Drove a 2013 Fiesta for around 7 years, mostly loved it

[BFGaloot]

Hi all, I posted a for sale post (free tow hitch) but I thought I'd tell my Fiesta tales. When I got back from teaching in Brazil around 11 years ago I bought a POS little Toyota Tercel for commuting, worn-off paint and all. It was a great car and regularly got over 40 mpg but I ended up commuting 30 miles for a teaching job and my knees said no, so I bought a 3 yr old Fiesta off a lot in Morgan Hill. Yeah, the POS transmission started making noises fairly soon but I drove it that way for at least 60k miles before I finally had the dealership fix it, before I hit 100k miles. Put maybe another 40k miles on it and often got 40+ mpg on my commute from Gilroy to San Jose.

I got a nice roof rack for it, Thule I think. I'm a huge fan of roof racks on small cars, I carried plywood, lumber, and most importantly my 15.5' kayak and my 15.5' Adirondack guideboat. It carried those without the slightest worry. I still have the roof racks but I need to find the keys before I put them up for sale, anybody that buys it will want to be able to lock it.

I sold it to my nephew's wife, she has a gigantic 15 mpg Suburban she was using for commuting and needed an economy car. Of course she drives like a bat out of hell, so where I would get 40 mpg she only gets 30 mpg. Oh well, her problem.

 

[MKVIIST]

Welcome, what are you driving now?

 

[BFGaloot]

Sadly, a minivan. I retired in June and I wanted something where I could carry my 10'3" surfboard inside so I can attempt stealth camping in SoCal. It's a 2020 Dodge GC, and while it is rated 25 mpg hwy I often get over 30 mpg on long trips. It has a few features that the Fiesta didn't have that are OK, but I REALLY miss the "downhill" button on the shifter that let the car downshift on steep downhills. That did wonders for my gas mileage. One cool feature is that it has built-in roof rack crossbars that stow on the side rails, and I can easily carry my kayak on that. It doesn't seem to hurt the mpg and even seems to help it a bit.

 

[Handy Andy]

A Caravan? Well, you need something for storage!

Thanks for sharing the experiences you've had with the Tercel and Fiesta - sad to see them go - but you shared something about you in the process.

You've given the rest of us something to think about for ourselves. You mentioned Thule as the brand of your Roof rack and it helps us in documenting what others have tried, used and enjoyed during their time with the car. You also mentioned the "downhill" button many don't get to know. If you own a Fiesta, you might want to rethink that button, especially in Ice and Snow when driving in winter - using that button can save your life, let alone the car - from getting into accidents.

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We wish you well in your exploration of California