2011 Fiesta OFFICIAL REVEAL!

[jpd80]

Officially, I'm no longer interested. I mean seriously, I was expecting a year and a half ago to purchase a handsome 5dr Fiesta with leather seats, sync, and ecoboost engine. $20K would seem reasonable to me.

Seriously, I think you'd be much happier with a new V6 Mustang......

[danup]

I can't stand the look of the center stack on both regions' Fiestas, but it's one nice-looking car. (I like both American fascias, incidentally.)

[Sweetwater88]

So you the grille and no ecoboost (yet) are the deal breakers for you?

 

You werent gonna buy one anyway. 88 either means you were born in 88 or are Chinese, so a 21 year old was totally gonna buy one but now because of the grile... all bets are off.

 

yeah... sure... right... whatever. good one chief.

 

 

Apparently every single 21 year old can't afford cars now--what is this trolling-baiting? We can't get disappointed? We can't fall in love with a design and expect reasonable design changes? We can't demand quality on the second most important purchase next to your home? I don't know how you raise your sons but my parents are first generation Americans and we had to earn everything we got. So it's true that most Americans at the age of 21 are still living off their parents but I've been working since the age of 13 at my father auto repair shop and then started a tidy business repairing and building computer by 16 and getting my ass through college (granted I still have one more semester).

 

I value design and quality. The original design was aggressive but the lines were simplistic and well done. It didn't feel or look busy. The US version looks fantastic A pillar to rear. But the front, what we focus on and tend to remember just looks cheap and the design is messy. I mean for example, the LED light bars that replace the fog lights are vertical compared to the horizontal-centric elements of the rest of the front. Also the way the hood ends and the plastic insert just don't look right in relations to the headlights. The grill itself is painted body color but is a separate element from the hood and the bumper--almost like it should match the lower air dam but if you paint it black it will definitely not look right, as well. Another note on the grill and hood is that they meet on a sharp straight angle while everything else has a smooth curve. Also, the air dam has chrome lining, the light bars have solid chrome gils, and the grill has no chrome. There's no uniformity in the design language.

 

Granted, I haven't seen the US-spec Fiesta up close I have seen the Euro Fiesta and drove it and loved it so much that I decided I would be irrational and buy a new Fiesta and keep it forever.

 

 

Look I'm a Ford fan and I've been rooting for Ford for since I could drive. My first vehicle was a Ford. But I was expecting more. It's a nice design, better than all the rest in its class I completely agree.

 

Also, not everyone likes a Mustang.

Edited December 2, 2009 by Sweetwater88

[Sweetwater88]

Much better in this pic, see how small differences in design elements make a bigger difference in overall appearance?

[BrewfanGRB]

Likes:

• Awesome fuel economy without the additional expense of a hybrid
  
• Feature rich w/ EATC, heated leather, power mirrors
  
• (Expected) Unprecedented safety in a small car
  

 

Dislikes:

• No fog lights--seems minor and I'm not "hell no!" over foglights---but I drive a lot and run into all kinds of weather, including fog. They work.
  
• Too weak of an engine. I know, I know! It's not a SHO or a Fusion. But, 119 hp? Meh.
  
• Red lighting! Ford is all about keeping exterior design cues across the board...and is using Blue Ice in nearly every product, but this Pontiac Sunfire stuff? Not cool. If you're all about "youth" with ambient lighting, etc...why not offer color options for the IP?
  

 

I am very torn. When the SHO launched, I'm was all "I WANT ONE!" But, I can't make it work without painful saving or a painful payment or more likely, both. So I thought, well a used Mustang would be nice as a "fun/summer" car. Insurance for a GT was a bit surprising, considering I am 33 and clear.

 

I have a 38 mile one-way commute, so my next thought is trade in the Fusion for a loaded Fiesta, which even loaded, was bound to be easily affordable and I could divert extra funds to the Mustang. But now? I don't know. I don't NEED 40 mpg. I can afford gas, even at $4/gallon in the Fusion. But, I don't think I can handle dropping 100 hp going from the Fusion to the Fiesta. It seems stupid, but it's probably a deal-breaker. And the red lighting!! I still don't know what Ford is thinking there...why not offering personalized lighting for the IP?

 

If the Ecoboost comes out next year---maybe in September 2010 as a late 2011 MY add on? I could handle that....

