With its direct and interactive steering, back-road handling chops, and surprising ride quality, the 1.6L-powered Fiesta was really rather entertaining despite its underhood shortcomings. The Fiesta easily proved why it's used as the foundation for a genuine hot hatchback, the Fiesta ST.
| THE GOOD • Torque • Flexible third gear • Charming handling • Handsome front end • Easy manual transmission | THE BAD • Now $1500 for that torque • No huge fuel savings • Interior is a letdown • Very small inside • Limited EcoBoost availability |
Unfortunately, that which is found under the hood of the vast majority of Fiestas is a true disappointment. On paper, there's 120 horsepower. In action, the 1.6L doesn't want to rev. You'll always want a lower gear, yet you'll never find yourselves smack dab in the centre of a powerband. No subcompact should be forced to fight with such a grumpy mill.
Even with that disappointment of an engine, I had plenty of fun in the Fiesta SE in June. Fortunately, Ford Canada lent us a more appetizing Fiesta last week for an EcoBoost exercise. I never thought I would recommend paying $1295 more, $1500 more for MY2015, for a three-cylinder engine, but regardless of what this bite-sized powerplant achieves on the Eco front, a strong performance from the Boost side of the equation provides a strong value-conscious answer, at least in terms of pitting Fiesta against Fiesta.
After all, besides its base engine, the Fiesta still has a number of significant deficiencies which limit the car in this increasingly competent segment. The rear seat is not up to snuff in comparison with America's segment leader, the Nissan Versa.
2014 FORD FIESTA SE ECOBOOST Base Price * (CDN): $19,635 As-Tested Price * (CDN): $20,260 Engine: 1.0L DOHC 12-valve turbocharged I-3 Transmission: 5-speed manual Horsepower: 123 @ 6000 rpm Torque: 125 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm Curb Weight: 2537 pounds Drive Type: front-wheel-drive Length: 159.7 inches Width: 67.8 inches Height: 58.1 inches Wheelbase: 98.0 inches Passenger Volume: 2410 litres Cargo Volume: 422 litres Max. Cargo Volume: 736 litres Centre Console: 11 tennis balls Glove Compartment: 28 tennis balls EPA City: 31 mpg EPA Highway: 43 mpg NRCAN OEE City: 7.5 L/100km NRCAN OEE Hwy: 5.5 L/100km Observed: 39.2 mpg Observed: 6.0 L/100km * includes destination/delivery. Fiesta base price: $16,664 Peak torque reaches 148 lb-ft in brief 15-second overboost moments. MPG fuel economy ratings from the Environmental Protection Agency. L/100km ratings from the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiency's new 5-cycle testing for MY2015 vehicles. |
Shifting this manual trans-equipped car (that's the only way the EcoBoost 1.0L comes) into second or fourth mandates an elbow/front-of-armrest conflict. The front door armrests don't extend as far rearward as is necessary. The driver's side door in our test car never sounded as though it was closed, not at the moment of attempted closure; nor in motion on the highway, when all the noises crept inside like a crane fly enters your basement on a September's night.
The radio sucks. I don't want to know what that headliner is made out of. The shifter's throws require reaches from one zip code into another. The seats squeezed me where I didn't want to be squeezed and ignored me when I wanted to be held.
These frustrating traits arose in numerous conversations all week, as onlookers noticed the extensive badging: not just EcoBoost but SFE, too! Hooray!
"Would you recommend this over an Accent, Versa, or Fit?" they'd ask. "That depends," I'd respond, "How much do you like to drive?"
And how much do you like to row your own gears? How much do you enjoy just sticking it in third, thereby allowing a wave of torque to cope with virtually every on-road scenario? How much do you like the idea of a car that sounds like half a 911? Do you want to be tempted into using second gear to crack the 100 kmh barrier every time you hit an on-ramp? To what extent do you appreciate an instantly familiar clutch?
Oh, and can you cope with a little bit of turbo lag, some strange and pervasive vibrations at low revs, an upfront price penalty that might just take decades to earn back, and those wheels?
The lag and NVH issues are one thing. Well, actually they're two things.
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| All Photo Credits: Timothy Cain ©www.GoodCarBadCar.net Click Any Of These Images For A Larger Slideshow View |
• 2014 Ford Fiesta SE Driven Review
• Historical Monthly & Yearly Ford Fiesta Sales Figures
• 2014 Mazda 3 Sport GS Driven Review
• 2014 Nissan Versa Note SL Driven Review
Add to that the limited availability of the 1.0L in the Fiesta lineup – SE only, no automatic, these wheel covers – doesn't make for an attractive package for every potentially willing buyer. Then there's the actual limited availability of the car on the whole. Only six of the 34 Fiestas at my three local Ford dealers are fitted with the 1.0L. In Cars.com's inventory, only 336, just 3%, of the 11,546 Fiestas at U.S. dealers come with the 1.0L.
But it's not the best subcompact in 2014, not more than four years after going on sale, and I suspect no engine would change that.
