Ford Fiesta Thread: MK8 ST with 200 BHP 3cyl EcoBoost

[YSSMAN]

So as far as competition for this class, what's it look like? Honda Fit, VW Polo, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris, and what else?

• Nissan Versa & Cube
• Chevrolet Spark (Aveo, ha!)
• Kia Rio5
• MINI Cooper
• FIAT 500

That's about all I can think of to add...

Personally, I think the big competition will be the Polo, Cooper and Fit. Once the FIAT 500 shows up, that otherwise being an inevitability now with Chrysler, I think that honestly is the only car that is going to be able to distract me from the idea of buying a Fiesta.

EDIT:

Which gets me to thinking, I hope things turn around a bit for my family. I really want my Mom to buy a new Fusion SE.

 

[Tornado]

try to remember that US got Mexican quality, hence why Mk1 Focus has bad reputation..

He wasn't even referring to build quality (which was outstanding for the Focus anyways). He was referring to the interior design.

Which is entirely unfair, since us yanks have only recently seen the fruits of that.

Lets be nice to Ford. Every time they have tried to do the same in the past, it hasn't exactly been a smash success.

 

[MinoltaMan89]

I can't remember the boys on Top Gear ever saying anything good about an Opel/Vauxhall.

Ever heard of the Monaro and VX220? Sorry, I just had to defend those two.

Anyway, I can't wait to see that Fiesta. On their website is says that they're sending over 100 Fiestas, starting tomorrow, to the US for 100 people to have. Not sure if that's been mentioned yet.

 

[YSSMAN]

Thats where the early reviews have been coming from, for the most part. A small handful of the early Fiesta Movement cars have gone out early, but it seems moderately unlikely that I'll get to see one any time soon.

Booooo.

 

[Famine]

Ever heard of the Monaro and VX220?

A Holden and a Lotus...

TG have remarked positively on the design of the current Astra, the all-round ability of the current Corsa and they recommended the Zafira in the my-family-is-more-than-2-kids sector.

 

[YSSMAN]

According to the Internets, these are the 2011 US-Spec Ford Fiestas:

The Hatch

The Sedan

Thanks to Autoblog and Jalopnik

The look of the hatch is about what I had expected, a little different than the European version, but not enough to ruin the look. The sedan on the other hand is a bit wishy-washy. The grille does not fit the look overall, but the rest of the car looks rather nice. I don't know why they wouldn't use the front clip from the hatch, but alas, I'm not a marketing guy. Its a shame we won't be getting the three-door hatch, as that is still the best looking of the Fiestas.

 

[Tornado]

Thank you Ford. I don't think we could have survived without more inappropriate use of the Gillette.

 

[JCE]

Looks good.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

try to remember that US got Mexican quality, hence why Mk1 Focus has bad reputation..

The MK1 Focus has a pretty stellar reputation, actually. It continued to score high in small car tests and comparisons all through its life, pre-facelift, similar to how the Mazda 3 did.

This. The interior is just a bit funky.

Edit: Oh and post-facelift (2005+) the interior changed nil other than the dashboard but got cheapened up massively.

 

[JacoJa]

IMO, North American variants never turn out quite the same as European models. They started out with the 'Kinetic' design language, and tried to make it fit in with the designs of the Fusion, Edge, etc. Although it looks ok with the sedan, I really don't know what theme they were aiming for on the front of the hatch. Looks a wee bit odd.

I hope these will sell in the U.S .

 

[Paulie]

I just don't think much of the Fiesta's design in any region, but I'm exceptionally glad we don't get that sedan in Australia.

 

[Prince.M5]

Boy this car looks like a redesigned or rebadge Citroen C4!!

 

[Omnis]

How is it Debuting in LA when I saw them at the miami auto show?

 

[Leonidae]

So, they had to ruin it with the sedan.. Haven't they been watching the mistakes Peugeot has made with the 20x range?

 

[JacoJa]

I just don't think much of the Fiesta's design in any region,

You're kidding?
Any particular parts of the design you don't like?

 

[Jim Prower]

So, they had to ruin it with the sedan.. Haven't they been watching the mistakes Peugeot has made with the 20x range?

Leo, Leo, Leo. Don't you know? Hatchbacks are for poor people and hippies! Americans drive cars with a real trunk.*

*stereotyping for humor, don't shoot me, please.

 

[Leonidae]

I'll only shoot you into right knee for a lesson.

oh, that's right, I don't have a gun.. well, my ax will do. bit messier, and might take few tries..

 

[Shant J.]

WHY don't we get the three-door?! The only three-door subcompact hatchbacks we get here are the Yaris and the Accent . . .

 

[Adamgp]

Sedan looks good.

I think when Ford brings this car over they should American-ize the name. Instead of the "Fiesta" it should be called the "Festivus"

Advertising will write itself.

