100 years ago Ford changed the motoring world with the Model T. Now Ford is trying to cement its future with its first global small car, the new Fiesta.
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Meet the Ford we had to have. Or, more specifically, the Ford the world had to have - the new Ford Fiesta.
Unlike the Falcon it will never be used as a taxi, was designed to appeal to 25-year-old females and will use almost half as much fuel as a large family car. The Fiesta is a small car that’s designed to change the way people view the Falcon car company.
It’s also a car designed to meet the rapidly changing global tastes that are seeing buyers abandon large vehicles in favour of smaller, more efficient cars.
At the beginning of 2007 Ford wasn’t even thinking of sending its smallest five-door car to the world’s biggest car market, America (also the consumers of the world’s biggest cars). Or, more correctly, Americans didn’t want a car as, err, compact, as the Fiesta.
Then fuel prices took off and the environment became daily front page news.
The decision was hurriedly made that the Fiesta – a vehicle to rival the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2, Hyundai Getz and Holden Barina – would be sold in the States.
What’s more, Americans would get almost the same Fiesta being built for Europe, Asia and Australia.
It’s part of the “One Ford” globalisation plan designed to bring a smile back to shareholders’ faces and secure its future in a fast changing automotive landscape.
“This vehicle is a catalyst for change – it’s as simple as that,” says Jim Farley, the man who helped Toyota to its dominant position in America and is now Ford’s group vice president of marketing and communication.
“Small is big,” he says, pointing to fuel prices, economic uncertainty, increased urbanisation around the world, the advance of consumer electronics and a push towards “ethical consumption” as drivers of the worldwide trend to downsize. “Small doesn’t really mean anything other than a different price point.”
Ford predicts worldwide demand for small cars will grow from some 23 million in 2002 to 38 million in 2012. Not surprisingly, the former powerhouse of the global automotive market – Detroit – is more than keen to expand its share of the small car pie. In some countries, including Australia and America, it has a lot of work to do.
When the Fiesta arrives here in January next year, Ford’s biggest challenge will be getting it on the radar of young buyers who typically don’t consider Ford as a maker of small cars. Ford’s record of selling anything other than Falcons and their derivatives in Australia is pretty dismal.
The previous Fiesta typically sold half as many (or much less) as rivals from Toyota, Hyundai, Suzuki and Holden.
The Mondeo has always struggled in the shadow of the similarly priced Falcon (not to mention more mid-sized competitors) and the Escape off-roader could never match its Mazda twin, the Tribute, when it came to sales.
Even the Focus, a twin-under-the-skin of the Mazda3, doesn’t threaten class leaders such as the Toyota Corolla, Holden Astra and Mazda3 for sales supremacy.
The Fiesta is challenged with changing that.
If the Fiesta looks familiar that’s because it shares “between 45 and 50 per cent” of its components with the Mazda2.
The rising window line from front to rear and wedge-like shape are reminiscent of the baby Mazda that’s seen sales more than double compared with the old model.
Without crawling underneath or popping the bonnet the only obvious visual similarity we spotted between the Fiesta and the Mazda2 were the circular air vents on each side of the dash.
Most of the shared components are beneath the skin, where customers will never look. All glass, panels and interior trim items are unique, as is the tuning of the suspension, exhaust sound and even the clicking of the indicators.
Even the engines are specific to Ford. Whereas the Mazda gets a 1.5-litre four-cylinder the Fiesta will get a 1.6-litre, 88kW four-cylinder. Curiously, those who opt for an automatic transmission – Australian buyers are increasingly tending to autos – get a 1.4-litre engine with 20 per cent less power (71kW in total).
Ford says the decision to offer a smaller, less powerful engine for the auto was in response to customer demand for better fuel economy.
The manual Fiesta consumes just 6.1 litres of fuel per 100km, while the auto uses considerably more, at 6.9L/100km. But those figures are tested to the European cycle. Vehicles tested to the Australian fuel consumption standard typically add a fraction to the claimed consumption.
It wasn’t just components that Ford borrowed from the brand it owns a controlling interest in. Ford borrowed what it describes as Mazda’s industry leading ways of developing a vehicle.
“All we needed to do was put in place the Mazda product development system,” says Ford’s vice president of product development Derrick Kuzak.
Pricing will, naturally, be key to the success or otherwise of the new Fiesta, which will be sold here as a three- and five-door hatch. Ford’s not saying exactly how much it will cost, except to say “it will be competitive” and not wildly different to the model it replaces.
Expect the entry-level Fiesta CL to sell for close to $16,000 and come with power windows, remote locking, dual airbags and anti-lock brakes. The volume selling, five-door-only Fiesta LX will probably be closer to $18,500 and add extras such as a trip computer and buttons on the steering wheel.
There will also be a sporty Fiesta Zetec, which will get a body styling kit, 16-inch alloy wheels and sports seats and trim. Also expect extras such as a keyless starting system, full iPod integration kit and Bluetooth wireless phone connection.
Arguably Ford’s biggest challenge is getting typically younger buyers into a showroom. Ford’s executive director of global small cars, Australian Marin Burela, admits Ford Australia is known as “the Falcon car company”.
When the Fiesta goes on sale in Australia it will initially be imported from Germany. But a year later our Fiestas will come from Thailand, where they will be built alongside the Mazda2 and take advantage of a free trade agreement that eliminates the 10 per cent tariff applied to most vehicle imports.
Ford Fiesta CL
Price: From $16,000 (estimated)
Body: Three-door hatch or five-door hatch
Engine (man/auto): 1.6-litre four-cylinder/1.4-litre four-cylinder
Power (man/auto): 88kW at 6000rpm / 71kW at 5750rpm
Torque (man/auto): 152Nm at 6050rpm / 128Nm at 4200rpm
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km / 6.9L/100km*
Features: Remote locking, audio input plug, dual airbags, anti-lock brakes, air-conditioning, power windows, 15-inch steel wheels
Optional safety pack: Driver’s knee airbag, front side airbags, side curtain airbags, electronic stability control
Ford Fiesta LX
Price: From $19,000 (estimated)
Body: Five-door hatch
Engine (man/auto): 1.6-litre four-cylinder/1.4-litre four-cylinder
Power (man/auto): 88kW at 6000rpm / 71kW at 5750rpm
Torque (man/auto): 152Nm at 6050rpm / 128Nm at 4200rpm
Extra features (over CL): Cruise control, 15-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth wireless phone connection
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km / 6.9L/100km*
Optional safety pack: Driver’s knee airbag, front side airbags, side curtain airbags, electronic stability control
Ford Fiesta Zetec
Price: From $21,000 (estimated)
Body: Three-door hatch or five-door hatch
Engine (man/auto): 1.6-litre four-cylinder/1.4-litre four-cylinder
Power (man/auto): 88kW at 6000rpm / 71kW at 5750rpm
Torque (man/auto): 152Nm at 6050rpm / 128Nm at 4200rpm
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km / 6.9L/100km*
Extra features (over LX): Sports suspension, 16-inch alloy wheels, USB interface for iPod, safety pack (ESC, seven airbags)
* European claimed fuel figure. Australian fuel consumption is likely to be slightly different.
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