Test Driven: Ford Fiesta Sedan Review
Lets get something clear from the start: I hate Ford Fiestas. This maybe a bold statement to make at the beginning of a review of Ford’s latest super mini, but let me at least state my case. My dearest Grandmother had a 1979 Fiesta 1.1 Popular Plus. I was often put on the back seat as my grandmother took me on wild tours of the countryside of Northern England; as it was the ‘olden times’ this particular Ford Fiesta didn’t have seat belts, so I bounced off the roof, the windows, and found myself in the footwell quite a few times. My Grandmother decided she didn’t like the color of her yellow Fiesta one day, so she painted it. Herself. With white emulsion. You could see the brush strokes, but she was adamant it was her ‘new’ car. Another round of wild rides ensued. With my grandmother’s family being a strong Ford loving family (she recently upgraded to a Ford Ka) I went through several generations of crazy Ford Fiesta journeys with my dearest grandmother so it’s easy to understand why I strongly dislike Fiestas, especially with all the abuse I went through during my junior years on the back seat of one with my grandmother at the helm. Thankfully these days I’m too big for her latest Ford Ka, but at 76 years old she isn’t showing any signs of slowing down physically, but her lead foot is heavier than ever.
Chang’an Ford were kind enough to lend me their latest Ford Fiesta this weekend, the sedan version that will eventually see production also in North and South America. Usually when car makers design a sedan out of a hatchback car they manage to make ugly monstrosities that only developing world markets seem to buy (look at the Peugeot 207 sedan, for example). Not so for Ford: the Focus hatch and sedan are equally handsome cars and that has spread down into the latest Fiesta range. The kinetic design theory that is present across the Ford range has worked well for the latest Fiesta, the lines of the car clearly embrace the kinetic design style of ‘always accelerating’ even when standing still.
The Fiesta we had this weekend was a 1.5 Luxury sedan model, with a 4 speed automatic gearbox. Although the test colour, ‘gloaming silver‘ we had was not the best in the range, it certainly suits the sedan styling better than the vibrant blue or rustic orange colors which look better suited to the hatchback model. The Fiestas boot, or trunk to our dear American readers, is surprisingly large. Expecting a tiny little boot, I was extremely impressed to find that it could easily take two large suitcases at a push, or accomodate a great deal of grocery shopping. The interior is light and airy, the leather seats offer adequate comfort. The central console seems awfully complicated at first, but after five minutes of playing it becomes completely clear what it all does. Our car came with an AUX input, making it easy to hook up an MP3 player rather than using one of those awful radio transmitter things that always receive interference from every one else that has one at the traffic lights. The dashboard is long, and wide and the new Fiesta is essentially a Tardis; its a small car, but its also huge.
It’s easy to get comfortable at the wheel of the Fiesta, especially for someone like me that drives a huge SUV, and a smaller SUV often. Usually driving small cars after driving large ones makes me feel nervous, but not so in the Fiesta. The Fiesta handles extremely well, one could say its better to drive than the heavier Focus. The four speed automatic gearbox finds its feet at above 3000rpm but anything below its weak at best. When you accelerate from traffic lights, its almost as if the gearbox has a comittee meeting takes a vote before deciding whether or not to take action. As the gearbox is of the semi automatic kind, its easy to swap over to manual mode if you want to control the power. We took our test Fiesta (and test Mondeo) up the highway towards the Ba Da Ling section of the Great Wall, winding around the small twisty two lane highway was easy work for the Fiesta, with it easily mastering tight corners and braking sharply when needed. Overtaking in automatic mode is a challenge, I do recall throwing my fist in the air and screaming YYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS! When I finally managed to get past a 1.6 VW Sagitar, but throw the gearbox into manual mode, keep the revs high and you’re laughing your way past BMW 7 series.
The Fiesta also has a few niggles. When pulling into a gas station to refill the tank I spent a good few minutes with the gas station attendant looking for the lever to pop the gas tank lid open, you won’t find one below the steering wheel or next to the driver’s seat like many other cars; in fact you won’t find one at all on the Fiesta. That’s because the gas tank cap doesn’t have a lever – you simply push the gas cap, and it pops open. A great idea, but the cap itself feels very flimsy when opened, and could easily break off. Another issue we had on our test drive was the lack of lights on a stalk, but this is common on most Ford Euro cars. Whilst driving through mountain tunnels I was frantically looking for the light switch, but it is obscured by the steering wheel. Obviously the above two issues are minor, a regular Fiesta driver would figure these out within an hour of owning the car.
