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January 2012 Car Sales Are Strong--Except At GM
While nearly every automaker reported brisk, upbeat sales numbers for the first month of 2012... Read More
January 2012 Car Sales Are Strong--Except At GM
While nearly every automaker reported brisk, upbeat sales numbers for the first month of 2012... Read More
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Rest of the Web Says We've gathered reviews from Edmunds.com, Cars.com plus live Tweets on this car. See What We Found »
Rest of the Web Says We've gathered reviews from Edmunds.com, Cars.com plus live Tweets on this car. See What We Found »
The Basics:
Ford hasn't offered a subcompact in more than a decade. Now, it's responding to steady sales of the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and Nissan Versa by bringing us an adapted version of the well-received and very successful European 2011 Ford Fiesta.
We're not sure if America's quite ready for a car smaller than the smallest Ford Focus, but the Fiesta's as good a shot as any--better, in some flashy ways. It looks better and has crisper handling than anything in its class, but it's also smaller inside and less flexible to boot.
Maybe the gadgets will make up the difference. The Fiesta just might woo you fickle Gen Z-ers with some exclusive stuff inside, like the SYNC media controller, premium audio systems, and nifty leather seats.
Starting at $13,995 and rising to around $23,000 for top-of-the-line versions, the Fiesta sedan and five-door are likely to be strong competitors when they go on sale in the summer of 2010. Are they the best of the subcompact bunch?
Likes:
- Sophisticated styling, especially the five-door
- The best electric power steering yet?
- More than the usual safety equipment
- Cutting-edge features like SYNC
Dislikes:
- Still not quick, by most any measure
- PowerShift automatic an underperformer
- Smaller cabin than Versa and Fit
- Brash dash has lots of flash--but feels a little icky
