Deja vu, a remix... whatever you want to call it, many of us have breathed at least an initial sigh of relief that the 2011 Ford Fiesta appears to have survived the conversion to U.S. specification relatively intact.
Already a sales smash elsewhere on the planet, Ford formally took the wraps off the U.S.-bound Fiesta here at the L.A. auto show a few hours ago, complete with a Jimmy Kimmel spot of questionable cultural taste.
You already know that the Fiesta will be available stateside in hatchback or sedan configurations. It's a smart move. The sedan's ungainliness, we predict, won't prevent it from outselling the hatch in the practicality-averse U.S. market.
Poking around inside the cabin, I was unable to find anything drastically different from the Euro-spec car which, again, is a good thing. Ford brass tell us that there have been changes beneath the dash to accomodate a knee airbag that wasn't there previously.
A 119-horsepower four-banger will be mated to a five-speed manual or six-speed dry-clutch automatic. The auto, called PowerShift, is essentially a twin-clutch automated manual sans manual mode, thereby completing the transmission technology circle and sending automotive tech writers everywhere into the insane asylum.
Ford claims the Fiesta will deliver 40 mpg on the highway with the autobox, a number which is expected to slightly better that of the manual-transmission model.
The U.S.-bound Fiesta will wear all-season tires rather than the summer tires of the European-spec 2009 Fiesta we tested, which no doubt will affect the car's ultimate limits. This isn't the end of the world, but we're intensely curious to learn the degree to which this change affects the delectable sublimit driving dynamics that have underpinned the Fiesta's appeal. Time will tell.
For more details and photos, see editor Erin Riches' overview of the 2011 Ford Fiesta.
-- Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor
hondacura4 says:
04:28 PM, 12/ 2/09
The Fiesta seems to be a great car but whats the scoop on the new Focus?
jederino says:
05:40 PM, 12/ 2/09
Do Europeans more typically keep two sets of tires - both summer and winter tires? It just doesn't seem fathomable for an economy car to offer summer tires in a standard package in America, where all-seasons seem to rule. I have switched to summer and winter tires, and it has made all the difference.
inlinesix says:
07:53 PM, 12/ 2/09
Give me the hatch and keep the sedan.
billt9 says:
10:48 PM, 12/ 2/09
They did a good job of flattening the features on the grilles to make sure everyone knows this is an economy car.
bodyblue says:
09:14 AM, 12/ 3/09
I guess a few people would buy a Fit with the Fiesta coming but I cant see why.
minibro77 says:
09:28 AM, 12/ 3/09
Jederino, MINI of whom I work for actually makes Summer/Performance Tires Standard and All Season Tires Optional. I am in the Northeast so most people choose All Season Tires but Changing tires for the two different climes is the most ideal. Nothing rides/grips like performance tires when its warm out. Ford should offer an option but since this is a volume car they most likely would reserve that for a sporty model if they release one.
roadburner says:
11:00 AM, 12/ 3/09
I could see buying one for my work beater, assuming that the ride/handling isn't dumbed-down to suit American driving tastes...
efinils2 says:
09:41 PM, 12/ 3/09
inline six,
The whole keeping the sedan is exactly what I was thinking, that thing looks like a swoopier Toyota Echo...but the hatch looks quite appealing, even better than the Mazda2 IMO.