So is the new Fiesta any good? Yes, the Fiesta is quite frankly a fantastic little car, the best in its segment. The sedan has a huge boot which will make it popular with small families, the hatch version has an excellent sporty stance. I expect that the Fiesta will sell well in its new role as a Global Car, even in North America when it goes on sale in 2010. The Ford Focus has almost become an automotive icon for middle class life in China; the Fiesta could easily become the automotive icon for upcoming young, professional white collar office workers. In 2010, I am planning to move to Shanghai and I doubt I will be driving my compact SUV around in the quagmire that is Shanghai traffic. Instead I will buy a small car and the Fiesta is currently at the top of my small car list, despite the abuse I suffered at the hands of my grandmother and her Fiesta over 20 years ago.
China Car Times Verdict: For city driving go and buy one, now.
Models: 1.3l and 1.5l with manual and automatic offerings.
Pricing: From 78,900rmb to 111,900rmb
Thanks to Wesley and Craig at Chang’an Ford, and Martin at APR for reviewing the grammar, and spelling!
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Patrick – I live in Beijing. Over here, the hatch outnumbers the sedan by a wide margin. I think I’ve only seen 3 new Fiesta sedans here so far. The sedan sells for slightly more than the hatch over here, but I don’t think price is the main factor at play.
That said, I’m really starting to like the Fiesta sedan too. It looks much better than any other supermini-sedan. I drove past a 207 sedan last night, and I just marvelled at how awkward it looked.
I want to defecate on every 207 sedan I see.
i am really considering buying the hatchback version. however, i heard the build quality of the chinese version aint as good as the european one ie. no push start button, hard plastics, no chrome… is there any list of options to upgrade the chinese version a little? thx for your comments.
ps. great site… come here everyday.
CCT – haha, my thoughts too actually (I was trying to be polite)
Gulatar – you are correct in that the Chinese version is missing some gadgets and the interior plastics are hard. However, I would say the build quality is very good – everything feels well put together, with no odd noises even when going over the poor roads here. Also, I’ve noted earlier that the doors close with a firm and very precise feel. Actually, one of things that impresses me most about this car is how well put together it feels. I challenge you to find a better car here for 80-100k RMB.
There was a recall involving the early batch of cars, but anything built after June 1 should be fine.
Hi everyone specially Gerald!
I arrived in Shenzhen about 2 months ago. Am new here. Have my driving test on 26th and want to buy a car AS SOON AS i get my license.
This web page was a Godsend for me. I had cars like Chevrolet Lova, Kia Rio and Hyandai Accent on my list. I assumed fiesta would be very expansive. I remember once comparing and disliking a 1.3L car over a 0.8L car just because it felt under-power. From the comments on this page, New Fiesta is anything but it.
I have a 5 yr old son and a 1 yr old daughter so lesser space on backseat should not be a problem. SZ is not like Shanghai as far as numberplate is concerned. Someone advised me to use the *1.15 factor when assessing the insurance+registration overhead. Can you please guide me to the different prices of different versions available in china. I am interested in cheapest 1.5 MT. Like you said i assume it will be a HB and not a sedan.
Sorry for being lazy but can you also jot down the HP both engines can produce.
-Ceilu
All the new Fiesta’s are supposed to have the nice soft touch dash. Does the new Fiesta for China have this as well? Glad to hear that you are really liking your Fiesta.
Patrick – unfortunately, we don’t get the soft touch dash here. What we do get is a nicely textured hard dash. It actually looks pretty decent, so I’m fine with that.
What would’ve been nice is if they’d used some soft-touch plastics on the places you actually come into contact with on a regular basis, such as the door trim.
finally ordered the fiesta hatch sport 1.5 MT blue… expected to be delivered within a couple of days. cant wait to start driving it. great job cct & gerald on convincing me to buy the fiesta. i tested it in shanghai where i live and i’ve to say i was really impressed by how solid the whole thing felt behind the wheel. ford cn could have made the extra effort to use soft touch dash and provide central armrest, push start button (like Euro ford),etc. but these were obviously no deal breakers vs overall great performance/style/quality/price
Fantastic, congratulations on your purchase, I’m sure you will love it!
Gulatar,
Congrats on your Fiesta purchase! You must be so excited!
So far how do you like your brand new Fiesta hatchback? Is it everything you expected and more?
Thanks!
Gulatar – congratulations! I’m sure you’ll enjoy your new Fiesta!
After 4 months and 4.5k, mine still feels as solid as it was when new and no creaks or strange noises have developed so far. I think I’m averaging 7.0-7.5 L/100km on my regular commute, which is pretty good considering that I don’t consciously make an effort to drive economically (my Mondeo gets 10.5-11.0).