 

[Tornado]

Might be too close to Festiva.

 

[homeforsummer]

You're kidding?
Any particular parts of the design you don't like?

I'd agree with him, actually. I genuinely can't see the fuss with the Fiesta's looks at all. It's a really bad mix of lines that go nowhere, sharp angles and curves that don't sit well together, a large grille which is a trend I hate, and the back end is completely unresolved and spoiled by the licence plate mounting being there which makes the bumper look huge and the tailgate look cluttered.

 

[YSSMAN]

How is it Debuting in LA when I saw them at the miami auto show?

These are supposed to be the official North American versions, previous to this, we've only been seeing modified EU-spec models in the US.

The good news is that they're (generally speaking) not radically different.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Officially Official:

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/02/2011-ford-fiesta-for-america-revealed-hits-40-mpg/

Edit: not liking the change to the fog lights or the revised grills. They made the US spec front end a bit "soft".

 

[Prince.M5]

WHOW 40mpg!! Now that's a good car... But in my opinion, I don't really like that trapezium look a like chrome plate and an LED light in it. This 5 door version really shares some Impreza and C4 looks but I think that's owkey. The rear meanwhile, looks like an Impreza too but I don't really like the rear light somehow. The interior is descent and simple thus I like it. Let's see how it drives and hope it's promising If I have a chance to compare this with an Aveo, I'd take this!!

EDIT : Don't you guys think that the dashboard is a little bit too high?? Or the blackish and reddish interior colour trick my eyes??

 

[Paulie]

You're kidding?
Any particular parts of the design you don't like?

The rear end looks pretty good, the interior is made of all awkward and bulbous shapes, and the controls are all a little more complex than usual. The interior colours can be horrendous, like having a bright blue dash, or a purple dash, with old man's pyjama's patterned seat trims. The front just looks awkard in person, like a really fat faced person, I dunno......awkward. The front end looks better in these interwebs pictures, but in real life its proportions become more apparent.

 

[JacoJa]

I'd agree with him, actually. I genuinely can't see the fuss with the Fiesta's looks at all. It's a really bad mix of lines that go nowhere, sharp angles and curves that don't sit well together, a large grille which is a trend I hate, and the back end is completely unresolved and spoiled by the licence plate mounting being there which makes the bumper look huge and the tailgate look cluttered.

The rear end looks pretty good, the interior is made of all awkward and bulbous shapes, and the controls are all a little more complex than usual. The interior colours can be horrendous, like having a bright blue dash, or a purple dash, with old man's pyjama's patterned seat trims. The front just looks awkard in person, like a really fat faced person, I dunno......awkward. The front end looks better in these interwebs pictures, but in real life its proportions become more apparent.

I find it interesting how something like the Fiesta looks perfect through my eyes, but looks terrible (or awkward) for someone else. Especially homeforsummer's comments. But anyway... it's good to read your thoughts rather then just posting "YUCK" or "" like most other people do. 👍

 

[Jondot]

Oh, look, they ruined it.

Also:

What in the name of god happened there?

 

[homeforsummer]

I find it interesting how something like the Fiesta looks perfect through my eyes, but looks terrible (or awkward) for someone else. Especially homeforsummer's comments. But anyway... it's good to read your thoughts rather then just posting "YUCK" or "" like most other people do. 👍

No problems, you asked politely for opinions so that's what we delivered 👍

What in the name of god happened there?

The main trouble with the sedan isn't the design itself as I actually slightly prefer it to the hatch as most of my issue with the hatch is the rear end - the main trouble with the sedan is how small the wheels look. That's a massive slab of metal just behind the rear passenger doors there and it gives the car a really enormous arse!

That said - this is a problem a lot of hatchbacks-to-sedans face as they've not been designed as a sedan from the outset. I reckon the Fiesta sedan would have looked better had they continued the wheelarch flare horizontally from the top onto the line of the rear bumper rather than it curving down again and kicking off further down. It would have filled some of that empty space.

I suspect once the tuners get hold of the car it might improve.

In general, the reason I don't like the design of the Fiesta is because the Mazda 2 exists on the same platform and has a more sporting design of interior (rather than a "funky" and "cool" one) and because the exterior is so much more coherent.

And funnily enough, they're considering a sedan version of that too, and guess what? It's been executed much more pleasingly than the Fiesta:

 

[YSSMAN]

Considering that the car wasn't that radically altered altogether is still a miracle on behalf of Ford. Generally, buy the time a foreign-market vehicle arrives in the States, it would be barely recognizable to the home market by which it came. Props to Ford for sticking with the 1.6L engine as well, furthermore, adding the six-speed automatic as an option as well. They're really making sure that this isn't a typical penalty box, and they've done a damn good job.

Plus, it still has this:

Hooray!

 

[magicalgin]

whoops pressed quote instead of edit