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)
Interesting choices since both were extremely important to their respective manufacturers.
The first was very important because it played in a high volume segment in its home market. So the designers were given the time and resources to come up with a light, nimble and fun to driver car with good MPG.
The other was important because it was the key to getting the rest of the US gov’t shares of the artist formerly known as Chrysler being given to Fiat. So they rushed to get a car that met the 40 mpg* target by the deadline, as cheaply as they could. So they started with their existing sub compact platform, stretched it in width and length. Because they didn’t have the time or money to do it right they just threw extra steel at it. So you ended up with an overweight mediocre car that they almost had to give away. However it is the single most successful vehicle of our time.
So yeah Fiesta all the way.
Terribly sorry, but no.
I owned a 2011 Fiesta (with the crappy Powershift although no issues with mine at only 88K miles) and my wife owned a 2012 Fiesta with the 5 spd until a couple years ago but it was the mid spec SE trim with alloy wheels, power windows and a rear spoiler.
It’s cramped inside and the trunk opening is so narrow it wouldn’t fit my Coleman 60QT cooler. But it was a dependable, thrifty, little ride that would fit anywhere. It definitely needed a 6th gear, though (poor thing did 3000 RPMs at 70)
I’m voting Fiesta based on the great ownership experience we had with the 2nd one, but the Dart might be more livable with if you need extra room and comfort creatures. I just don’t know how these stand in reliability when compared to a 5spd Fiesta.
PS. That Fiesta is missing its front passengeer interior handle. Common issue with these, I just J-B welded mine where the top nut passes through and called it a day
I choose Fiesta so I can shout “FIESTA!” like Buster Poindexter at the start of “Hot Hot Hot!”
Dart wins by virtue of the colo(u)r. If the Fiesta was a hatch…….
I wouldn’t be surprised if you could find a brand new 2016 Dodge Dart on a dealer lot somewhere. Probably for a similar price too.
I know they have continued to pop up in handfuls on the sales reports until at least 2022-2023, haven’t heard if any sold this year or how many are still out there in the back 40 of some CDJR dealer.
The backseat in the Fiesta is really just a padded parcel shelf, or a place to stash your friends if they have no legs. Also, the Dart is still a nice looking design in my opinion.
I was really torn between these two. I’ve not owned either of these or really any of their siblings.
I have rented a Caliber and it was awful. My son has a Ford Escape and it has held up well and is reasonably fun to drive for what it is.
And I had a girlfriend who had a ’77 (Gen 1) Fiesta and it was so much more fun to drive than the ’68 Datsun 510 station wagon I had at the time.
All that said, I went with the Dodge. A 6-speed is cool. I loved a 2001 Jetta TDI I had until I moved to Texas, and it really needed the 6th gear it didn’t have. Assuming the Dart is geared correctly, I wouldn’t want to put myself in that situation again.
I chose the Ford, since I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with Fiat-derived transmissions this century.
The Fiesta is cheaper and will probably break less in this form (let’s not talk about the DCT or the 1.0l ecoboost, shudder) but I wish it was a hatch along with everyone else, then it’d make a great little rally car build point. The Dart at least has a properly nice color, one of the few things dodge does well, haha. I also had high hopes for the dart that largely went unrealized, mostly had a little too much weight for an enthusiast car, and too much company history of unreliability for regular folks to want it as a cheap economy car.
Tough one today – I went Fiesta because I know they’re rock solid when not equipped with the PowerShit transmission. Honestly though, either is fine. I can’t say “both” because what would I do with two base model compacts?
Im feeling old. I remember when the dart was testing around metro Detroit in Camo. In the end I think the Fiesta is the more reliable car the Darts seem disposable (fiat product not surprised)
I remember the Dart from the 70s
Bleh on both since I hate sedans. Dart cuz I never owned a 6 speed.
I always thought the Fiesta sedan was redundant and looked stupid.
The Dart is the easy choice. Way nicer styling, has the manual and has the regular non-turbo 2L 4cyl. If it had the stupid Fiat 1.4L turbo (which requires spark plug changes every 30,000miles (but recommended to do it sooner due to an issue with plugs breaking and causing damage), then my vote would have swung to the Fiesta.
Takes 20 minutes to change plugs on a 4 cylinder so no big deal if you have to change them often.
Them breaking off in the cylinder head, stripping the threads, shooting out of the head(looking at you mod motor v8 Ford), well thats a whole nother level of bullshit. We have been screwing spark plugs into cylinder heads for well over 100 years now, how the hell do you eff up something so simple.
