Good morning! We’re going to finish out our decade-by-decade stickshift search with a pair of cars that are less than ten years old. I’m not sure that has ever happened here before. They’re both cars you probably haven’t thought about for a while; I know I haven’t.
Yesterday we were a decade earlier, looking at a couple of four-door hatches, and once again, it was an absolute massacre. That poor Hyundai Elantra didn’t stand a chance. And I figured as much, but there always have to be two cars, you know? Sometimes I have to throw a car to the wolves, and yesterday it was a poor helpless Elantra, in an admittedly fetching shade of blue.
I bet some of you are imagining that I’m going to be all contrarian and pick the Hyundai, right? Wrong. I’m choosing the Mazda, just like I did back in 2002, when I test-drove damn near every available small stickshift car. I remember liking how the Elantra drove, but feeling like it wasn’t a very good deal compared to the Protege, or even the Ford Focus, which was my second choice. The final generation of Mazda Protege before the 3 took over really was something special, and I’m sad to know that most of them have rusted away now.
Neither of today’s choices has had a chance to rust yet, but I imagine they’ll get there. They both hail from the last generation of small cars to ever feature a “base” model with a manual transmission as standard equipment. I think you can still technically get a Nissan Versa with a manual, but I bet you’d have a hard time actually finding one for sale. But if you missed out on the last hurrah for cheap manuals available everywhere, one of these two might be a good substitute. They’re only eight years old, and both are still short of 100,000 miles. Let’s check them out.
2016 Ford Fiesta S – $3,995
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Beaverton, OR
Odometer reading: 99,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
When I was a kid, one of my dad’s friends would go to the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany every couple of years, and he’d bring me back a stack of brochures. I always felt like we were missing out in the US on all the cool cars available for sale in Europe, especially the little economy cars. I was surprised to find out that the Ford Fiesta, which had died off in America in 1980, lived on in Europe. I was even more surprised when Ford brought the Fiesta back to the US in 2010, but disappointed that so many American buyers chose the dumpy-looking sedan version like this.
And of course, most Americans also opted for the automatic, which in the case of the Fiesta was the notorious PowerShift dual-clutch transmission, which even when working flawlessly was awful. Fortunately, the original purchaser of this Fiesta stuck with the standard five-speed manual. It has 99,000 miles on it, and the seller (a dealership) says it runs and drives great.
This is the basic S trim level, with crank windows and basic but sturdy interior surfaces. It does have air conditioning, at least; it’s not that basic. It looks all right, but there are some scuffs on the dash and possibly a stain on the passenger’s seat, or maybe it’s just the photo.
The Fiesta is a tidy little hatchback in most parts of the world, and we did get that version here as well – at least the five-door version – but Americans used to like to stick trunks on the backs of perfectly good hatchback economy cars. I can’t bring myself to say it looks “good,” but it is in clean condition.
2016 Dodge Dart SE – $4,650
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: San Diego, CA
Odometer reading: 89,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
I had high hopes for the Dart. I have long been a fan of Chrysler’s small FWD cars (I know; a lot of you wish I was less of a fan of them) and I wanted the Dart to be a course correction from the Caliber back to the good days of the Neon and the cloud cars. Instead, it just sort of fizzled out after four mostly forgettable model years.
This is one of the last Darts, a 2016 model, in the entry-level SE trim. It’s powered by a 2.0 liter version of the Global Engine Alliance four-cylinder, along with a six-speed manual transmission. We get practically zero information about its condition, other than that it runs “excellent” and passed a smog test. I guess if you want to know more, you’ll have to go look at it.
It does look really clean inside, so that’s something. It’s a little fancier inside than the Fiesta is, too; even the Dart SE came with power windows and locks and whatnot. Hopefully it all works. Again, you’ll have to push all the buttons to see.
One of the things I liked about the Dart was that it was available in a bunch of great colors, including this blue. This one looks a little like a rental car, with its plastic wheel covers and black door handles, but it’s a good-looking car in general, at least in my opinion.
The death of the small sedan in America has already been mourned, and there’s no point in bringing it up again. But I will say that we didn’t know what we had until it was gone. Yeah, the Fiesta looks stupid with a trunk, and the Dart is mediocrity made real, but I’d take either one over a CVT-equipped crossover any day. Which one of these would you take?
(Image credits: sellers)
If the Ford isn’t going to have power stuff, it’ll need to be cheaper to get my vote. Plus, blue > black every time.
