Ford Fiesta

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scionkid
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Ford Fiesta

Post by scionkid »

Not the one that they sold before some of you were here. I went to an auto show yesterday and test drove a few cars. One of those was a 2010 Ford Fiesta that they sell in Europe. I was surprise that Ford brought 2 manuals and 2 autos, since so few buy them these days. I witnessed some gear grinds and high rev launches by other drivers.

Handling - 4.5
If I have to find one fault with it, I would say that its steering isn't a sharp as a Miata's that I drove right before it. And that's a cheap shot. It's wheel was light but wasn't isolated like a Prius(another car that I drove). The electric assist was only evident when you turn the wheel while stopped. Other than that, I couldn't feel it working. I took a brisk corner without squealing tires.

Ride and Comfort - 5
Small cars usually ride rougher than big ones because of their short wheel base. This car is no different. In this car, you'll feel the bumps but not the sharp impacts. The seats had thick padding and the side bolsters weren't intrusive. For a car this cheap, it had seat height adjuster, telescoping wheel, and even auto climate control. It's good for what it is, a sporty hatch.

Praticality - 4
At its projected $16k, you can buy a much bigger Hyundai Elantra Touring. But there are places you can't park the Hyundai and it will burn more fuel than the Fiesta. It's hatch shape gave it plenty of head room, front and rear. However, its rear seat back that folds forward do not measure up to Honda Fit's seats that stow on the floor as well as other Fit's features. 4 out of 5 for the Fiesta on this one.

Fun - 4.5
I liked the slick steering, nicely weighted clutch, and a shifter that didn't flop around in it's gate. I also drove an automatic version. Unlike most Ford that goes for the top gear in a hurry, this one held on to its lower gears. It felt like an expensive German car, nimble yet planted. But I'd prefer a little more go cart feel.

Quality - 3.5
Soft touch foam on the dash! That's refreshing in this class of car. Like most Ford nowadays, almost everything in this car is tightly screwed together. It's door doesn't have that solid thunk as it closes. But it isn't a 3000 lbs car either. The important thing is that the bits inside the door didn't rattle like a Chrysler that I rented before. I would give it a 5 until I drove the automatic. The flimsy shifter had a "suggestion gate" that didn't work. 1.5 points off

Engine - 4
There's more than enough power for a car in this class. Throttle response was good. I pulled a rev match downshift within 100 +/- after about 2 minutes with it. I would like to see a redline higher than 6k. And it's engine whined like a vacuum cleaner instead of impersonating a sports bike like Honda or Mazda. However, it isn't a deal breaker for me.

Fuel Economy - N/A
AFAIK, it'll get 28/38. I didn't notice the fuel economy gauge until I drove the auto. It read in the low teens when getting up to speed and leveled off at the high 20s on the streets.

Overall - 4.5
This is a serious effort by Ford. I wish that it won't get toned down like the last Focus.
Last edited by scionkid on Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by watkins »

Sex?
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by Tups »

What engines you're going to get in the States?
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by scionkid »

watkins wrote:Sex?
No thank you. Actually, that car has the "sync" feature that controls the radio. So you can scream out the saltiest phrase and the radio may just play that.
Tups wrote:What engines you're going to get in the States?
1.6L 4 banger
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by ElectroGhandi »

That's the same size engine that our Sentra has. I hope that Fiesta is a little peppier than the Sentra. I mean, while going uphill, I can take it up to about 4,000 RPM in 2nd gear and it will really struggle when I shift to 3rd.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by theholycow »

Your Sentra is 14 years old and from an era where fuel economy and emissions were far more important than power (in MY1996 the tide was beginning to turn but not yet for economy cars). There's no reason to expect a modern 1.6 not to make much more power.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by Tups »

