After 32 years, Ford has finally given the functional Fiesta a real sparkle that could drive it to top of its class, says Michael McAleer, Motoring editor
LIKE IT or loathe it, the Ford Fiesta is an icon of small car motoring. Arriving on our roads back in 1976, it's moved - albeit conservatively - with the times, but never lost its rather staid identity. Until now.
This time it has got the most radical facelift in its seven generations. So distinctive in fact, that Ford considered dropping the Fiesta name and calling this the Verve, after the original concept car shown in Frankfurt last autumn to great acclaim.
The importance of this car is not to be sniffed at. Ford has decided the new Fiesta will be a world car. This European-born model is to be introduced to Asians, Africans and even those truck-loving North Americans.
Previous versions were based on the principle of function over form. In the ever-practical world of small car motoring, there probably wasn't a great demand for fancy design features. If it got the children to school and everyone to mass on Sunday, then it did its job and that was that.
Times have changed, however, and everyone - regardless of income - has become an aesthete. We care about what we look like and part of that is reflected in the cars we buy. So even the functional Fiesta must show a fun side in the image department.
In the changeover, Ford has radically altered its image. The outgoing model was a boxy, dull mode of transport. Great swathes of black plastic stuck to metal formed the majority of the interior. Here, instead, someone seems to have taken some time over every little detail. Suddenly, Ford seems to care about the look and feel of its small car. Externally, the car bears a remarkable similarity to the concept Verve. Traits like the big low-set trapezoidal grille, the more prominent wheel arches and the sloping roof-line are now part of Ford's signature. They give the car a real sporty presence.
Inside, we have further praise for Ford engineers for their efforts on the central console. While all models will come with multi-functioning steering wheels - featuring radio controls and the like - the central console layout is funky and modern, while at the same time ultra-practical. It's hard to imagine that this comes from the same company that gave us the previous block of black plastic knobs.
In terms of comfort, the seats are well bolstered, with plenty of support. Rear seat headroom does seem to have been slightly compromised to give the car it's more sloping stance, but to compensate, the rear seat position has been lowered, so you sit with your knees a little higher. It's adequate without setting any new benchmarks.
In building the car, the engineers opted for stronger steel, which meant that they could use it more thinly. That means savings in weight (the car is on average 40kg lighter than its predecessor), better fuel economy and also little touches, like discrete A-pillars that don't block your line of vision when pulling out at crossroads.
The improvements in steel quality also means the car is 10 per cent stiffer and more rigid, while in safety terms, Ford is confident the car will get a five-star rating at the Euro NCAP crash tests later this year.
The quality of the plastic surfacing inside is to be commended as well. All the important areas are soft touch, a world apart from the cheap nasty plastics we have come to expect in small cars.
As with other Ford models, there's a host of engine options: a 1.25-litre and 1.4-litre petrol; and a 1.4-litre diesel. The top of the range, initially for now, will be the 1.6-litre 118bhp petrol.
A supercharged version of this engine is likely to be the foundation for an ST version of the Fiesta in the future. One engine that was not listed as an initial arrival for Ireland, but one we hope that Ford Irish operations will consider introducing very soon, is the 1.6-litre diesel. Frankly, it leaves its supposedly more sporty petrol equivalent at the starting blocks.
That petrol engine was the first we drove at the launch and for all our fondness of the new styling and layout of the car, it was disheartening to find such a lacklustre engine under the bonnet. That's particularly the case given that it features in the three-door Zetec specification, complete with smart alloys and sports pack.
The look of the regular five-door is already sporting, but this really sets the car off as something special. Then they tell you it's a 1.6-litre Fiesta. Normally with that sort of combination you'd expect it to be able to outrun a Golf GTi. Big engine plus small and light body should equal rocket propulsion. Instead, what you get is an insipid, rather lazy lump of metal hanging up front. It's a real letdown.
Ironically, it's the direct opposite of its diesel counterpart. On the road the 1.6-litre diesel engine is not exactly silent under hard acceleration, but it's incredibly adept and eager. The five-speed gearbox is well matched to the car, and even at motorway cruising speeds, the engine seems to have a good deal more in reserve if you require it.
Its greatest trait is plenty of low-end punch that allowed us to overtake plenty of slow-moving trucks and the like on twisting Italian country roads during the launch. It's a great engine that fulfils our expectations and while we have yet to drive the smaller 1.25-litre and 1.4-litre derivatives, this is the one to beat for now.
It's perfectly weighted with the car, and the slight adjustments to the steering on the diesel model seem to have got the mix just right. In short, it brings out the best in what is a class-leading chassis.
Those underpinnings are shared with the award-winning Mazda2, and Ford has honed the upper part of the body to make it ever more nimble. Along with adding a stiffer twist beam at the rear, they have altered the bushings, springs and damper rates to give the new Fiesta a real active direct feel.
It's a joy to drive on twisting roads and the compromise isn't that much in terms of pottering around urban traffic. Given that handling is one of Ford's acclaimed fortes, it's hardly surprising that the Fiesta performs so well on the rough and tumble of back roads. Prices for the new Fiesta are likely to start in the region of €15,000 when the car arrives in mid-October. That pitches it right in the heart of the small car segment.
In terms of engines, we'll reserve judgment until we drive the big-selling variants, like the 1.25-litre petrol. But, in terms of design, fit and finish and interior features, the new Fiesta seems like a leader in the making - something we could never say about its predecessors.
FACTFILE
Ford Fiesta
Engines
1.25-litre petrol:1242cc; 81bhp; 0-100km/h: 13.3secs; top speed: 167km/h; 5.7
L/100km; CO2 133g/km
1.4-litre petrol:1386cc; 95bhp; 0-100km/h: 12.2secs; top speed: 175km/h;
5.7 L/100km; CO2 133g/km
1.6-litre Ti-VCT petrol:1596cc; 118bhp; 0-100km/h: 9.9secs; top speed: 193km/h; 5.9 L/100km; CO2 139g/km
1.4-litre TDCi diesel:1398cc; 67bhp; 0-100km/h: 14.9secs; top speed: 163km/h;
4.2 L/100km; CO2 110g/km
1.6-litre TDCi diesel:1560cc; 89bhp; 0-100km/h: 11.9secs; top speed: 175km/h;
4.2 L/100km; CO2 110g/km
Specification levels
Style:3/5-door: 1.25 81bhp, 1.4 95bhp, 1.4 95bhp Auto and 1.4 TDCi 67
Zetec:S 3-door: 1.6 Ti-VCT 118bhp
Titanium:5-door: 1.25 81bhp and 1.4 TDCi 67bhp
Prices:starting circa €15,000 for 1.25 3-door Style
Arriving:mid-October