Tough one. The Ford has crank windows, which is awesome. The Dodge has Italian heritage, which is a mixed bag, and I know because I also have some Italian heritage.
In the end, I chose the Dart because it’s bigger. A larger Focus with the manual trans would probably tip the balance.
No Powershi(f)t DCT or wet-belt 1.0T Ecoboost and a great little base chassis give the Fiesta a win over dubious FCA quality in the Dart.
If the Fiesta was a hatch, absolutely, we had one as a loaner for one of our parts delivery vehicles (a Sonic that couldn’t hold its coolant at wide open throttle) and I really enjoyed it, apparently the management did too, because eventually they bought a Fiesta and dumped the Sonic.
At least the Dart looks good in blue I guess.
Dart, because it just looks better. The Dart rear-end is nice, the front could be better. Plus blue is better than black on a car too, we need more color in life. Also the Fiesta’s super low-rent interior compared to the Dart. Cons: it’s a Chrysler product, you might have to walk home some day.
The squat-ness of the Dart is so much more visually pleasing than the tall+narrow look of the Fiesta for sure, but I was always meh about how the rear attempted to copy the Charger’s. It was like reminding you that you could have had something badass and you settled for this.
Which may have been Dodge’s strategy for all I know, but I always thought the Dart should have been completely its own thing.
Agreed, there is definitely Charger “design-language” in the Dart’s rear end. Still better than the Ford that looks cheap 50 feet away.
At my age I’m more into siestas than fiestas, so I chose the Dart.
If the Fiesta were a 5 door I’d be all over it. Since it is not, I’ll go with the larger sedan that has a splash of color today. More bang for your bucks.
Dart b/c no screen. I had no idea that was even possible in 2016. Love it for that alone.
The Fiesta doesn’t have one either. My 2017 had that same interior.
Wow. I had no idea base versions still didn’t have them by that point. One of the reasons I bought my ’10 Focus was that I knew the next gen in ’12 would have them…and it is true I wasn’t considering an S.
I think only top trim Fiestas had touch screens.
Mine was a midgrade SE and had the old school radio with buttons.
2018-2019 MY were kind of fun as they got the small 4″ color screen instead as they now came with a mandatory backup camera. You could get a 2014 or newer SE with a 6.5″ touchscreen, though.
2018!was the drop dead date for backup cameras in the U.S. BMW (a supposed “luxury” brand) made them optional before that even though most of them had iDrive w/ a decently sized screen. Many cars before that date had a backup camera and a postage stamp sized inset in the rear view mirror that would display a car sized object behind the car while in reverse. It was useless for actually backing up and took away from actual rear view area while in reverse.
I’m honestly amazed you could get a car with crank windows from a big manufacturer in 2016.
Both are not desirable, but I’ll take the Dart because it is (slightly) more comfortable to be in.
I’m now sitting here trying to remember the last car I owned that had manual windows. I guess it was my ’92 Saturn SL1? I remember trading it in on a Civic LX in ’96 (pw/pl standard) and feeling like I’d just upgraded to a Cadillac.
Anyway, I picked the Fiesta. If Sergio Marchionne (RIP) says your car was a mistake, believe him. https://www.autoblog.com/features/why-chrysler-200-dodge-dart-were-discontinued
This would be a great Autopian piece- “What was your last car with crank windows?”
Mine was a 1980 Volvo I owned 1995-1999.
Oh, yeah! I’m sure there are a lot of Autopians who still regularly drive cars with Armstrong windows.
Have 2 in the on-road fleet with window cranks and wing windows. One without window cranks because side curtains 🙂
OK wing windows (AKA “cigarette windows”) are seriously old-school. I think the last car I owned with them was my ’72 Cutlass 4-door, which I owned in like 1987 or 1988.
Hey Torch, what was the last car available in the US market with wing windows?
They should be paying me for these content ideas.
My 92 F-250 and 86 Vanagon have them. Had an 87 Dodge D-200 truck with them too.
Now that I think about it, I’ve never owned a DD with crank windows. I had a couple of work trucks with them but that’s not really the same.
When I first started driving even luxury cars had crank windows.
If the Fiesta was a hatch it probably would have sealed the deal. Sedan vs. sedan though the Dart has an extra gear, a better color, and is better looking.
Fiesta is the only choice. Not sure if it is a thing everywhere, but around here the Dart has the same reputation as the Altima. For the sake of my dignity, I could never bear to be spotted in a Dart.
