Downgrading the V8 :(

["Interceptor"]

Hey everyone,
Ive got to a point where ive noticed the XR8 is costing me way too much, (fuel, rego, insurance) and I'm deciding to trade it in for something more economical. I went into Carmichael Ford yesterday which the salesmen where happy to help me out with my situation and Im deciding between the Fiesta ST or the EcoSport Titanium. It's sad it's all going this way, you can't enjoy owning a V8 without all this expensive red tape. It's just not right. And I see quite a lot of people doing the same thing, selling their V8's and buying something cheaper on rego and fuel.

The EcoSport I think would be quite practical for taking offroad for the clearance, even though its probably not meant for extreme offroading ill definitely bullet proof it a bit to handle slight knocks and bumps with my line of work. Great little engine they have on offer which Ill end up modifying anyway to get some more power out of it.

On the other hand I have the Fiesta ST which I want the power and being a 3 door hatch, I dont have kids or a family so Im right for the time being From what I've seen from these engines and the amount of power you can produce from them.

I need some opinions, does anyone own any of these or recommend which is better? The EcoSport is 1.0L turbo, which is made in India, while the Fiesta ST is made in Germany and is a 1.6L which will hold its value for longer IMO. Im going to take them for a test drive on Saturday and see how I go.

[ebv8]

Fiesta ST would be my pick. I was in the same boat as you although with an older less valuable car,
I always had V8's then my third last V8 was an AU3 220 in blueprint (my favourite AU colour) but it used 18l/100km on the highway and i drove 130km a day so i bought a new Fiesta WT and sold the AU, after 11 months of owning the Fiesta i sold it, took a loss and bought a BA GT. the fiesta just didn't do it for me after owning larger V8 cars.
however the GT doesn't get driven, I drive the wifes VX commodore but i'm happy to know I own the GT

[DBourne]

Fiesta ST is an amazing little car mate. Go test drive one, and you'll love it.

[DJM83]

As above.
I did the same a few years back. Went from V8 to hot hatch.

[Hulsty]

Classic weekender v8 on club rego for the win!

[Polyal]

Yeah I am getting to this point to, after moving from VIC to QLD the increase in rego is a joke. Paying a premuim for sound, stuck in CBD traffic is wearing a little thin.

Have a ball tearer for the weekend is the go. But in saying that, I own the TE out right, so the increase in ownership costs of a new car kind of outweighs any fuel saving last time I did some calcs.

Unless you salary sacrifice, which I never thought id do but seems I need to talk to an accountant and see if its worth it.

[Professor Farnsworth]

If you're a real v8 lover, you'll become sad very quickly if you sell your v8 for a 4 banger. Yeah you'll save fuel but big whoop. Also that AU doing 18L/100 on the highway lol, mine does 10.

[MickyB]

I haven't driven the Ecosport, but I traded an XR6 Turbo on a Fiesta ST a few weeks ago and couldn't be happier. Obviously it's a heap smaller, but it's a lot of fun to drive and still has enough poke. Fuel costs that have halved make it even better.

[chevypower]

What about a 2.3L EB Mustang?

[HULK_I6T]

Im confused?

So surely your not banking money to move the XR8 on for a Fiesta ST?

What about the cost to purchase the car in the first place? sure the running costs are less but what about the money needed to stump up for the changeover? If you apportion that cost (and the depreciation) over the period of ownership, are you going forward or backward?

[Franco Cozzo]

Take a look into the small Ford section on the forum, a lot of members have bought new Fiesta STs and are happy with the choice, a few come out of Falcons too.

[Syndrome]

Ford Falcon XR6 EcoLPI. Not a shoe box, goes hard and much cheaper to run than the XR8.

[smoo]

Ahh yep seen it before. Good excuse to keep up with the Joneses. Loose thousands on depreciation on current car, plus any mods and preventative maintenance spent.
Spend thousands on changeover for newer smaller car in the perception you'll save enough money on gas and reg for a house deposit.
If that desperate to save $40/week on gas, keep the 8 and buy a motorbike, have some real fun.

[Bent8]

Really is sad to hear so many guys moving into econobox's to save on costs.

I spend about $500/mth on fuel, rego is $560/year... doesn't really bother me as I see it more as a challenge so I can enjoy the thrill of driving a V8

My XR8 just turned 8yo and I'm about to spend around $15k on mods/maintainence giving her a nice refresh.

