#TriedAndTested: The all-new Ford Fiesta
23 May 2018
The face-lifted Ford Fiesta is bold and bright-coloured and the manufacturer has nipped and tucked various things in order to give the hatchback a more premium feel.
Chrome Copper Ford Fiesta
Blue Wave Ford Fiesta
While the entry-level Figo is aimed at young people just starting out, Ford is marketing the all-new Fiesta at a fairly young consumer who is already making their own way in life. This is the financially independent young professional who is confident and sassy and still likes to have a lot of fun when not behind the work desk.
The car manufacturer has done away with its Ambiente specification and now has the Trend as its basic Fiesta model.
What’s it like?
On the recent media launch, we drove the top-of-the-range 1.0 EcoBoost Titanium 6AT from Jozi to Sun City and 1.5 TDCi Trend 6MT back the next day.
Let’s be honest, the road between Jozi and Sun City isn’t the best one, with potholes and just some bad strips of road overall. But despite that, or perhaps because of that, we could really experience the car’s excellent handling, suspension, and overall ride quality (thankfully we didn’t hit a pothole).
Host for the night, Sun City Resorts
The Titanium also has the option of a Sport mode which allows you to take control using the paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel.
Inside the cabin, the Fiesta is beautiful and simple and definitely has an upmarket feel (as opposed to that hard box feeling some hatchbacks have).
The number of buttons on the centre console has reduced by almost half, with many connectivity and entertainment controls relocated to the 6.5-inch touchscreen fitted as standard on the Trend models, or the 8-inch version on the Titanium incorporating SYNC 3 with navigation.
Boot space is also impressive, having increased from 276 litres to 303 litres.
What about engine and safety stuff?
Ford is rightfully proud of its six-time International Engine of the Year, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which is offered in two variants in the all-new Fiesta.
The five-speed manual has been replaced by an all-new six-speed manual transmission. In the manual and automatic Trend and automatic Titanium derivatives, the 1.0 EcoBoost produces 74kW of power and 170Nm of torque from 1,500 to 4,000 r/min.
The 1.5-litre TDCi turbodiesel, on the other hand, is exclusively available with a six-speed manual gearbox, producing 63kW and a torque peak of 175Nm. It’s a comfortable drive with very frugal fuel consumption (ours was roughly 4.4l/100km).
There is also a new Eco button for manual transmissions which adjusts engine and throttle settings to help drivers save even more fuel.
The car's body features 36% more boron steel, redesigned door cross sections further protect occupants against side impact intrusion, and the doors also now contain pressure sensors that enable restraint systems to be activated several milliseconds sooner. It also comes with front, side and curtain airbags, ABS brakes with electronic brake assist (EBA) and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), as well as hill launch assist (HLA), electronic stability and traction control (ESC).
What else?
Overall, the Fiesta is extremely quiet, we had to double check a couple of times whether it was really still on.
71 mm additional body length and 13 mm additional width assists with a longer and more premium appearance. Ford has introduced two all-new metallic colour options for the range, Chrome Copper and Blue Wave. The Chrome Copper definitely one of my favourites.
How many bucks?
All new Fiesta derivatives come standard with Ford Protect, comprising a four-year/120,000km warranty, three-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance and five-year/unlimited km corrosion warranty. A four-year/60,000km service plan is included, with service intervals at 15,000 km.
- 1.0 EcoBoost Trend 6MT: R261,900
- 1.0 EcoBoost Trend 6AT: R277,300
- 1.5 TDCi Trend 6MT: R292,500
- 1.0 EcoBoost Titanium 6MT: R295,900
- 1.0 EcoBoost Titanium 6AT: R310,600
Conclusion
The new Ford Fiesta has a strong leg to stand on in the market. Globally, the Fiesta is Ford’s best-selling passenger car and it claims that it will be as good, if not better, than its main competition (the Volkswagen Polo, for one) on all aspects.
The 1.0 Eco Boost Titanium is probably one of the most fun hatchbacks I’ve driven and it’s certainly going to be interesting to see how it fares in the market.
About Ilse van den Berg
Ilse is a freelance journalist and editor with a passion for people & their stories (check out Passing Stories). She is also the editor of Go & Travel, a platform connecting all the stakeholders in the travel & tourism industry. You can check out her work here and here. Contact Ilse through her website here.
