Ford Fiesta

The most fun car to drive I have ever owned. Always first to go from the traffic light. It was a good replacement for my bike. Suitable for small family or singles with small passengers at the back. Very fuel efficient. Feels like a go-kart, can race with a Mini anytime!

Not a very well known car in singapore but raving reviews in other countries

Best engine for 3 consecutive years

Great handling and acceleration.

Specification 0-100 10.8sec but i did a gps timed run and obtained 9.9sec!

(For most of the car makes, actual is slower than spec)

When I first saw its A4 sized engine, I am very amazed. No wonder it is the engine award for 3 consecutive years.

When I test drive, it is even more amazing as the 1.5cc power is like both the vw tdi and tsi ie. Light (tdi) and linear (tsi) acceleration. Turbo kick in if u ram hard above 3k rpm. The cornering and handling is superb.

Polo tsi will lose to this tiny beast as tsi is always heavy acceleration as compared to tdi. Ford has successfully combined the best of both worlds with the powershift dry 6 spd dual clutch GB as well just like 7spd dry dsg. Whether it is reliable remains to be seen. 1 VW Dsg MU is known to break down after 30k mileage but dsg is definitely smoother as dsg exists longer than powershift. Powershift is designed by getrak which also manufactures GB for Mb and BMW. Etc but dsg is by another manufacturer. Both designs are therefore different.

Wonderful and power packed small car. Test driven it with wife and 2 friends. Fully loaded (5 pax). Handling and pick up like a 1.5l and reliably stable. Good choice of colour and fantastic FE. Go for the titanium model. Well worth the little extra in price.

I used to believe in no replacement for displacement - I did feel lost when F1 engines had to be downsized to 1.6l. When there was a whole (silent) buzz around Formula E, it felt like paralympics to me - even though I love driving electric or hybrid vehicles for the added torque. Couldn't imagine liking this 1.0L Turbo Engine that was so small and lightweight that someone actually did fit it in a carry-on luggage.

Kudos to Pocus for a nice balanced review on his Fiesta experience. I'd agree with him almost 100%. What an engine! Really delighted with its non-Japanese unsluggish low end torque and speed. Rev to above 2000rpm and the turbo kicks in, giving the pleasure that you'll expect in any turbocharged engine. I kept trying to listen for anything close to a turbo spool - almost none. Incredibly quiet operation made me wonder if it was even turbocharged at all.

While as a purist my heart may still say nah, this can't match to the bigger cars i've been driving - the sad truth is that the future will have 3 cylinder turbo engines - and this Ford is a preview to that. We have no choice. With increasing Euro regulations and stricter CO2 emission targets, everyone has to downsize. Even when Lamborghini stepped down, few companies are as old school as me - keeping their V12s (was it McLaren and Ferrari?) However, it may not be for long - that's a guarantee.

What's worse, with the rules penalizing hp and swinging COE categories, we spent the last 5 years making the sad choice of driving something useless like a Picanto, a Honda Fit and many underpowered "cars". All for the sake of practicality, our choices dwindled between driving a lousy hatch or taking public transport with raised fares. Everywhere you turned it was painful for your wallet and your heart.

So with a 1.0l turbo, under 130hp - it costs a mere $392 for road tax without taking away the joy. Comparing it with the next most joyous hatch: Suzuki Swift - the 1.6 one fell into Cat B, while the smaller 1.4l ones have 40Nm less peak torque than this fella.

Price-wise, I'd still think this is great. For the Titanium grade - it even has certain delightful add-ons like puddle lamps and LED swooshes.

In summary, this is the most value for money hatch in existance.

Introduction

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The Ford fiesta has been the cheaper alternative from Ford, the "no-frills" car that sought to compete in the compact hatch segment that was ever so popular in European markets. It was fairly popular in Europe and I was lucky enough to rent a Fiesta for my road trips in UK few years back. At 1.4l the Fiesta was rather underpowered for UK highways but and I really love the ease and comfort level of the car. My experience with the Fiesta is a nevertheless a pleasant one.

But how did the Fiesta fair in Singapore? Unfortunately it didn't fair as good as it's European counterparts in terms of sales. The 1.4l Fiesta is a rarity in Singapore due to the high COE and it's brand factor.

However, Ford recently introduced the new facelift of the Fiesta complete with a new 1.0 Ecoboost engine. Rated at 100ps and 170nm of torque, it's perhaps one of the most powerful smallest engine available in Singapore.

How does the 1.0 Eco boot fair with a small chassis? My curiosity brought me to the showroom to inspect the car in detail.

First look (exterior)

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The car was obviously using the same chassis from the previous Fiesta, which is a shared platform with the Mazda 2. But the similarity stops there.

The looks of the car still the same sleekly look like the previous model, complete with the same lines and side-profile, however, the front grille/bumper of the new Fiesta has a trendy large chrome grille that resembles an compact Aston Martin, complete with a newly angled set of headlights with DRL, gave the Fiesta a refreshing look. I still like the older sleekly look but the current design looks more updated, sporty and young.

The local trim comes with 15" rims which looked mediocre at best, but if you willing to upsized it aftermarket rims, it can give the Fiesta a more sporty look. But that would defeat the purpose of the whole 1.0 Ecoboost power plant.

And nope, there are currently no options for body kits or other trims.