All depends on how much you love your V8's I guess, even though it costs me over $100 to fill the tank, one things for sure... I'll be keeping her forever!

Anyways, if you're going to downgrade, I'd suggeest the Focus ST if you can afford it.

[fordomatic]

From my experience the changover and depreciation is never worth it for a saving of $40 or so a week

[superfly]

Originally Posted by Bent8

I spend about $500/mth on fuel, rego is $560/year... doesn't really bother me as I see it more as a challenge so I can enjoy the thrill of driving a V8

That's the issue, rego in Qld is waay more. My XR50 was about $820 for rego. A V8 will be around $1000.

I went from a 4 cyl WRX to the XR50 so my rego costs went up. But this was outweighted by the far cheaper insurance plus running costs. I do wish the XR50 had've been available with the 4 cyl ecoboost engine. I would've got that instead.

[lucas2]

Originally Posted by smoo

Ahh yep seen it before. Good excuse to keep up with the Joneses. Loose thousands on depreciation on current car, plus any mods and preventative maintenance spent.
Spend thousands on changeover for newer smaller car in the perception you'll save enough money on gas and reg for a house deposit.
If that desperate to save $40/week on gas, keep the 8 and buy a motorbike, have some real fun.

It's an interesting point actually. The ST would be $26-30k brand new, I'm assuming a dealer would offer $6-8k trade in for an XR8 possibly lower. So that's about a $20k changeover difference. Will you save $20k in petrol/rego over the course of ownership? Then factor in the depreciation of the new car too. Those are very very rough figures of course, but something to think about nonetheless. Unless of course, you just want a new car, and petrol usage is a bonus of a new small car.

IMO go the Fiesta if you are going to go the new car route, the Ecosport doesn't look quite right, it's like a Territory gone wrong. Good luck.

[Professor Farnsworth]

also i wish Ford would get a standard going with their "Eco" deal. Eco-Lpi which i pronounce "eeko" and now Ecosport which they pronounce "Echo-sport".

["Interceptor"]

Yeh from what I pay a month on the falcon which I have about 2 years left on it, from the trade in value taken off the final price plus the amount left over to pay it out, over 7 years and a much lower interest rate than what I have at the moment it'll save me around $170/month, then rego, fuel and insurance on top of that I'll definitely be winning.
They haven't got any fiesta STs ATM but will take the Fiesta S and the Focus ST to compare and hopefully get an idea on the power. But when I do buy it, it will definitely be modified, no doubt.

[MickyB]

To add to my previous post, if you are thinking of downsizing purely to save money, then I think that is a false economy. As others have said, you will have to finance the new purchase somehow, which would more than negate the cheaper running costs. Over the first 5 years anyway. This might sound silly, but I found the ST is actually more fun to drive than the Falcon was - the Falcon obviously would eat it in a straight line, but the fun of chucking the ST around and working the manual gearbox to keep the car on boost is highly addictive. For me, the excellent fuel economy is a bonus - not the driving force behind changing vehicles.
Have a read on some of the UK websites for reviews on the Fiesta ST, they all rate driving enjoyment pretty highly.
I understand that only a v8 will do for some however.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Professor Farnsworth

also i wish Ford would get a standard going with their "Eco" deal. Eco-Lpi which i pronounce "eeko" and now Ecosport which they pronounce "Echo-sport".

It should be "eeko" as in the environmentally friendly term like you say, I think they're wrong with the "echo-sport" BS they're saying on the ads.

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by "Interceptor"

Hey everyone,
Ive got to a point where ive noticed the XR8 is costing me way too much, (fuel, rego, insurance) and I'm deciding to trade it in for something more economical. I went into Carmichael Ford yesterday which the salesmen where happy to help me out with my situation and Im deciding between the Fiesta ST or the EcoSport Titanium. It's sad it's all going this way, you can't enjoy owning a V8 without all this expensive red tape. It's just not right. And I see quite a lot of people doing the same thing, selling their V8's and buying something cheaper on rego and fuel.

The EcoSport I think would be quite practical for taking offroad for the clearance, even though its probably not meant for extreme offroading ill definitely bullet proof it a bit to handle slight knocks and bumps with my line of work. Great little engine they have on offer which Ill end up modifying anyway to get some more power out of it.

