For various reasons i’m about to become ‘carless’ – I need to source a car quickly and have found these, both new/unregistered, at local dealers.

Fiesta Zetec S 140bhp
Metallic Blue
Cruise
Climate
City pack
Privacy windows
Light/Sight pack
Tax £30p.a.
Purchase price £15,000

Suzuki Swift Sport 136bhp
Metallic blue
Sat Nav
Keyless entry/start
Tax £140p.a.
Purchase price £12,715

Both are within about £10/£15 pcm on PCP over 36 months.
Both highly regarded as fun drivers cars, both undeniably have cons to go with their pros.

which would you pick?

I have a Fiesta Zetec S. I like it. Great cornering, but not quite as fast as some at the price. A Fiesta will certainly have better residuals than the Suzuki, I think.

I am going to buy a Fiesta Ecoboost Titanium tomorrow BTW

But a 3 year old one 🙂

They’re good cars.

</coolstorybro>

Loved my wifes Suzuki 1.5 litre. Until she put into the scenery in Argyll in a fit of gusto.

We had a Swift, very underrated little cars

The swift because I’ve always wanted one, and not the Fiesta because I had a horrible Mondeo once that put me off Ford for the rest of eternity.

The fiesta is a best seller for a reason.

The little Swift Sport is meant to be a brilliant little thing. I’m sure the Fiesa is great too, but I’ve never been a fan of Fords. No reason why.

My vote is for Swift.

Ignore the tax difference. It’s all changing again in April, so they’ll both be £140 (i think).

APRIL 2017 (I THINK)

I test drove the Swift Sport and 125 Ecoboost fiesta before getting a Focus. I found both Swift and Fiesta to be too small for family duty and actually too small for me to get comfortable in ( my thighs and knees were banging off everything).

The Fiesta has nicer materials, ergonomics and just felt a bit classier. The hotter Swifts hold their value well but I’d get the Fiesta. The 1.0 engine is fantastic and it’s just a better car over all.

Swift

My mum has that fiesta it’s fun to drive for what it is. I’d buy the swift though I prefer the look and they are a bit different, plus I hear they drive well. I don’t really like fords for no reason, I can’t really explain why. I’d be happy enough with either if I was after that type of car.

i hired a fiesta 1L ecoboost, for a journey from Sheffield to Woburn Sands. Was comfortable to drive on the M1, even at high speeds. The noise wasnt excessive. I’d be happy to get one.

I’ve driven both, they are both excellent handlers. To be fair I had a better opportunity to rag the Swift, which i promptly did – and boy is it good on the twisties and at roundabouts.
Disappointingly gutless at low speeds though, although that is coming from years of 2.0l turbo diesels with bags of torque.

The fiesta, saw it today in the showroom and it certainly looks the part in deep metallic blue. Just can’t get on with the interior – it’s all over the place and despite its futuristic aspirations, somehow still seems remarkably ‘Ford’.

So I’m completely torn betweenn the two. Am trying to justify it on running costs now, with the Swift possibly losing out on odd size tyres (which I’d be burning through every 6-8 months I imagine) and the aforementioned higher tax bracket.
It’s also quite thirsty too allegedly.
But then, the Fiesta gets nowhere near the states economy either, apparently, and is £1300 more expensive to purchase.
Swings n roundabouts.

The fiesta is a best seller for a reason.

That being there’s a far greater likelihood of finding a Ford dealer nearby than a Suzuki dealer; I can walk to a Ford dealer in Chippenham, but the nearest Suzuki dealers are either Trowbridge or Swindon.
For some, that would make a big difference.

Have Suzuki actually put space in the sport for a spare tire yet ?

I have 2 Suzi dealers within 10 miles of me. Parts though, likely to be pricked on a Japonaise I imagine?

Hopefully wouldn’t need many within first 3 years though.

If that torn..as you say do some maths.. service costs..tyres costs..any things that are known to likely fail like electrics,sensors etc..might help make your mind up.

And the big thing..which depreciates more over say 3 , 5 and 10 years

0-60? this is very impt. for me

edit. this is actually the first i will look at

Suzuki Swift Sport but I prefer 5 doors auto gear.

Suzi is underrated and a useful bit of kit but the Fiesta Eco is flipping impressive. One turned up at the Wiscombe Hillclimb entered in A1 (class for cars up to 1400cc or 1000cc with forced induction), he came third! Everything else was prepped up to the hilt. I was so taken I test drove one a few days later, a very capable bit of kit, only criticism was its plasticky inside, I’d quite happily have one as a daily, economical and would make one smile.

I bought a 120d MSport for that price with 15k on the clock. Much better all around (well, the engine based on your travelling particulars). Nearly new is worth a look you might get some better.

slimjim78
But then, the Fiesta gets nowhere near the states economy either,

The Focus gets 59/60mpg with a bike on the roof if I’m willing to sit at 60mph on the motorway. It will deliver those gigantic figures, but life’s too short for that shit.

Spirited b road jaunt to the trails on a Sunday morning still averages about 30-35mpg. Crawling through rush hour traffic 36/37.

Averages out about 39-41mpg

Swift here too.

I had a Fiesta Zetec S for four years and hated the bloody thing in the end – I was very happy the day it was collected! The interior is a mess and not that great ergonomically – things like the placement of the window switches were infuriating because there were set so far back on the door. At night the instruments reflected horribly on the windows. I don’t think that it’s a very well packaged car either – it’s not big inside and the raked windscreen and deep dash seem like a massive waste of space.

I did 83k in those four years and it felt nailed when it went back – really baggy. The suspension made all sorts of horrid noises over bumps. The alloys are made of cheese too – I went through three due to buckles. Fuel economy was pretty woeful too – my vRS is returning better figures.

£15k should open up some pretty good options. Have you looked at stuff like the Pole Bluemotion GT? Fab engine and pretty nippy.

I went as far as ordering a Polo BGT… It turned up as a 5 door, I ordered 3.

Popped by my local Suzuki dealer this evening, they had a couple of Swifts in the showroom and I was really taken by the grey colour.
So I bought it.

Nice! Liking it?

Fiesta purely on size. Relatives have a Swift and its a great second car, thats my point

Nice! Liking it?

I may have used a little poetic licence, granted. I actually put a deposit down on a new one, should be getting it in the next 2 weeks – they are lending me a courtesy car in the meantime as part of the deal. Oh, bagged some free floor mats too 🙂

Fiesta purely on size

Have you sat in/driven both? The Swift is larger. Mindmap3 hit the nail on the head re ergonomics I reckon. The upright windscreen on the swift is great for visibility, and I much prefer the dash layout.

slimjim78

Did you buy a manual or automatic Swift?

Fiesta eco boost all day long IMO.

The fiesta. We have a fiesta and it’s a nice car. Not huge but big enough for us.

@slim interesting – yes sat in Swift and driven a Fiesta but 5yrs apart and possibly not the latest models. Nothing against Suzuki and would definitely consider a Grand Vitara fwiw

A mate had a swift and I was impressed with it.

But I wanted cruise control + heated screen so the Fiesta (ecoboost) won the day. Bought a 13 plate today.

I bought a manual. 6sp over Fiestas 5. Not sure auto is an option, seeing as there are no options as such.

Swift has cruise control also.
And keyless entry/start. And climate. And Nav. And xenon headlights. It’s a well specced car for the money,

I bought a manual. 6sp over Fiestas 5. Not sure auto is an option, seeing as there are no options as such.

Late return to this, but the five speed box really grated on longer trips. The car sat at quite a high RPM on the motorway and was therefore noisey.

I think you’ve made the right choice.