There’s no siesta from this Fiesta as Ford had nearly a dozen of the cars on display- from mild to wild. The 2011 Fiesta packs a 1.6-litre DOHC four cylinder that the Blue Ovoids claimed to be good for 40-mpg highway. We couldn’t verify that as there didn’t seem any easy way to get one off the floor and onto the 110 fwy.
The high MPG is helped by a choice of twin-clutch 6-speed auto or row-your-own, as well as electric power steering- something that has been the downfall of a number of other cars (I’m looking at you, Chevy Colbalt). The Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) four wrings out 119-bhp and 109 ft-lbs of torque, regardless of which transmission has got its back.
The exterior of the littlest Ford – which will be built at the Youngstown OH Ford plant – is little changed from the ones squirreling around Europe, or that had been thrown to “agents” in the fiestamovement, Ford’s social media campaign which led up to yesterday’s introduction. The five-door hatch was joined by a traditional three-box sedan that’s a kissing cousin to the Verve concept of last year’s show.
The interior is roomy, and in the case of one car, very purple. Textures on the dash are a little weird, but not off-putting, and there’s lots of features that even small-car drivers demand these days, like iPod integration and a steering wheel full of buttons. Ford says the center stack is supposed to resemble a cell phone’s face, and it does look like Nokia had a hand in the flying-V design.
Check out the gallery below for your own personal fiesta. We’ll tell you how it drives just as soon as they hit the rental lots we get one to test.
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