On the other hand I have the Fiesta ST which I want the power and being a 3 door hatch, I dont have kids or a family so Im right for the time being From what I've seen from these engines and the amount of power you can produce from them.

I need some opinions, does anyone own any of these or recommend which is better? The EcoSport is 1.0L turbo, which is made in India, while the Fiesta ST is made in Germany and is a 1.6L which will hold its value for longer IMO. Im going to take them for a test drive on Saturday and see how I go.

Times have changed, a RWD V8 is not the only way to have fun any more.

My Fez ST is line ball with my old XR8 in a straight line, and murders it under brakes/through the bends. It uses half as much fuel, is cheaper to insure, and has the latest convenience/entertainment/safety tech. It's also (most importantly) perfectly suited to my lifestyle.

IMO if you're switching cars purely to save on overall running costs then a 1-2 year old Focus/Fiesta Sport (type car) would be a pretty good proposition, you'll avoid the bulk of depreciation, and the money you save on petrol/rego/insurance will easily cover the repayments with extra left over.

If you go the new ST route, then you'll be devoting pretty much all the money you save on petrol/rego/insurance on paying off a car that (might?) suit your needs better, has all the conveniences of a late model car, and none of the pros of an older car. In spite of that, you may find you're better off overall!

Sporty FWD hatch backs aren't better than sporty RWD sedans, but they're just as much (of a different type) of fun!!

[Professor Farnsworth]

they're a different type of fun for sure, but i find they have to be manual to do that - our Rio is no sports hatch but it does 0-100 in 8.8 which for a N/A 1.6 is pretty damn good. It's a 6 speed manual and a lot of fun to throw around. In auto i just find them a bit laborious and boring. Add a turbo and that gets better but i still want a manual in a small car. Having said that, jump in my AU and i absolutely love just trundling around at low suburban speeds or highway speed and just laying back enjoying the ambience. The XRT on the other hand is a rip snorter which is always fun but at the same time is very well mannered and comfortable on the highway too.

which ever way you choose, it's all good.

[HULK_I6T]

Originally Posted by Bent8

Really is sad to hear so many guys moving into econobox's to save on costs.

.

thats the point, im not sure that many are saving money. If it was for the same value then ok but many are tipping in another $20k to save money?

Even if its a lower monthly repayment, there may be another 5-6 years tagged onto the end of the loan.. So the pain now would become much easier tomorrow when the repayments stop.

[fobzee]

Originally Posted by lucas2

It's an interesting point actually. The ST would be $26-30k brand new, I'm assuming a dealer would offer $6-8k trade in for an XR8 possibly lower. So that's about a $20k changeover difference. Will you save $20k in petrol/rego over the course of ownership? Then factor in the depreciation of the new car too. Those are very very rough figures of course, but something to think about nonetheless. Unless of course, you just want a new car, and petrol usage is a bonus of a new small car.

IMO go the Fiesta if you are going to go the new car route, the Ecosport doesn't look quite right, it's like a Territory gone wrong. Good luck.

I was looking at the same thing - was about a 20k change over to go from my ba xr8 to a fiesta ST (still getting harrassed by the dealer now)

im still thinking about it, but financially it just doesnt add up. 20K + 3K interest, and then 45% or so depriciation in 3 years.

The only other thing - I loved the way the ST drives. But the interior is a bit average, and its a bit of a girls car. My mates/gf would give me such a hard time lol

I just cant think of a nicer car in the xr8 price range

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Professor Farnsworth

Eco-Lpi which i pronounce "eeko" and now Ecosport which they pronounce "Echo-sport".

I'm with you on this one........

Perhaps their Advertising agency is staffed by 'Murricans, after all a lot of Seppo's pronounce Jaguar, 'Jag-wire'

[Franco Cozzo]

^ They say it as "eeko" as well though, Ecoboost F150

[fordomatic]

I never realised the ST's were so expensive, i understand they are a hot hatch but $38,000 is a lot of money when you can get a brand new FG turbo for $33,000 now

[Grobbo]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

I never realised the ST's were so expensive, i understand they are a hot hatch but $38,000 is a lot of money when you can get a brand new FG turbo for $33,000 now

Tirty tree? My word I haven''t seen any that cheap...

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

I never realised the ST's were so expensive, i understand they are a hot hatch but $38,000 is a lot of money when you can get a brand new FG turbo for $33,000 now

That'd be the focus ST, not the Fiesta ST.