After months of titillating previews, teasers, and showing 1:1 scale cars in a toy box, Ford Philippines has finally launched the new Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta is Ford’s contender in the B-class segment, going head to head with established players like the Honda City, Toyota Vios and corporate cousin Mazda2. Its hatchback configuration will also pit it against Honda Jazz, et al. This car gets our vote as the prettiest in the class, but Ford didn’t stop at good looks alone.
Unique to the Fiesta is the availability of a 1.6 liter engine with a dual-clutch six-speed transmission (first seen in the Focus TDCi). Other available features include Bluetooth-voice control audio unit, capless fuel filler, dual airbags, stability control, hill start assist, power-folding side mirrors and 60/40 split-fold rear seat.
The Fiesta’s electric power steering helps to compensate for crosswinds (the bothersome meteorological kind, not the slow Isuzu kind) by boosting power assist when the computer senses some drifting (the unintentional inertial kind, not the deliberate sideways kind; it would be interesting to see how the system would reacting to actual drift-race inputs).
Fiesta also promises class-leading quietness thanks to an aerodynamically efficient design and a rigid body structure. The variants that will be available soon are:
Style 1.4 MT 4-door P670,000
Trend 1.4 MT 4-door or 5-door P685,000
Trend 1.6 PowerShift (dual clutch) 4-door or 5-door P766,000
Sport 1.6 Powershift 5-door P816,000
The 1.4 liter is good for 94bhp/126Nm while the 1.6 liter engine produces 120bhp/151Nm.
Ford claims that Fiesta projected maintenance costs (scheduled service and collision repair) are 32% lower than the “leading competitor.” Labor and parts for the first two scheduled service stops, at 1000 and 10,000 km are free. Also, the company guarantees 24-hour availability of 54 critical spare parts and repair service, or the parts are free.
Take note that 4-door sedan and 5-door hatchback variants are priced identically, meaning you can choose whichever appeals to your eye. Also, the pricing looks very attractive.
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