THINKIN' BIG TO small FORD?? ..HELP!

[Marcel Bluret]

Hi Folks, I have a 1995 EF FAIRMONT-(260,000klms) & its OK......hmmm.

However, I am also a 'Classic' Renault French-car collector & I only use the FORD for my wife's 'health-issues' during HOT summers.

She MUST have CHILLED, nah! ....FREEZING air-conditioning in QLD's summers coz soon as it gets to 32 degrees+ (due to a "Near-death-heatstroke-event" in 1998-she has a 'busted thermostat!), she gets REAL SICK - QUICK -SERIOUSLY!

So, my '70s Renaults do NOT have air-con & it would cost a fortune to "CHILL" one properly, which is why I have the EF FAIRMONT!

But I do NOT like it much, it is cramped, has a hard ride & compared to all the dozens of 1940s to 1975 FORDS that I was used to drive ...well, I'm not that impessed! :

I got it SO cheap, I could NOT refuse it as I had just BLOWN the headgasket on my ED FALCON-still got it-(123,000klms & over $1000 to fix!-NOT worth it!) :(also got that car SO cheap!).

I LOVED the FORDS of my youth but until 2006, I had NEVER driven, let alone owned any vehicle newer than 1977!
(NOT real keen on the post-1980 stuff!)

SO, while the EF FAIRMONT goes?....FINE- it has GREAT air-con! :

Yet, I know,(deep in my heart) ,haha!.. the headgasket will BLOW sometime & I realized the other day...I do NOT need a BIG car at all !

If it was an XR8 manual-yippee!..BUT ,really, all I need is an.......
"ESKY ON WHEELS" ! :

My wife hardly goes out at all-(doctors,etc,),so I only need a manual 2-door 4 cylinder car for her transportation ...so?.. Ford = ESKY ON WHEELS"!

PROBLEM ; WHICH CAR???????? :
As I sorta ignored 'new' cars during the 1980s to now, I have NO clue which small FORD 2 dr-hatch to buy? (It can have 4 doors if it is the 'right' car).

MOST IMPORTANT....it MUST have excellent AIR-CON, have a manual gearbox & be VERY CHEAP!
As I'm on carer pension, over 50, busy looking after wife & also meself=(hadda "Hard-Life!" ha ha) & paying off a house ..again (!), the $$$ are tight!

I am not a great mechanic but can do a lotta stuff myself and why waste $$ on a 4 litre FAIRMONT I don't even like much ?


Can you help me out - re; what models have the 'NEW' r134=AIR-CON-gas & what year these 'new' refrigerant-gas cars came out?

Should I get a LASER, FIESTA, FESTIVA, or what?
Which year & what are these models called?

Are they all-( : : :evil3 "EAST-WEST motor set-ups or are any "North-South" models ?
(I HATE working on "East/West" cars BUT I will if I have to!).

I have VERY low $ for such a car BUT I could maybe spend $1500 & no rego/RWC,etc, will be needed.

Paint, interior, dents, small rust is not a problem but MUST be mechanically sound with FREEZIN' AIR-CHILLIN'....Brrrrr!

Is there anywhere on THIS forum where I can follow the 'baby-Ford-car-range' ?
Cars that would fall within the category that came out with the "new" air-conditioning-gas-systems?

IF NOT?.. Can anyone bother to tell me the "WHOs WHO" of small FORDS?

ALL help GREATLY appreciated, many thanks, Marcel Bluret.

[Fiesta God]

Have driven a couple of Lasers for an extended period. One was a '93 Ghia sedan, and the aircon was ok - but pretty standard for a small car of it's age. Nothing to write home about, and the engine struggled a little when it was on and you had a couple of people in the car.

Also drove a 99 Laser for a while, and the aircon was surprisingly good. Just a 1.6 LXi, but it was freezing cold. This one was an auto (the '93 was manual), and did ok. I actually reckon it's aircon was better than my brand new Fiesta! (Go figure).

Can't comment on any other cars though.

[Fi.ES.TA]

Well i can definatley say the 2009 ws fiesta has $#it Air-con
not worth having on unless you want to hold your head in the footwell.

[Zetec-4-Me]

Originally Posted by Fi.ES.TA

Well i can definatley say the 2009 ws fiesta has $#it Air-con
not worth having on unless you want to hold your head in the footwell.

