Ford Fiesta fans on why they love their cars

Production of the popular Ford Fiesta is expected to cease next year after 45 years. What does this mean to those who love and cherish their Fiestas?

Plumber Andrew Scott was both delighted and surprised to be gifted a 1980 model of his favourite car.

It came from a grateful woman whose toilet he had just fixed.

A lifelong Ford Fiesta fan, Mr Scott, 56, from Cambridge, is proud to show off the blue Fiesta 1.1L.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for a Fiesta,” he says.

“The person whose house I was working at, I did a job for them – I repaired their toilet and she gave me the car.

“She just wanted to get rid of it.”

Mr Scott’s 1980 model, given to him in 2006, was built before the days of padded steering wheels and electric windows, but it does still have a working push-button radio.

The blue Fiesta 1.1L is one of four models he owns, including an XR2.

“It’s just reliving a bit of my youth,” he says.

And that is especially the case about his sporty XR2, bought in 2007 for £2,000 and likely now to be worth significantly more.

The first car he drove after passing his test was his mum’s Fiesta, but he says: “I grew up with the excitement of thinking about having a hot hatch, especially the XR2.

“I hankered after one.”

His white F-reg model is in its “totally original condition”.

Although he has no intention of selling, he says: “I’ve seen a couple go through auction pushing £20,000 or just over – and they weren’t as original as this.

“It’s demand, isn’t it? If someone wants one they’re going to pay the money, I suppose.”

He still keeps cassettes in his XR2, including music by Earth, Wind and Fire, and ABC.

There is an old copy of a Now That’s What I call Music cassette as well.

“How sad am I?” he jokes.

Announcing the end of the Fiesta in a video posted on Ford’s Twitter account, the company said “its job was done”.

Production of the car is expected to cease by mid-2023.

Source: Ford/BBC

George Watson, chairman of the Fiesta Club of Great Britain – of which Mr Scott is a member – is not surprised by the popularity of the car.

The fan club, based in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, has about 300 members across the UK.

“My dad actually got one of the first Fiestas off the production line, as a salesman,” he recalls.

“I’ve been around Fords all my life.

“The car I passed my driving test in was a Fiesta.

“I’ll never forget – it was a D-reg MK2 XR2 in rosso red. It was like the rounder version of the original Fiesta… but it was a sports model with all the alloy wheels and the body kit.

“I’ve lost count of how many Fiestas we’ve had between me and my dad and we’ve still got two at the moment.”

His latest acquisition is a burgundy 1989 H-registration Fiesta.

“It’s a little 1.1LX which I picked up from a lovely young lady – well she was 95 – and just decided to give up driving and she wanted the car to go to a good home,” he says.

Both he and Mr Scott say they are sad to hear the news that there will be no more new Fiestas.

“The Fiesta still has a big following and is still a very popular car – 100% it’ll be missed,” Mr Scott says.

Mr Watson agrees: “To be honest, the Fiesta itself is still a really popular small family vehicle, if you’ve got a couple of kids and you don’t want anything really too big, and obviously as a first vehicle it’s the ideal car.

“It will be sad to see it go because it’s been such a best-seller.”

Last month, the Fiesta was still the sixth best-selling new car in the UK with 4,570 registrations, according to the latest data from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers.

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