Well, the 1.6-liter engine is the biggest one you can have the Fiesta with in Europe, so it's natural that it'll be the smallest one available in the States. 120/140 hp is still quite a lot for a car of that size. We had the previous generation Fiesta for a while (100 km in the odometer!) with a 1.3-liter, 68 hp engine, and it was kind of powerless as the car was quite heavy. My Escort has 1 hp more and it feels perfectly fine as the car weighs something like 400 kg less than the Fiesta, and the even older Fiesta (with a 1.3-liter 69 hp engine) we had before that (until they sold it and I had to return it to the shop) was okay as well.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Tups wrote:Well, the 1.6-liter engine is the biggest one you can have the Fiesta with in Europe, so it's natural that it'll be the smallest one available in the States. 120/140 hp is still quite a lot for a car of that size. We had the previous generation Fiesta for a while (100 km in the odometer!) with a 1.3-liter, 68 hp engine, and it was kind of powerless as the car was quite heavy. My Escort has 1 hp more and it feels perfectly fine as the car weighs something like 400 kg less than the Fiesta, and the even older Fiesta (with a 1.3-liter 69 hp engine) we had before that (until they sold it and I had to return it to the shop) was okay as well.
I'm thinking we've had some cars here that each cylinder was >1 liter, like the Cadillac 500 c.i.d. V-8. Even our windshield washer bottles have grown to be almost 4 liters of capacity. I remember when they were 1liter-sized. Even our beverages tend to come in larger containers, like 2 or 3-liter bottles of soda or 1 liter coffee mugs......but the Australians have it over us with those oil cans of Foster's Lager Beer.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

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Rope-Pusher wrote:Even our windshield washer bottles have grown to be almost 4 liters of capacity.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. The Escort's windshield washer fluid tank is something like 10 liters so if I fill it up once a year it practically never runs out. The Focus, on the other hand, is out of soap every other day since the tank is small and leaking...
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Tups wrote:
Rope-Pusher wrote:Even our windshield washer bottles have grown to be almost 4 liters of capacity.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. The Escort's windshield washer fluid tank is something like 10 liters so if I fill it up once a year it practically never runs out. The Focus, on the other hand, is out of soap every other day since the tank is small and leaking...
Here in "da States", washer fluid is sold in 1 gallon (US, not Imperial) jugs. People tend to drive until the fluid reservoir in their vehicle is empty, or at least until the "low fluid" warning light is illuminated and then they want to be able to pour the entire contents of the just-purchased jug into their vehicle's washer fluid reservoir, many times right then and there in the parking lot of the store where they purchased the washer fluid, while it's still "Fresh". That is why washer fluid reservoirs are the size they are.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by Tups »

Rope-Pusher wrote:Here in "da States"...
Well, when the washer fluid in my car starts to run out, I just buy a liter of concentrate, pour it in and then fill the rest with water.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by theholycow »

Tups wrote:Well, when the washer fluid in my car starts to run out, I just buy a liter of concentrate, pour it in and then fill the rest with water.
It's rare to find washer concentrate here, and usually it's more expensive (after diluting) than buying ready-to-use stuff.

I've been making my own using water, dish soap, and little bits of various windshield products (Rain-X, a little washer fluid, probably other stuff...I don't remember). I'll have to replace it with normal washer fluid for the winter else it will freeze. I could add an anti-freeze additive but then it would be more expensive than just buying washer fluid off the shelf.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by Tups »

Well, the one I use is not actually a concentrate but "undiluted" washer fluid, basically just ethanol. With 1 part of it and 1 part of water, which is the highest recommend concentration, it'll freeze at -29°C/-20.2°F, but for most of the year 1:4 (-7°C/19.4°F) or even lower in summer is enough.
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by ElectroGhandi »

I don't use my windshield washer fluid that much...?
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Re: Ford Fiesta

Post by watkins »

I cannot see my washer fluid tank, and there is no dipstick. There is a terribly annoying message that show on the information display every time the car is turned on, however. The issue is that once the message is cleared, I forget I need more fluid. It pretty much means I never remember.
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