I’m still amazed by how stiff this chassis is, and I have also gotten used to the light steering. Combine all this with the instant throttle response, and this is a car that just asks to be driven in a spirited manner. Now that mine’s broken in, I can let it rev and it’s a lot of fun when the tach passes 2800 RPM – the exhaust gives off a sporty growl too! I can only imagine how much more fun it would be with the MT!
Does it have downsides? Of course it does. It’s a bit cramped in the rear for adults, and it also lets in more road noise than my Mondeo. I haven’t done any extended highway driving yet but I don’t expect it to be as comfortable as a larger car – I’ll know in a week.
I do get people asking me why I spent 100k RMB on this car instead of some other model. I just tell them – go drive one and you’ll know.
Yes, it’s a shame that they didn’t use better materials. I especially would’ve liked to have a leather wrapped steering wheel. Push-start/keyless entry would be nice to have as well, but like you said these would add to the cost.
By the way, you can get an aftermarket central armrest/storage unit that wedges in between the front seats (check Taobao). I haven’t gotten one myself yet because the ones I’ve seen so far look sort of cheap. You should also look into getting a set of mesh seat covers – these look sporty and will help your body stay cool in the summer.
Does the bonnet have the sound insulation? You might be able to buy it from Taobao, perhaps you could retro fit a Focus steering wheel as well!
Ash – this article is mistagged as “Chang’an Motors” – it should be tagged as “Chang’an Ford”. It took me a while to find it for this reason.
Searching for Fiesta review works for me, although the search function on this site is rubbish at best.
Yeah, I did use search to find this article again.
What I was referring to was the category heading by the top of the page: “Home » Chang’an Motors, Headline” – this review should be placed in “Chang’an Ford” instead of “Chang’an Motors”.
Thanks Gerald! I was just about to ask you if you still enjoyed driving your Fiesta after having had it awhile now. Great to hear that you still love it. We finally get our’s here in the U.S. in late spring 2010 as a 2011 model year car. In the meantime, the Fiesta Movement rolls on. The all new 2011 U.S. Fiesta will be unveiled at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show in early December. The U.S. model will be identical to the European model except for a few alterations to meet U.S. safety regs. Of course our standard engine will be the 1.6 Ti-VCT engine and a 6 speed dual dry clutch automatic tranny. I really can’t wait. I’m getting the 5 door hatchback like you have.
Gerald – were you able to finally take your Fiesta on an extended highway drive? If so, how comfortable was it for you? As comfortable as your Mondeo or no?
Thanks!
Hi Patrick!
Actually we ended up taking the Mondeo on that trip, because of the GPS (we didn’t really know how to get where we were going). It’s too bad as the trip did come some mountain roads, which would’ve been very fun to tackle with the Fiesta. So I guess the answer to your first question is “not yet”. That said, my daily commute does consist of a 10 minute highway stint (each way) so I can offer some comments. Is it as comfortable as the Mondeo? No, it’s a bit noisier (road noise) and the ride is a bit harsher. However, it’s by no means uncomfortable. And comparing it with the Mondeo is unfair, not only because of the class difference but also because of the fact that the Mondeo is rated near tops in its class. In fact the Fiesta is very quiet for a small car, and even some cars one class up. Cruising at 100-120km/h there’s no intrusive engine noise, unlike what you would normally expect from a small-engined economy car.
To put things into perspective, I feel that the Fiesta rides better than the Jetta Mk V (Sagitar in China).
I still think the biggest issue relating to comfort would be the lack of interior space, in the rear that is – the front is quite roomy for a small car.
Anyways, I’ll be sure to keep you updated with my impressions once I get a chance to do a longer trip with my Fiesta. On that note, perhaps I should get a GPS installed?
Use a cellphone with GPS so you can use maps and measure your distance and altitude (can plug into Google Earth later too) all at the same time.
In car GPS systems are too expensive for the man who doesnt need to sedate kids with DVD’s
Yes, I paid too much for the GPS in my Mondeo (however, it does integrate nicely with the factory DVD touchscreen).
Cellphone w/ GPS is an option, though you will also need to purchase software if you want turn-by-turn driving instructions (and maybe a data plan to get the maps, unless you can download them on your PC ahead time). Also, the signal reception for phones with built-in GPS won’t be as good as a stand-alone GPS. But it’s definitely a consideration if you already have a phone with GPS built-in.