 

I will say this: For those in the market, it's a great car--lots of features, sure to be safer than any other small car in the US.

[theoldwizard]

This thing is going to get better than 40mpg.

That is 40 mpg WITH the PowerShift automatic !

 

Very impressive !!

[theoldwizard]

Dislikes:

• Red lighting! Ford is all about keeping exterior design cues across the board...and is using Blue Ice in nearly every product, but this Pontiac Sunfire stuff? Not cool. If you're all about "youth" with ambient lighting, etc...why not offer color options for the IP?
  

My wife (who could care less about cars) is actually interested in a Fiesta.

 

The red lighting could be a deal breaker as she really hates it in my son's 2008 Mazra3 (the whole dash is red).

 

The backlight on the gauges is probably just an incandescent bulb. Not certain what they are doing with the LCD display.

[BORG]

I think these look better than the Euro-spec Fiestas . I believe we got the best looking variants, although projector style headlamps would be wonderful. And for me, the bright work up at the front of the sedan is much nicer (I'm thinking how this thing would look in black).

 

I still HATE the red lighting and the crummy LCD display. That LCD display is going to be ripped on by the car rags over here (as was the Astra's). And the interior ergomics are questionable, if sylish. Unfortunately, I think Ford is giving into questional ergonomics for a button salad on all their upcoming vehicles (think GM). Well, whatever the customer wants!

 

I'm still not a huge fan of the super-trendy kinetic design, but initially it does impress and that's probably important for adoption. It's not hideous or weird, it's instrinsically aesthetic (at least the hatch is). I can't always say that about most of Ford's design around here lately.

 

Ultimatley, I'm definitley not this cars customer but I hope there are plenty of them out there!

[silvrsvt]

I'm impressed, I'm not digging the chrome inserts on the bumper, but they aren't a deal breaker IMO. The Tribar grill looks MUCH better then the previous photos. The sedan looks a little funky looking though. I wonder if the grill for the hatch will be an option for the Sedan, or at least maybe a dealer installed option?

 

Disappointed that the DSG doesn't have paddle shifters....maybe we'll see that on a more performance orientated model?

 

Red lighting inside is a non-issue, hell my mycolor on my Mustang is red to match the seats.

 

So is the build/price on Ford's website yet? I wanna see how the options/pricing is on it

[jpd80]

My wife (who could care less about cars) is actually interested in a Fiesta.

 

The red lighting could be a deal breaker as she really hates it in my son's 2008 Mazra3 (the whole dash is red).

 

The backlight on the gauges is probably just an incandescent bulb. Not certain what they are doing with the LCD display.

Shame owners couldn't change colors on the the lighting like on the Mustang, I think it would give

a rather personalized feel to the car. Oranges and reds get a bit wearing and hard on the eye.

I wonder if that's an expensive system?

[ANTAUS]

Death to red lighting ! :titanic:

[NickF1011]

Shame owners couldn't change colors on the the lighting like on the Mustang, I think it would give

a rather personalized feel to the car. Oranges and reds get a bit wearing and hard on the eye.

I wonder if that's an expensive system?

 

Eh, all the interior lighting on my Mazda is orange/red. Hasn't bothered me at all. Certainly beats the green Ford used in everything from the 90's.

[buddysystem]

It may have been said but if you don't like the 3 bar grill, replace it with the hatch version grill. It'll look great. I like the front LED light bars instead of the fog lights, the whole area blends in well with the door design and it gives a family resemblence to the Taurus. If you don't like the chrome there is the black plastic version.

My only beef is the red info display, it'd be nice if the color was variable like in the Mustang. Maybe a Nav system display will fix that problem. I thought i saw a Nav option mentioned with rear camera? I suspect that would require a new dislplay.

I'll take mine in 5 door, blue like in the photos, 5 speed, Nav, any performance options....

[morgande]

Yeah that 3-bar is bad. I don't like that Ford keeps re-interpreting the 3-bar design on every vehicle. There is no consistent design....and when Ford trys to shoe-horn some design language into a car that wasn't originally designed for it...it looks...tacky.

 

The same can be said about the Mark LT. They shoehorned the split grill in...looks TERRIBLE. This Fiesta sedan isn't near as bad, but it still the same issue.

