New Fiesta has a lot to live up to
There’s a new Fiesta coming in July. But it’s not a Fiesta. Not, anyway, as we’ve grown to know Ford’s small car over the years since its introduction in 1977.
OK. So Ford had to catch up. Not because its main small car wasn’t selling, because it was. No ... it simply had to catch up in the space stakes.
And, styling apart, if there was any one reason to say why this Fiesta is different, it’s in the volume package. In outside dimensions, looking at the new Polo, Ibiza, upcoming Citroen C3 and a number of others directly in competition, the new Fiesta is NOT the largest car in the class.
Ford is claiming, though, that it is the best packager of people and their luggage in the class. And for the golfers, who in the segment usually have to put their club bags anglewise or through a folded part of the rear seat, there’s no problem - the boot takes the bag straight across.
You could bring a bag for each of the foursome the car can comfortably carry, actually.
And, as my daughter used to have the outgoing model before she was rear-ended by a truck last year (she’s fine now, whiplash more or less cured), I can vouch for the rear seat roominess. I can sit in the back of the new Fiesta without knee or head contortions, something I couldn’t do in the ending version. In fact, the headroom is said to be as good as the second row in a Ford Galaxy.
“We worked out what was needed by using REAL things rather than official capacity measurements,” says Fiesta product manager Martin Cooper. “We used everyday things like baby buggies and golf bags.”
The new car is also more fuel efficient, and Ford’s people say that in real terms - again not just going the official measurement route - there’s an overall 10% improvement over the outgoing car.
Anyway, I’ve just spent a couple of days driving the new Fiesta, and impressions so far are very good.
There’s a definite ‘New Edge’ look about the vehicle from the front, and a strong Ford Focus sibling resemblance. But aft of the A-pillar the bodywork is more conservative, and clearly made with that ‘efficient packaging’ in mind.
The new car is wider than the old, and there’s a very strong sense of stance, with ‘wheel at each corner’ placings, and a definite impression of capability.
The cars we drove were all 5-doors, and this is the version which will come to Ireland first.
It features high hip-points on the seats, and wide doors front and rear to make it easier for getting in and out. Ford has paid particular attention in recent years to the fact that European demographics show an ageing population, and the marque’s current designs reflect this.
But you can cater for less supple people without losing flair, and the concept behind the new Fiesta is ‘zest for life’.
The interior design is again less dramatic than was that in the Focus when it was introduced. But the dashboard and instrumentation is pleasant and clear, and all button controls are large and direct to use. Like the Focus, the boot release button is high on the dash.
There’s some strong design emphasis on such things as the air vents, which become a feature of the dashboard and break up what might otherwise be something dull.
In around 300km of driving, in mixed conditions and road kinds, the new car felt very competent. It is agile, very solid on the road, and as comfortable as many cars which are in larger classes. Ford’s people said, actually, that they used their own Focus as the ‘target vehicle’ for the Fiesta benchmarking. It would have been dard to do better.
One clear message came out of the run, though: the 1.4-litre turbodiesel engine developed jointly with Peugeot is THE engine for this car. I was absolutely enthralled by it, and colleagues were all equally impressed.
The market for a diesel in this segment in Ireland is small, as there are few incentives to pay for the extra cost. There’s also a perception, particularly among women, that diesels are spelly and noisy and really not to be bothered with.
Funny, if they can do something to get people into this one, I believe Ford will get a very pleasant surprise in the numbers they could move. The one real incentive is that it returns almost 66mpg without trying hard, and a couple of years of ownership would easily wipe out the original investment cost for the oilburner. Plus, you’d be doing your bit for the environment.
Anyhow, when the car arrives it will have the 1.4-litre TDCi, and a brand new 1.3-litre 8-valve engine which is claimed to be also very economical. We didn’t have that one to drive this week, but instead had a 1.4-litre 16v which will also be available here later in the year. There’s also a 1.6-litre petrol.
Ford’s people won’t be drawn on prices or specifications yet, saying they’ll wait and see what the earlier-arriving competition will do - the new VW Polo and the upcoming Citroen C3 will both be benchmarking the price of the new bigger B-segment cars.
In all, since 1977, some 140,000 Fiestas have been sold in Ireland. Within six years of its arrival, it had captured 10% of the Irish car market, and it has been Ireland’s best-selling car in 11 years.
The new Fiesta has a lot to live up to against that kind of pedigree. But it’ll be worth waiting for, I think.
(That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy the runout car: as long as you don’t have to carry 6’-plus adults in the rear, there are really good deals available from your local Ford dealer just now on the current model.)
