Taking the new Ford Fiesta for a Spin

Zuhaib

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Joined
Dec 11, 2003
Messages
855
Location
San Francisco, CA
Car(s)
19 BMW X3
So a local (well somewhat, 30 miles from home) fair had the Ford people out doing the test drive of the Ford Fiesta and I just so happen to be there so I thought hey why not! I blogged about it (yes spam for me) http://zuhaiblog.com/2009/07/19/quick-test-drive-of-the-ford-fiesta/
Photos and stuff over there.

Pretty much my impression with the car is I am impressed. Its interior is nice and for the small drive around the city, it handled as good as my GTI. Engine might leave you lacking on the freeway but in the city its more then enough. And if they hit the price of $15k for a well spec'ed one, it could give the Rabbit a run for its money (tho it is smaller).

Driving and and seeing the Ford Focus ST on Top Gear, I am thinking my next car to replace the GTI might be a Ford :eek:
 
Did you find that at low speeds the steering was a bit light? But still a nice car to drive indeed.
 
"It was fully loaded minus for Navigation and was in Euro spec as the Ford people kept reminding me that US version is still in development."

That mean they are going to ruin it, by figuring out ways to build the thing cheap, just give us the Euro spec. Oh I hope I'm wrong.
 
Indeed pfrocker
https://pic.armedcats.net/k/kn/knarkas/2009/07/20/FordFiestaSaloon3.jpg
 
"It was fully loaded minus for Navigation and was in Euro spec as the Ford people kept reminding me that US version is still in development."

That mean they are going to ruin it, by figuring out ways to build the thing cheap, just give us the Euro spec. Oh I hope I'm wrong.

Anyone actually know what changes they plan to make to Americanize it? I really hope they don't turn it into a saloon (sedan) and make the interior cheap. It could give the Mini a run for its money in the little city car market.

There selling really quickly (I think) here, I pretty much see a brand new one everyday (along with the odd Ka which I still think isn't very pretty).
 
I have a 2008 Fiesta (last of the the old shape) and that has fantastic steering - when it was in for some warranty work I was given a new shape one as a courtesy car, a 1.25 Style +. I've also driven a 1.4 Zetec variant and in both case, I did find that the new model had steering that was a bit too light at low speeds and didn't provide good feedback from the road, although this did improve the faster you went.

The steering wheel itself was a joy to hold, with chunky grab handles at 10 to 2 and the gearchange, like my car, is slick and effortless. On the whole, a very pleasant car and a very good looking one, but I had the following issues with it:

- Door handles (interior) are VERY cheap, worse than the old model and don't push inward to allow manual locking of the doors
- Central air vents aren't as versatile in their movement as those closer to the doors are
- Heating switches don't feel good to operate, and are too small.
- Low speed steering felt very false
 
They did mention they would have a sedan version, but the hatch would also stay in the US. I hope most of the changes are only to keep with DOT and maybe a few things for localization but otherwise stay untouched. During my after drive survey i told them.

@Speedtouch It felt just right, and it got a bit tighter with speed which I is nice. It not as light as my dads Mustang which is so light its stupid.
 
I hope they bring out a RS Turbo version of the Fiesta... Since they brought out the Focus Rs Turbo. The new line up of Fiesta "hot hatch" is just the S version for a 1.6

I miss the old 1.6 Rs Turbo, 1.6 XR2I or the RS1800!
 
After seeing several at pikes peak, (including 2 800hp versions) I have to say I approve :mrgreen:
 
They did mention they would have a sedan version, but the hatch would also stay in the US. I hope most of the changes are only to keep with DOT and maybe a few things for localization but otherwise stay untouched. During my after drive survey i told them.

@Speedtouch It felt just right, and it got a bit tighter with speed which I is nice. It not as light as my dads Mustang which is so light its stupid.

What is with America's love of Sedans? they make a Yaris sedan too it just looks....odd!
 
I think the prevailing opinion in Detroit is that most Americans associate hatchbacks with cheap cars, and therefore aren't willing to pay top dollar for one.
(Which doesn't explain the Volkswagen Golf, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza, Mini, Audi A3, Chrysler PT Cruiser, and Volvo C30. Am I leaving anything out? Oh yeah, the Toyota Prius and the new Honda Insight.)
I like hatches - having owned a Chevy Sprint (AKA Suzuki Cultus) 5 door in the past, I miss the utility you could get in a hatchback. I like the new Saturn Astra - I'm just holding out for a Redline model. And I would love to have a BMW 128 or 135i 3 door, if BMW ever saw fit to ship them across the Atlantic.

:confused:
 
I think the prevailing opinion in Detroit is that most Americans associate hatchbacks with cheap cars, and therefore aren't willing to pay top dollar for one.
(Which doesn't explain the Volkswagen Golf, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza, Mini, Audi A3, Chrysler PT Cruiser, and Volvo C30. Am I leaving anything out? Oh yeah, the Toyota Prius and the new Honda Insight.)
I like hatches - having owned a Chevy Sprint (AKA Suzuki Cultus) 5 door in the past, I miss the utility you could get in a hatchback. I like the new Saturn Astra - I'm just holding out for a Redline model. And I would love to have a BMW 128 or 135i 3 door, if BMW ever saw fit to ship them across the Atlantic.

:confused:

I've never gotten the love of sedans either. For my own car, I wanted two things, a hatch and a manual transmission. Driving a car with a regular trunk for two years was just a hassle whenever I wanted to bring something bulky home.

It's a shame this has taken so long to get here, had it gone faster I might have bought one. Ah well, I'll probably get something new in four years, maybe next time.
 
I think the prevailing opinion in Detroit is that most Americans associate hatchbacks with cheap cars, and therefore aren't willing to pay top dollar for one.
(Which doesn't explain the Volkswagen Golf, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza, Mini, Audi A3, Chrysler PT Cruiser, and Volvo C30. Am I leaving anything out? Oh yeah, the Toyota Prius and the new Honda Insight.)
I like hatches - having owned a Chevy Sprint (AKA Suzuki Cultus) 5 door in the past, I miss the utility you could get in a hatchback. I like the new Saturn Astra - I'm just holding out for a Redline model. And I would love to have a BMW 128 or 135i 3 door, if BMW ever saw fit to ship them across the Atlantic.

:confused:
You're going to be waiting a damned long time for that, as Saturn has been axed by GM.
 
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