That said, I’ve seen Garmin in-car units for under 2000 RMB here (the kind that suction-cups onto your windshield) and the domestic brands are even cheaper. I’m considering going this route for the Fiesta.
I have a motorola 3G affair with turn by turn GPS nav from motobar.
Good points: Its fairly accurate, and covers the entire country
Bad points: sucks the battery down quick, need to keep it plugged into the cig lighter when in use. Cant change the navigation ladies voice, I would prefer something that sounds less like my wife when it starts accusing me of speeding.
4300rmb to buy, I think.
I was just checking online and surprised to find that you can get in-car GPS systems for under 1000 RMB now. These are for domestic brands (such as Mio) but are supposed to be fairly decent. This would be a good option for those that do not already have a cell-phone with built-in GPS. I’ll be looking to get one for the Fiesta.
My friend is planning to buy one for his new FRV, I will have a look at them before buying myself. I hope a new system would be able to hook up to my steering wheel controls for the sound system.
Well, after considering and almost purchasing an in-car GPS system, I’ve also decided to go with the smartphone approach. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the new iPhone commercials in China, but one of them features (briefly) a Chinese GPS navigation application called Autonavi. As I already have an iPhone 3GS on the way (from HK), I decided to check it out.
Apparently these guys provide the OEM in-car navigation systems for Audi, Benz, etc., and Google uses their maps of China. I got it while it was on sale for $9.99 – for that price I figured why not, especially since they offer free updates. The price has gone up a bit now, to $14.99, but it’s still cheaper than the regular price of $24.99.
I played around with it briefly on my iPhone (2G), but since that model lacks GPS I haven’t been able to fully use it. It does seem to have all the features you would find in an in-car GPS, and so far I cannot see what’s missing. In fact, I like the interface better than the in-car GPS I got for my Mondeo. The other nice thing is that full maps are provided, so you don’t need to have data access while navigating (there are some free navigation apps but they all require online access to map data). Of course, the downside is that this app is quite huge – 1.5GB!
There are some caveats with Autonavi. The first is that it’s Chinese only – there’s no English localization (at least I haven’t found it yet). But it does support pinyin input for searching so even those who are non-fluent in Chinese reading should be able to get by after using it for a while and “learning” what all the buttons do. The other issue is that on my 2G iPhone, scrolling around on the map is slightly laggy, at least compared to the built-in Maps app. However, this shouldn’t be an issue with the faster CPU and added RAM of the 3GS.
Excellent review Gerald, Im going to put together a list of nav apps for smartphones/iPhones this month. Ive tried a lot of them, but not Autonavi. Ill have a look.
Cool, I’m looking forward to your roundup of nav apps. I’ll be getting my 3GS soon – I’ll keep you posted on Autonavi.
The other advantage of mobile nav apps, which I just realized, is that you can easily take them with you when you go travelling.
Any update on Autonavi? I bought an Android phone for testing as well.
Sorry for the late response.
I guess I never posted back regarding Autonavi. To be honest we don’t use it that often – I’ve found that as I’ve become more familiar with the roads here, the need for GPS has been reduced. But it’s nice to have in case you are already out and about and need to go to an unfamiliar place.
There have been several (free) updates to the software, however I have not bothered to update to the latest version as it is a 1.5GB download. One of these days…
One strange thing I’ve noticed is that on a few occassions it has “gone crazy” and thinks that you’re driving in the opposite direction. I think this has only happened when we’re actually holding the iPhone during navigation – presumably some extra body movement has confused the application.
So I think having some sort of car mount would be very handy, both for this reason and also for safety (have it mounted on the windshield so you don’t have to take your eyes far away from the road).
On a recent trip to North America, I used the free app CoPilot Live Directions. This app is nice in that it also stores maps on the iPhone. But unlike Autonavi, you have the option of only downloading maps for specific regions, thus saving flash space and time. The downside to this app is that it lacks audio/voice prompts (that’s why it’s free), so it helps to have a navigator who can pay attention to the visual prompts.
As usual, thank you Gerald for you great and detailed insight on the awesome Ford Fiesta! I greatly look forward to more of your valued input.
I’m really wondering how Gulatar is enjoying his new Fiesta.
Hi Patrick, there’s a US-based discussion forum for the new Fiesta which you might want to check out: http://www.fiestaownersgroup.com/home.html
There’s not a lot of traffic right now but things should pick up once we approach the official US release date.
Thank you Gerald for the website!
I can’t wait for the 2011 U.S. Fiesta unveiling at the 2009 LA Auto Show on December 2nd. The countdown has begun. 21 more days.