2009 Ford Fiesta Road Test Review

Ford, like the rest of Detroit, is in trouble. Unless your place of residence bears more than a passing resemblance to a

hole in a mountain, that should come as no surprise. But the question everyone is asking, from Motown to DC and around the world, is what will save them?

If you’re an industry lobbyist, your answer might be government funding. To a businessman, lower costs for more profit. An environmental activist, more hybrids. A pessimist will say nothing could save them. But an enthusiast knows that only a portfolio of solid products can save Detroit. And if the strategists at Ford’s European headquarters in Cologne, Germany, are right, you may be looking at it right now.

Now let’s be clear here. No single product will turn around an industrial giant like Ford, but strong, well executed design points to a sharp change in direction that could usher the company into a prosperous future. And as we discovered

along the twisting country roads in Tuscany, the new Fiesta may just be up to the challenge.

Whatever their perspective, everyone will agree that Ford is in need of a dramatic change in direction in order to turn around. Fortunately the new Fiesta, small as it is, brings with it two vital changes in Ford’s global strategy. From here on in, Ford will have to think small and big at the same time.

Ford’s existing strategy has been to produce different vehicles for different markets around the world. That’s why the Focus in North America is different from the Focus in Europe, as is the Fusion and Mondeo, while in Australia they sell the Falcon. No more, according to Ford’s new strategy. In order to take advantage of economies of scale at its disposal, Ford will offer the same core line-up in every

market around the globe. They call the campaign “One Ford”, and the Fiesta will be the first such global product made in that new mold.

It’s no mistake that Dearborn chose one of its smallest vehicles to kick off its new strategy, as the second element of its new plan is to produce smaller vehicles. Last year, small cars accounted for just 22-percent of Ford’s output, with larger vehicles accounting for half. But by 2013, Ford anticipates that small cars will amount to 31-percent, at the expense of large vehicles that will fall to 39-percent. Discontinued behemoths like the Crown Victoria and Excursion will be left firmly in the firm’s past, with this new Fiesta signaling a new future for the Blue Oval.

So

if this marks the way forward for Ford, how does the future look? Well, at least from a standstill, it looks good. The Fiesta isn’t the first to incorporate Ford’s Kinetic design language, but it undoubtedly brings it to market the least diluted. Back in 2005 at the Frankfurt show, Ford caught our attention with the original Iosis concept, but sharp as it looks, by the time the new Mondeo hit the market it bore little resemblance to the show car that was supposed to foretell its future. The transition from Iosis X concept to production Kuga was even more jarring. But the Fiesta looks almost identical to the concept Verve that came before it, and that’s no mean feat for a budget hatch.

For that much, at least, we can thank Ford’s European design director Martin Smith, the architect of Kinetic design and keen eye behind the Verve and Fiesta. The biggest difference

between the two, says Smith with fatherly pride, is a roofline that’s about one-inch higher. We have little doubt that mitigating the changes along the path from concept to production meant countless sleepless nights for Smith and his team.

Stepping inside the cabin, it becomes immediately evident that the interior was executed to the same standard as the outside. Along our drive through picturesque Tuscany, the Fiesta’s ergonomics proved both functional and pleasing to the touch, and its layout resulted in a suitable environment from which to take in the panoramic vistas. The overall quality of the interior exceeded our expectations for a budget hatchback and will assuredly prove a pleasant surprise to customers used to Toyota and Honda, whose products Ford wisely benchmarked in executing the Fiesta’s interior space.

The

Fiesta’s catalogue offers a wide range of engines, including two diesel options: a 1.4-liter Duratorq TDCi producing 68 horsepower and 118 lb-ft of torque, and a larger 1.6-liter unit with four-valve heads producing 90 hp and 150 lb-ft. The first vehicle we sampled was equipped with the latter, and pulled away with a solid feel and a quality ride. Our gasoline-burning tester, however, was equipped with the range-topping 1.6-liter Ti-VCT, driving 120 horses and 112 lb-ft of torque. It’s supplemented in the range by two more Duratec four-bangers: a 1.2-liter unit with 60 horsepower and 80 lb-ft of torque and a 1.4-liter version with 96 hp and 94 lb-ft. They drive through either a five-speed manual, which we found to offer a well-balanced clutch and satisfying gear-change, or a four-speed automatic. They’ll all come standard with Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS), which provides a surprisingly

well-weighted, solid feel along the lines of more traditional hydraulic units.

It’ll be a while yet before a replacement arrives for the much-loved Fiesta ST hot hatch, but for now the 1.6-liter Fiesta Sport provided an enjoyable ride, tackling corners with panache, sweeping through bends with authority and gliding across smooth tarmac with aplomb. With a tighter suspension, up-rated brakes and a more powerful engine, the Fiesta promises to earn its place among the best performance hatches Europe has to offer, and if we’re lucky, North American buyers just might get a chance to experience it for themselves.

In the meantime, the new Fiesta gives reason for optimism in a market whose prospects look anything but. If the Fiesta is indeed the first of a new generation of Fords, bringing the vast resources of the auto giant’s global capacity to bear, the Blue Oval may have a rescue plan of its own on its hands.