Ford Fiesta – Rebirth of a Legend
In the late 1960’s and early 70’s the Ford Escort was the car that all youngsters yearned to have. It was successful both on the race track, and in the world of rallying, and famous names like Ari Vatanen, Timo Makinen, Roger Clark, and Bjorn Waldegard have driven and won in Escorts in world class rallies. The Escort was a legend in its own time. In Malaysia, the Ford Escort had its own successes, on the race track at Batu Tiga and the Penang circuit in the hands of Harvey Yap, and later in the hands of other locals in the Series Production Races.
The Escort was sorely missed when it went out of production in the 1980’s, but the excitement lived on in the Laser S, a front-wheel drive replacement for the front-engine, rear drive Escort. The Laser S, and later the TX3 became the boy racers of the 1990’s. Sadly, there was no continuity, and the model faded into oblivion, but not the memories.
The excitement about a car is not just its performance – yes, you can get very excited about a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Lamborghini, purely on looks, and performance, but it is different – these cars will never reach the hands of more than ninety-nine percent of the population, and will remain nothing more than a dream except for the ultra-rich who regard a million or so ringgit as small change.
A truly exciting car is one that promises good performance, not necessarily the fastest car in the world, but a car that has a reasonably powerful engine, a good drive train, and has excellent unaided driving dynamics, but is priced at a level that makes it affordable to just about anybody who holds a middle-of-the-road job. And the new Ford Fiesta is one such car.
Picture this – 120 horsepower DOHC 1.6 litre engine, variable valve timing, a six-speed dual clutch gearbox, sports tuned suspension, 1,171 kg kerb weight, traction control, and you start to wonder if these specifications belong to a RM150k sports car – but no, they belong to a car you can get for around RM85k.
Indeed, the Ford Fiesta is a small car that has big car features, and priced as a small entry level car – the tuning potential is enormous, and already, about a year since its debut, the Fiesta has been used to climb Pike’s Peak, and there is a rally version. This is the rebirth of the legendary Ford Escort or the 1970’s under a new name plate.
Although the Fiesta and the Mazda 2 share the same base platform – the Asean models are built in the same plant in Thailand, but it appears that the base platform is the only thing that is common. The two cars look different, and carry completely different drive trains.
At the media preview and test drive held in Phuket recently, we were introduced to the Fiesta, and come away impressed. Ian Constance, Regional Product director, B-Cars, talked about premium quality features brought to small cars, and maximising interior comfort and space without increasing exterior dimensions. He said the Fiesta was designed to have a sports car feel, with controls placed within easy reach of the driver, seats with wide adjustability fore, aft, and up or down, and a tilt and reach adjustable steering wheel. He also highlighted that the 5-door comes with the additional versatility of folding seats. The interior is designed for the young, with design cues taken from handphones, so the young will feel at home in it.
Stefan Muenzinger, the Head of Vehicle Integration, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, highlighted the detailed work that he and his team put in to make the Fiesta a better car than even the European model. “The Asean Fiesta is developed after the European model, so it has new input that actually puts it ahead of the European model in some respects,” said Muenzinger.
According to Meunzinger, driving quality is an on-going expectation in Europe, and the Asean Fiesta adopted the European-developed vehicle dynamics for responsive handling, sophisticated ride and reduced NVH. Dynamic optimization involved a stiff but lightweight body to give that ‘light but solid feel’ in the Fiesta. The Fiesta is also equipped with an electric power steering, specially tuned to provide low-speed turning ease with firm control at highway speeds. “Each Fiesta is custom-engineered and tuned for regional preference, with exceptional noise and vibration damping,” he added.
The proof of the pudding was when we took the cars out onto the roads around Phuket, and we were particularly impressed with the superb handling of the car even around the sharpest bends, and over undulations. The big surprise of the day was when we found the interior to be very quiet, quiet enough to allow my drive partner and me to have normal conversations even at high speeds.
The engine, with its 120 horses, is powerful enough to give the driver enough excitement, and enjoy driving – it is not ground-breaking power, but it will provide a good balance between outright power and fuel economy. Rated fuel consumption is 6.1 litres per 100 kilometres, equivalent to that of the Toyota Yaris, a 1.5 litre, 108 horsepower engine.
What is more important is the transfer of the engine power to the wheels. With the 6-speed dual clutch arrangement, which ford calls the ‘Powershift’ the Fiesta allows the driver to maximise engine power through all the gears. The dual clutch gearbox is best described as two manual boxes in one, with the ability to function like an automatic, but minus the transmission slip and power loss associated with automatic transmissions. Thus the dual clutch combines the convenience of an automatic transmission with the performance and fuel economy of a manual transmission. (Some years ago, when I tested the first such gearbox in another European make, I predicted that some day, all gearboxes would be like this, and it certainly looks like this prediction is coming true.)
The introduction of the Powershift transmission is part of ford’s strategy to leapfrog the competition by offering the latest technology to drivers in the Asean region. “Powershift represents a true competitive edge for Ford and is one of the many technologies that will help our global car platform set new standards for efficiency and drive quality,” said Barb Samardzich, vice president, Global Powertrain Engineering. “This advanced six-speed transmission is an improvement over many of today’s four-speed automatic transmissions in terms of fuel economy and shifting quality. It provides customers with all the advantages of a manual and it’s fun to drive,” added Samardzich.
While most automatics use wet clutch plates submerged in oil, the new Powershift transmission features a dry clutch that transmits power and torque through manual clutch facings. The new dry clutch does not require an oil pump, torque converter, fluids or external coolers and lines that a wet clutch requires. In addition, more than 13 kilograms were cut from the vehicle weight by using the new transmission, which is a sealed unit and requires no regular maintenance.
For customers, the advantages of Powershift are immediately noticeable with improved driving dynamics. An exclusive feature incorporated into the transmission is Neutral Coast Down, which disengages the clutches when braking is applied, improving coasting downshifts and boosting fuel efficiency. Powershift also has a feature called hill Launch, which prevents a vehicle from rolling backwards on a hill for three seconds, when the driver takes his/her foot off the brake pedal to step on the accelerator.
From what I saw and experienced of the new Ford Fiesta, I can see that this is a car that will excite Malaysian drivers. The designers at Ford have really put together a car that will appeal to the young, especially those who have a love for driving, and appreciate the technologies that have been put in. For those who just love the shape and the driving dynamics, there is a 1.4 litre model, which I understand comes with a manual transmission. I did test a 1.4 litre model with a normal 4-speed automatic (for the Thai market) whilst I was there. For family types, there is a 4-door sedan, but the 5-door hatchback is my favourite. Prices range from RM78k to RM85k.
