Fiesta 957cc Base

Devoid of all luxuries - plain and simple transport

During my student days I drove a first generation Ford Fiesta 957cc Base model. It is a reminder of just how basic Ford could make everyday transport. It had no carpets just rubber mats. The seats were vinyl and did not recline. There was no in car entertainment. There was no intermittent wipers, just a flick-wipe facility. The interior was not fully upholstered and had painted metal on the door tops. Instrumentation was a speedo, fuel and temperature gauges, and a few warning lights. The bumpers were a basic bent metal beam painted black. There was only one rear view mirror on the driver’s door only.

The first generation Fiesta was crisply styled with lots of glass and great visibility. The bodywork was solid enough but the doors and bonnet shut with a clang, and mine wasn’t too susceptible to rust. It had no power steering but was easy to drive and steer. It wasn’t fast but I was able to transport myself and three other students with all our luggage 60 miles to Uni. and back at the weekends so it was good honest cheap transport. Also the heater was fantastic, very quick to warm and roasting hot on maximum setting.

As I mentioned at the start of this review, the only reason you might want one now as a classic car would be the experience of driving a car devoid of every luxury and reduced to just transport, four wheels and seats.

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