TEST DRIVE: 2011 FORD FIESTA SEDAN AND 5 DOOR

Red Book had the opportunity to drive the soon to be available in the U.S., Ford Fiesta. While this car is all new to North America, the Fiesta name isn’t new as Ford imported a German built car with the same name from model year 1978-1981. Car & Driver named the 1978 Fiesta “Most significant new imported car”.

This latest Fiesta has been available in Europe since 2008 and has been so well received that it is the number one seller in Europe, a place that covets fun to drive economical cars.

We get the same car as the Europeans with great looks that is “agile, responsive and efficient” as our Ford presenter told us. It took $4.00 gas, but American tastes have now converged with the Europeans. Mini Cooper has proven that Americans will pay a premium for a highly contented small car and Ford is banking that the 15 class exclusive features will justify their premium price in this segment.
 
Our pre-drive walk around revealed what Ford describes as “kenetic” styling. All the lines are taught and intersect nicely to give a sense of motion when the car is standing still. The headlights on both models and tail lights on the hatchback are particularly striking. Look closely and you will notice someone spent a lot of time crafting the details of the dozen or more reflective surfaces. In grade school I often received “needs improvement” check marks for “uses time well” on my report card. I would give an A on the report card of whoever took the time to craft these headlights and tail lights. They look great. They are truly a work of art. The interior is modern and the center stack reminded me of the front of my Yamaha Raptor. Again, a lot of attention to detail.

Our test drive started out near the San Francisco bay then we went south through the city then along the coast through some canyons and forests entering and exiting twists and turns that brought out some undesirable traits in the competitive set consisting of the Yaris, Fit and Aveo. The Fiesta was relatively quiet, comfortable and the power of the 1.6L Duratec was reasonable with both the manual and 6-speed automatic. For the first time, an automatic transmission gets higher EPA rated fuel economy than does the manual shift. The six-speed dual clutch automatic took a bit to get used to but worked well when compared to the alternative. The alternative is the rapid up down hunt shifting that plagues most small cars with automatic transmissions. This transmission is tuned to hold the last gear longer so under heavy acceleration when you want to go it does so immediately without pause.

The new Fiesta isn’t a boring econobox that you settle for because you can’t afford anything better. It is a fun to drive car loaded with features that will surprise and entertain. The 15 class exclusive features include the much heralded SYNC voice activated communication and entertainment system, start/stop button, quad headlamps, seven airbags, power heated mirrors, heated  leather seats and more.
 
There are two body styles and three trim levels available plus nine color choices. Prices start at $13,995.00.

Comments

[Mark-Iowa]

This article was so well written, that I went out and bought one without ever seeing, driving or touching one. This author's judgement better be as good as his writing skills.

[Rcik Wagoner]

So just how deep in Ford's back pocket are you? Every Ford review is a love letter, in fact you should do a off braodway play: "Love Letter's to Mr. Ford".