Ford Fiesta

Over the years I’ve visited and revisited the Ford Fiesta in various guises. My uncle had one in the early eighties, friends of the family the same, old next-door neighbours, and even when I first met my now wife, she had one too. I have to admit I was never really a fan. Even though I wasn’t a fan in the past, I was always happy to recommend it to people as a good, even as a great, reliable car. It’s true, I firmly believe that this car reliable and trustworthy. That’s why Ford has been able to keep the Fiesta brand going for so long. When they built it they were on to a winner, a small, nifty, and utterly reliable car.

This week we’re looking at the Ford Fiesta 1 litre Ecoboost, and this may be the first Fiesta that is changing my mind. There are still many things I don’t like about this car, but there are some factors about it that really stand out and these same factors are slightly changing my kind of snobbish view towards them. Maybe I’m getting wise with age.



To drive
The best thing about this particular car, by a long shot, is its engine. It’s brilliant – not in a "look how fast my engine can go" or "listen to how she purrs," brilliant kind-of-way, but brilliant in the sense that Ford have succeeded in making less do more. Ford is really on their game with their Ecoboost technology.

This is a 3 cylinder 1 litre engine which performs and offers the fuel economy of so much more. The 42 litre tank in this car will bring you a long distance, using up to 4.3 litres of fuel per 100km in combined driving which considering that this is a 3 cylinder 1 litre car is a really good result.  The reason for this great fuel economy and the good performance of the engine is because of the Ecoboost engine which Ford is now utilising in some models. Ecoboost engines are turbo charged direct injection petrol engines which offer the torque and power of larger engines. 

This small car offers 0-100kmph in 11.2 seconds and according to Ford, this engine will enable the Fiesta to give its driver up to 112mph or 180kmph.

When it comes to handling the Fiesta is surprisingly good. The car has the ability to grip the road very tightly and it is with ease that the steering wheel directs you where you want to go.

Interior
So far so good with this Fiesta. There are a few sides of the car which I found to be less than perfect. Before I give out about these aspects I am going to try and explain why I think certain aspects didn’t thrill me. This car comes at a very reasonable price and it’s aimed at a market who can afford that price. When a car is less expensive to buy it means that it costs even less to build and therefore some areas will suffer in terms of build quality.

The interior of the Fiesta is full of plastic and appears cheap. It’s unfortunate they didn’t pay more attention to the inside feel. The seats are comfortable and there is plenty of space but the cabin needs more quality. Another thing which bothered me is that I found the infotainment system within the Fiesta to be a bit confusing and awkward. I couldn’t get the system to do what I wanted it to do.

What lets this car down the most in my view however is the road noise which gets through when you are driving at anything over 80kmph. The road noise needs to be dealt with, but I fear if it is dealt with the customer will have to pay a bit more for the privilege. You can try to sound out the road noise by raising the volume on the stereo, but to be honest this is not a good solution.

Price, etc. 
There are three versions of Fiesta available to the Irish market at the moment; Fiesta, Fiesta Zetec and Fiesta Titanium. All come with 14” steel wheels, body-coloured bumpers, daytime running lights, rear spoiler, USB and Aux connectivity, hill launch assist and more.

See prices and tax bands below.



The CBG.ie verdict
I will always recommend the Fiesta to people who are looking for a small and reliable car. The EcoBoost engine is very impressive. The only thing that lets this Fiesta down would be its interior. That said however it is a nicer place to be in in comparison with previous models.

Daragh Ó Tuama