos all my life. This is my first new car. I swore I would buy japanese after owning my alfa's. But I ended up buying european haha i couldnt resist. My 2c

[GTI JOE]

I've test driven both the Fiesta Zetec and the Polo GTI. I'm not biased, even though I have ordered my first VeeDub. The Polo GTI wins hands down in all departments except price, but then again, the Polo is better built, has quality and as has previously mentioned, better resale. The Fiesta does have manual buy I can more than live with the DSG.

[Blurter]

I test drove most of the competition prior to purchasing my Polo 77TSI and the little VW was in a class of its own for driveline performance and interior quality. It was that that tipped me from the Ztec which was also a nice little car - if it had a turbo and six speed manual I would have considered it further. It also helped that the VW was actually cheaper drive away by a few hundred dollars and gives better fuel economy.

[TCO]

We also looked at many inc Barina, Mazda 2, Fiesta LX, I20, I30, Yaris and Jazz.

You have to compare apples with apples as far as pricing goes.

We looked at the 4 door LX manual Fiesta late last year at $17999 drive away -Add the the safety pack and then $18999 DA.
This was for the 2010 model which was built in Germany -Most of the new models are built in Thailand and I believe that the LX now has all the safety pack features as STD.
I did not like the Fietsa as it had too much bling and plastic inside - IMHO.
We looked at the Polo 77TSI manual which had all the air bags as standard and got it for $22000 DA with window tinting and mats (value = $500) - so effectively around $2.5k more for the Polo than the 2010 model Fiesta. Our Polo was ordered back in Nov 2010 and delivered in January with a 2011 label.

Don't forget to factor in the the fuel economy savings and resale value of the POLO.

[funtastic]

Thanks for the responses guys very helpful.

"I did not like the Fiesta as it had too much bling and plastic inside - IMHO"

I would have to agree with this. It really spoils it for me.

"We looked at the Polo 77TSI manual which had all the air bags as standard and got it for $22000 DA with window tinting and mats (value = $500) - so effectively around $2.5k more for the Polo than the 2010 model Fiesta"

I would to save money on a manual but having been stuck in traffic a lot recently manual transmission has been driving me crazy. Do DSG owners get use out of the "manual mode" or is it a bit of a gimmick?

[FJ Steve]

yep...as a DSG owner we use the stick. Was on a country run yesterday, and was waiting to oiver take a car. Was running at 90 km/h....waiting.....knocked DSG over to manual, back 2 clicks (from 7th to 5th), indicator......bye bye......

Much better response in 'tight' situations when using the manual side of the stick as opposed to leaving it in D.