Back in the ’70’s my dad owned a blue Dart, which he once told me is the only car he ever bought new. I think it would be a nice connection, so Dart it is.
Voted based on color, and chose the Dart. Plus, while I like sedans, the Fiesta sedan is pretty tragic looking. The Dart looks fine.
I wanted to vote for the Dart, and maybe the blue is worth $650 more, but I’m getting a weird vibe it’s been driven rougher than the Ford. The Fiesta is perfectly cromulent, and I would’ve thought it was a Focus at a glance.
Nope. I’ll take yesterday’s Elantra over either of these two.
2 base models without their factory wheel covers too. The Fiestas are a 12-14 Camry, the Dart’s some auto parts store specials.
I don’t have anything against the Dart as a vehicle, but in upper trims on both cars most reviews seemed more favorable about the Ford relative to its class, so strip out some of the nice stuff on higher trims and I feel like the bones are better on the Fiesta. So I was leaning that way anyway, but features wise, I looked at what came on each base model…
I’m not sure the Dart has air conditioning. Power windows were standard, but power locks, cruise, and A/C were in the Convenience group on the SE, which this doesn’t appear to have with the black door handles and mirrors. Sure air could’ve been added separate. But why have a zoomed in photo on the radio and not the climate controls? They’re not very high res in but the interior photos you can see markings on the left and right knobs and none on the center, which was the A/C button.
Fiestas had power locks (more useful than power windows in a 4-door IMO) and air standard and you can see that button is lit up.
The Dart is for sale in San Diego. If the seller never ventured more than 5 miles from the Pacific, no a/c would be ok. But go much further east in the summer and it’s going to get uncomfortable. If it doesn’t have a/c, those power windows will come in handy.
It reminds me of the similar vintage Patriot that did not offer A/C as standard. I recently saw a used one with the blank button where the A/C switch would’ve been.
I’d go Fiesta, but it’s not a hatch, so it’s out. I had one of the hatches (a 2014 Titanium) as a winter beater for a year, and then sold it to my mom, and then sold it for her, for significantly less than I thought it should go for. I should have just bought it back from her and held onto it, but didn’t have a reason to keep it around.
The Dart’s sedan shapedness is more acceptable, and it’s blue at least, so that’s a plus.
I’m torn on this one – the Dart seems like more car, but I’ve heard a lot of bad about FCA reliability at that time. The Fiesta does look dumb as a sedan. My girlfriend had a 2013 Fiesta 5-door, and once all the recalls on the PowerShift were done, it was honestly a very reliable little car. I think the worst job I ever had to do on it was replace the fan switch resistor – a minor job only made difficult but the contortionist act required to get at it. It was even kinda fun to drive in city traffic, in a go-kart sort of way.
Guess I’ll go with the known quantity and vote Fiesta.
I thought only mine had the fan switch resistor go out. Mine would only do OFF or FULL speed, with nothing in-between
What radio does the Fiesta have? The last Fiesta I drove was a rental from about this era, and the Sync system was… something else. Based on that alone, give me the Dart.
Oh man! I had forgotten about the Sync system. My son’s Escape has that, and he’s managed to master it. But I have rented a Focus on more than one occasion and the radio/audio system was easily the least intuitive interface I have ever dealt with. Looking at other pictures on the Craig’s List ad for the Fiesta, it looks cursed with that abomination.
yes that one comes with Sync as it’s got steering wheel audio controls.
Mine would randomly put itself out of Sync mode and back to AUX after powering on. I ended up defaulting to the voice command button and calling for “Bluetooth Audio”. Way faster than scrolling through menus.
Thankfully all that non-sense was solved on Sync 3 and newer vehicles
If that Fiesta was the 3 banger, that would’ve been my choice, even if the motor is known to be junk.
But it’s not, and that Dart has to be the most reliable one you could ever get. A non Mutli-Air, no DCT, no expensive electronics, 2 liter with a 6 speed? Man, that’s literally the best Dart to choose.
What is it with people and their steering wheel covers? I digress….I honestly thought that the Dart wasn’t a terrible car. Admittedly, I never actually drove one, but it seemed to be a decent car for that segment, and it seemed to have at least a modicum of sportiness about it, especially in a manual. I can’t really say the same about the Fiesta.
The Ex Wife bought a Dart to replace the CX-9 as part of our divorce process, it was pretty specced out, it had a glorious exhaust note on cold start. I drove it a few times, and it wasn’t terrible. Never driven a Fiesta, but I gotta go with tonnage per dollar here, and the Dart’s shift knob and steering wheel, the things I have to touch the most, look nicer.