Hahaha I have to disagree with you on that one Fiesta - here in Brisbane we've been having 35+ oC temps lately where you think the a/c would be struggling, and the aircon in my WS is freezing! I have to keep turning the vents away from me as it's too cold - even the kids are saying they're cold (which is amazing as they used to complain that they were hot in the old car) lol

[JClarke]

Originally Posted by Zetec-4-Me

Hahaha I have to disagree with you on that one Fiesta - here in Brisbane we've been having 35+ oC temps lately where you think the a/c would be struggling, and the aircon in my WS is freezing! I have to keep turning the vents away from me as it's too cold - even the kids are saying they're cold (which is amazing as they used to complain that they were hot in the old car) lol

I agree with this person, if you turn the vent up to 4 or full, you will get blasting cold air con.

[Fi.ES.TA]

Well my aircon must be sha$$ed then because its freezing
when i have the dial turned to the footwell,but when the dial
is turned to your face its pi$$ poor,im at gatton much hotter than bris
so maybe that is why my aircon is struggling.

[dannyhilton]

I agree with FIESTA. My aircon is absolute garbage, even on long trips when you have to adjust the temp as it gets too cold, well not the case on my car. My aunties Swift, girlfriends car and mums car have aircon that leave mine for dead. I compared my WP to my WS and the WS was crap.

[greenfoam]

My Wife's old Jeep is capable of freezing your *** off and then cooking you with it's aircon and heater:P the Fiesta isn't as extreme as that but both work quite well

[robjh80]

If you want cold aircon "DO NOT BUY A WQ FIESTA!!" ... my XR4 aircon is rubbish and so was my WQ Zetec's, it's a very common complaint with these cars and a lot of other Euro cars for that matter.

My parents have a 2007 Hyundai Elantra SLX and the aircon would freeze Polar Bears! ... it is absolutely fantastic!

[Marcel Bluret]

Thanks to all you who replied!

YEP! I bet that 2009 FIESTA had FREEZIN' air-con BUT I only have about $1500 to $2000 to spend....so...I think a 2009 model may be outa my reach!

Which models and years should I be looking for, as I dunno when the NEW 'r134a'gas for AIR-CON came in with little FORDS?

I don't care about 'speed' IF its really COLD inside the cabin! :

Should I look under LASERS instead as FOCUS & FIESTA all seem to be pretty LATE models & still fetch (to me!)= BIG BUCKS$$$$$?!

I'lll keep lookin & thanks again.

See ya, Marcel.

[taza88]

i drive a 98 festiva, 1.3 manual 2 door and its like an ice box on wheels. very cheap to run, about 30 bucks per 35o k's, stuff all to register and insure and best of all they are cheap to buy as there are so bloody many of them.

And i live in Adelaide where we have 45+ heatwaves and the festiva handles it beautifully.

I have also owned and 89 laser and everything except the air con was great till my mum killed it lol.

[Yellow_Festiva]

You can obtain a 97-2000 Festiva for that money.

Manual, air-con, pretty decent performance from the 1.5 as well. Prob won't get power steering (was am option) but I drove mine for 10 years like that and never had a problem.

VERY cheap to run and insure, very easy to do 'home maintenance' on as well.

Watch for them on ebay... Yes they use the modern gas as well.

Available in 3 or 5 door. The base model with the 1.3 was called a Festiva Trio, while the 1.5 was the Festiva Trio S.

The aircon quality really depends on how the system has been maintined. Just turn it on and see what happens when your buyng. Mine was more than fine.

Cheers,

Jason

[JClarke]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

You can obtain a 97-2000 Festiva for that money.

Manual, air-con, pretty decent performance from the 1.5 as well. Prob won't get power steering (was am option) but I drove mine for 10 years like that and never had a problem.

VERY cheap to run and insure, very easy to do 'home maintenance' on as well.

Watch for them on ebay... Yes they use the modern gas as well.

Available in 3 or 5 door. The base model with the 1.3 was called a Festiva Trio, while the 1.5 was the Festiva Trio S.

The aircon quality really depends on how the system has been maintined. Just turn it on and see what happens when your buyng. Mine was more than fine.

Cheers,

Jason

Speaking of that car, I have a 1998 Ford Festiva Demon Edition, under repairs and won't go on sale until early 2010. This car has been a fantastic car had no problem at all. It will be for sale once everything is being fixed, as I already upgraded to 2009 Ford Fiesta.