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View Full Version : Europe’s Ford Fiesta – “Car of the Year” and the accolades keep on coming


xcel
01-22-2009, 11:11 PM
“The most complete small car we’ve ever tested.” (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=182279)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2009_Ford_Fiesta_Zetec.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – Jan. 22, 2009

2009 Ford Fiesta Zetec w/ the 1.25L ICE (not the diesel) – 43.6 mpgUS combined on the NEDC.

Brentwood, UK – What Car, Great Britain’s leading source for new-car advice, has named the new Ford Fiesta 1.25i Zetec its 2009 Car of the Year.

The editors praised the Fiesta for its stylish design, performance and fuel economy. “The Fiesta is practical enough to be used as a family car, fun enough to be used as a sports car and stylish enough to make the right impression. It’s also affordable to buy, cheap to run and kind to the planet,” said Steve Fowler, editor of What Car.

Other judges praised the new Fiesta inside and out, stating that no other super-mini got close to its 'look at me' factor. The delicate curves and sharp edges made it the epitome of the stylish modern super-mini.' They also commended the "zingy 1.25-litre engine, nimble handling and strong grip to make it a 'brilliant winner'…"

Introduced in Europe last fall, the Fiesta is off to a strong sales start in the traditional 19 European markets, where sales topped 61,000 units after slightly more than two months on the market. As soon as the Fiesta went on sale in the UK, it became the best-selling car for both November and December.

Designed and developed in Europe with the Mazda2 underpinnings, the new Fiesta is the first in a series of new, fuel efficient, small cars developed through Ford’s global product development process. Its stylish and dynamic flair combines with all the traditional Ford small car strengths to create a confident, contemporary introduction to the next chapter of the Fiesta story.

Within five years, Ford expects to build about one million vehicles worldwide off of the new global B-car platform, the basis for the new Fiesta.

Ford launched Asian production of the Fiesta last week at the state-of-the-art Changan Ford/Mazda Automobile manufacturing facility in Nanjing, China. The Nanjing plant is making the five-door hatchback and four-door sedan versions of the new global Fiesta for the Chinese market and the vehicles will go on sale later in the first quarter.

Ford’s plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico, will build the new Fiesta for the North American markets. Construction of the integrated stamping facility and retooling of the assembly plant is underway.

In North America, the new small car will be offered in two models: a sporty hatchback and a sedan, beginning in early in 2010.

In accepting the What Car award, John Fleming, chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe, said the magazine’s recognition is a sign of more Fiesta success to come. “This is tremendous news for the whole Ford team – the great British public has already made the new Fiesta the UK's best-selling car in the closing months of last year, and this ultimate endorsement by What Car? will drive the new Fiesta to even greater success this year.”

MT bucket
01-22-2009, 11:46 PM
Looks like a great car for hypermiling
Hopefully it will have a tall enough gear for highway mileage getting, then it would be REALLY great!:D

SentraSE-R
01-23-2009, 12:07 AM
How much do you want to bet the smallest US engine will be a 2.0 L, or at best a 1.6 L?

jenriquez
01-23-2009, 12:22 AM
How much do you want to bet the smallest US engine will be a 2.0 L, or at best a 1.6 L?

A 1.6 L ecoboost would not be bad I don't think. I think it could still get about 40 mpg combined hwy/city, however, a 1.2 L (or is it a 1.4 L?) ecoboost engine would be fantastic. Imagine having a 'mild' hybrid system too, this baby could be pushing 50 mpg and still be reasonably priced!

I really hope Ford stays committed to improving quality and fuel economy as I believe they have the best chance at weathering this economic slowdown.

voodoo22
01-23-2009, 08:58 AM
Any new car hypermiled that gets only 40 MPG is not good enough. We need to start to see common 60 mpg tanks with these kinds of cars when hypermiled.

The 60+US MPG cars already exist in Asia and Europe, we only need them to give us the engines in NA to do the job.

Maxx
01-23-2009, 09:01 AM
I'd put money on 2 1.6L options for the US. With and without Ecoboost. 1.6L is already more or less the small car standard in the US, and the ecoboost will provide the oomph for the sporty version. I'll also bet pricing to start at $11K for the vanilla, $16K for the boost... maxing out at $21K fully loaded. Though they may wait 6 months to a year to release the ecoboost.
That's my prediction, but then again I don't read brail. But I must say this: I bet it'll be more fun that a bag of puppies.

MT bucket
01-23-2009, 09:13 AM
Any new car hypermiled that gets only 40 MPG is not good enough. We need to start to see common 60 mpg tanks with these kinds of cars when hypermiled.

The 60+US MPG cars already exist in Asia and Europe, we only need them to give us the engines in NA to do the job.

I think the 43 is the actual mileage rating, if that is true, and it is a stick with good gear ratios I could get at least 80 m p g with it.



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