I went with the Dart. Both are fine, especially with a stick, but I think the Dart would be a little more pleasant to live with. The blue color sealed the seal for me. As cheap of a trim that Dart is, the color takes it to a place just beyond the rental spec feeling of the Fiesta, which is pretty dopey looking as a sedan, and in black.
Ford family growing up. I like the 2 tone seating, but this gen interior design language always felt cold to me. The Dodge seems a bit more inviting, with now demanded features as standard (last car I had with Armstrong windows and no power locks was a ’78 model at 16). The Dart looks better too. I have been both burned and blessed by Pentastar product in the past.
I had a 2013 Dart with the 1.4 and 6 speed. It has the best sounding stock exhaust of any economy car ever, it sounded just like a 500 Abarth. Otherwise, it was not much to write home about. It got mid 30s mpg and was decently reliable aside from eating ignition coils.
Dart has more space, more grunt, and a nicer interior. I probably would’ve taken the Fiesta if it were a hatch, but the sedan is just such a compromise.
I’m a Fiesta driver, it is a great hatchback, I have it ’til rust do us part.
The sedan sucks more than the Dodge can imagine, I went Mopar.
I hate to be one of those “what will other people think?” types of people, but you can’t roll up (no pun intended) with CRANK WINDOWS in the 21st century. Maybe in a two-door where you can reach the passenger side, but a four-door is a huge pain. Dart wins on both aesthetics and equipment. It actually pulled off the “small sedan” very well, unlike the Versa, Fiesta, or even…get ready to kill me…the Audi A3. Some cars MUST remain hatches.
I frequently get complimented on the roll up windows in my S10. People love them
Old trucks need Armstrong windows.
you know what’s even worse than crank windows in the 21st century? No A/C.
I wanted to like the Dart but no A/C is a deal breaker (look at the HVAC controls, the center dial has a blank where the A/C button would be.
Kinda surprised that a car from 2016 is even offering crank windows wow! Both seem nice enough.
I was more surprised to learn the Dart didn’t come with standard A/C. I can tell this one didn’t come with it by the blank center dial below the radio
Fiesta hatch would have won it, but I hate that sedan. The dart is forgettable, but decent. And it’s in a real color. Plus, crank windows in 2016?! Wow. I didn’t even know that was a thing haha. I actually like that, and the Ford would likely be more reliable, but I still went Dart.
Today’s choices are more of a “Look, just pick one, alright?” situation. They’re… fine.
I picked the Fiesta because it’s cheaper.
Pretty much. I went the opposite way though, Dart because it is better equipped.
I went Dart out of shear perversity because the Fiesta really should be a hatchback.
I closed my eyes and clicked around until I finally voted for one.
I think that’s what I did but forgot for sure which one I picked. Cheaper or blue? I think I went cheaper.
The Fiesta is actually decent with the manual transmission. It’s the stupid PowerShit that doomed it. Ford used that shitty DCT to sabotage the Focus and Fiesta so they can say that small cars don’t sell in the US.
After they stopped selling those cars here, Ford switched back to regular automatics.
I still trust the Fiesta over an even shittier Fiat Mopar whatever, even though this one is a cooler color. Also, the Dart in this guise kinda looks like an unmarked/undercover cop car thing. Only the manual transmission gives it away as a civilan car.
I’ve never seen an unmarked cop car in a real color either. They’re always greyscale, I would never think cop with a bright blue like this.
Approx. 20 years ago VA State Troopers ran unmarked civilian looking Dodge Intrepids, I recall at least one red one.
I vividly remember seeing a bright blue ~2017 Hyundai Tucson with fully hidden red and blues being used to direct traffic in MD with a uniformed officer driving it a few years ago.
could be used for detective work or something
Eh, bright blue isn’t anonymous enough for that I would think, but as per usual, I have no idea what I’m talking about.
I’ve driven both of these before, and the dart is a way less unsettling experience going round corners than the Fiesta
I picked the Dart because it’s actually got power windows, cranks are cool but in a 4-door and modern day power windows are a thing. I even upgraded my 2-door ranger with power windows just cause. Also blue instead of standard black.
A/C is also a thing, and the Dart seems to come w/o it. It was actually an option in base trim and the blank dial in the middle tells me there’s no A/C here.
The Ford Fiesta/Focus are actually pretty reliable with the manual transmission. NP