[keoni]

Hmm, I must be the only one that prefers the 3 bar, though I hate the 3-bar on the rest of the lineup. The hatchback front looks tacked on due to the seam lines.

[theoldwizard]

I'm interested in hearing more about thie FEAD, the Front End Accessory Drive Belt... Doesnt need a tensioning pulley...?

Rubber bands !

 

This is one of those "new technologies" that I think I would carry a spare in my trunk for !

[Mr. Gumby]

Looks really good, and I'm not usually to keen on subcompacts.

 

I really like the rear of the hatch version. The rear over hang looks a bit larger than the Fiesta's competitors which visually balances the car. I always get the feeling that the rear wheels on the Yaris, Fit and especially the Aveo hatchback and Cube are about to pop off and roll away.

 

The three bar grille is so small it looks almost like a billet grille. The only thing that bothers me about this grille is the gap under the third bar. If they had filled that gap then the front end wouldn't look like it was missing a tooth!

 

Kudos to Ford.

[battyr]

This thing is going to get better than 40mpg.

 

For sure.

 

Ford has been under estimating it's fuel efficiency on new vehicles. This car is light weight and has the best in Ford fuel efficiency technology. The new dry clutch DCT will give a huge boost in fuel efficiency. Looks like they made other improvements that will improve efficiency from the European version of the engine. I bet they even made it more aerodynamic.

 

The question is what the real fuel efficiency will be?

[BORG]

Hmm, I must be the only one that prefers the 3 bar, though I hate the 3-bar on the rest of the lineup. The hatchback front looks tacked on due to the seam lines.

 

I like the chrome grille, and the chrome bumper accents, very much. The fascia of the car is otheriwse too blank, the chrome details add much more individuality to the nose and help it standout at a distance.

 

I would prefer if the chrome grille had a broader piece of chrome instead of the smaller slats, no need to have such strict allegiance to those three bars.

 

The corner pieces add TREMENDOUSLY to the current design, I love how it finishes the lines drawn from the sides of the car. And again, the extra bright work and the more angular shape help to beef up an overly cute design .

Edited December 2, 2009 by BORG

[RichardJensen]

Red lighting is probably there because of the LCD display. Can't go 'ice blue' and keep a red LCD display; can't switch the LCD display to blue without causing headaches from the supplier.

 

Will probably get more standardized with the 1.5 version.

 

Oh, and Nick, my parents' '72 Galaxie 500 had green instrument lighting. Ford had been 'green' for years. Longer than they've been using Eurostile for all the instrumentation.

[battyr]

This thing is going to get better than 40mpg.

 

44.5 mpg????

 

http://www.ozskier.com/mmp/?p=2297

[battyr]

I'm interested in hearing more about thie FEAD, the Front End Accessory Drive Belt... Doesnt need a tensioning pulley...?

 

Elastic belt. That means that you can't forget about replacing the belt. Good chance it would break or fall off in the first 150,000 Miles.

[BORG]

Red lighting is probably there because of the LCD display. Can't go 'ice blue' and keep a red LCD display; can't switch the LCD display to blue without causing headaches from the supplier.

 

Will probably get more standardized with the 1.5 version.

 

Oh, and Nick, my parents' '72 Galaxie 500 had green instrument lighting. Ford had been 'green' for years. Longer than they've been using Eurostile for all the instrumentation.

 

I noticed one of the photo showed a blue guage backlight, am I seeing things?

 

And I'm surprised they couldn't just suck in the cost of redesigning that crappy display (or at least going to the supplier for a color change).

Edited December 2, 2009 by BORG

[RichardJensen]

Probably no money in the budget for a NA spec display--I'd expect a 1.5 revision to hit in a couple years anyway.

 

I'd say red lighting and no center arm rest were deal breakers if I wanted to inflate my internet profile, but in fact, the size is the real deal breaker.

[BORG]

Probably no money in the budget for a NA spec display--I'd expect a 1.5 revision to hit in a couple years anyway.

 

I'd say red lighting and no center arm rest were deal breakers if I wanted to inflate my internet profile, but in fact, the size is the real deal breaker.

 

I order to make this segment suceed in this country and remain profitable, the car has to offer something more than size and practicality (because it's not going to be substantially cheaper than a Focus). It has alot of style and originality, but I'm not sure how sustainable that is.