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Not the Fiesta I actually drove but close enough for this
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As an update to my earlier Fiesta post I drove a 2012 hatchback SES version this weekend and it was OK. I swung into the local Ford store, local to me is any trip not requiring provisions or a passport, to check out the latest Ford subcompact. I asked the eager young salesman who greeted me if he had any stick shifted Fiestas and he said he had a complete inventory of one. The car in question was relatively well equipped SES with sunroof, sync, power this and that, 16 inch aluminum wheels and cruise control. The sticker price was $16,700.00, not a princely sum for a well equipped car but a poser when you consider that perched right next to it was a refrigerator white Focus for $16,400.00. The Focus had power windows, power locks, air conditioning, some form of base sound system and theft deterrent plastic wheel covers. I’m not a big gadget guy when it comes to cars; I look at those toys as medication to make you forget you’re driving a boring car. The better solution, in my minority opinion, is to not buy a boring car in the first place. I should also add that I am a big fan of small cars and agree whole heartedly with Colin Chapman’s philosophy of adding goodness by adding lightness.
With the above collection of random facts in mind I bring you back to the little red Fiesta. While the salesman scurried off to get the keys, obviously unaware that he had a better chance of getting hit with a meteor than selling me a new car, I looked the Fiesta over from stem to stern. This new little Ford is a quality piece of kit, well proportioned for most duties and crisply styled. The interior was unapologetic with durable seat fabric, reasonable room for four, and enough space behind the rear seats for a week’s worth of groceries for two. The driving position was good with firm seats, a tilt steering wheel and a gear shift that fell easily to hand. I currently drive a base model 2008 Focus as my Baltimore/Washington Beltway mule which has been a dependable old soldier logging 135,000 miles in those four years requiring only oil changes and front brake pads. The Ford’s upright driving posture is as familiar to me as my own scent and probably just as obnoxious to someone unaccustomed to it, so the Fiesta felt both new and common. A quick peak under the hood and I was greeted with the 1.6L Duratec. The engine looks remarkably easy to work on with oil filter, drive belt and alternator within easy reach and room enough to get your hands in there. This is in stark contrast to the Fiat 500 I drove a while ago where the engine room was as crowded and inaccessible as topless bar in a prison.
The salesman returned with keys and magnetic license plate in hand, I jumped in the driver’s chair, my wife Ginger in the back and the salesman in the passenger seat. The first thing I noticed was the cab forward feeling with the dashboard reaching toward the horizon in front of me. We turned from the dealer’s parking lot onto a side street and I banged through the first four of five gears. The engine revved smoothly with a hushed growl, the clutch was light and predictable and the gear changer smooth and direct. The side street ended with a sharp right hand curve, I approached the curve at 60 MPH, braked, down shifted and swept through the curve at 45 MPH. The maneuver was handled without drama, the ease of the controls making it second nature. Once through the curve I got on the gas again to bring the car back up to speed, the engine seemed willing but to my surprise I found my foot planted to the floor. I wasn’t reenacting a chase scene from the Italian Job movie, I was just driving with some mild enthusiasm, hmmm. The motor spooled up quickly but with three people in the car I was disenchanted with the 1.6 L four cylinder’s 120 horse power. The Fiesta weighs 2,537 pounds in five door hatch back configuration which shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for the little Duratec. I would need more seat time with just myself in the car to properly assess the fun factor. I pulled over and let Ginger take the helm while I took the back seat. I’m 6 foot two inches and can fit in the back seat with my head just touching the headliner. Ginger worked the little car over pretty well and liked it, but wasn’t overwhelmed.
What brought me into the Ford store in the first place was the accidental discovery the night before of the Ford Racing handling package. For the ridiculously low price of $300.00 Ford’s hooligan department will sell you four new coils and dampeners for their A segment econo-box. The kit lowers the car slightly and firms up the suspension, which seems to be just what the doctor ordered. So naturally I needed to drive the car to see if it was worth it. The thought of hopping up a new car to my liking has a perverse allure as opposed to the rust-in–the-eyes experience of working on older iron. I also don’t care about voiding the warranty on a car this cheap and seemingly easy to fix, a comfort to know when I screw something up.
So let’s run the numbers, a base Fiesta hatchback lists for $14,600.00 ($13,700 for the sedan) without negotiation. This will get you the basic car with air conditioning, roll up windows and 15 inch steel wheels. I don’t care about Sync, I have three convertibles to get my fresh air fix so I won’t miss the sunroof, manual windows are only slightly annoying and the wheels can be changed. The only odd thing is that Ford only offers the base car in three colors (or three shades with no color); black, silver and white.
If you buy a base model Fiesta and throw $1,800 at it you can get 4 light-weight, 16-inch aluminum wheels with performance Dunlop rubber, Ford Racing suspension kit, Ford Racing cat back exhaust system, Steeda rear sway bar and Steeda custom intake kit. That would bring your home built Fiesta sedan to $15,005 or the hatchback to $16,405. Split the difference at $15,705 and you can have a Hyundai Accent or Chevy Sonic in any color you want plus power windows and 138 HP each standard from the factory.
I think the Fiesta is worth the parts investment as the car has good bones. The chassis is well screwed together and seems like it would respond well to some hot rod home remedy.
It comes down to the question of comfort features versus a car optimized for handling and fun improved by your own two hands. Either way these are great times for small car lovers in America as we have never had this much good stuff to choose from.
I will just keep my money and continue to destroy my Focus until my Beltway commute comes to an end next fall. In the meantime some similar performance goodies like the ones listed above may find their way onto my Miatas.
Marve Harwell (c)2012
As a follow up to this post I was talking to some folks at the Carlisle All Ford Nationals who have done some suspension modifications to the new Fiesta. They have done some testing and said the Fiesta handles better without a rear sway bar. It seems with a rear bar attached the little Ford raises its inside rear wheel like a happy puppy saluting a new coffee table. The same syndrome was common with older VW Golfs and Rabbits.
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