Ford Fiesta

Ford’s hot-selling new Ford Fiesta will deliver more than just great looks and top fuel economy of any vehicle in its segment when it goes on sale in North America next year. The 2011 Fiesta – available in four- and five-door body styles – also will set a new small car benchmark for safety, connectivity and powertrain technology.

Ford Fiesta: Features an expressive, vibrant design, with sharp reflexes and a global track record that will redefine U.S. small car customers’ expectations

Feature :
* Fiesta offers 15 class-exclusive technologies, adding luxury and convenience usually found in vehicles at significantly higher price points
* Fiesta is projected to deliver best-in-class highway fuel economy of 40 mpg, with a responsive 1.6-liter DOHC I-4 engine, advanced PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission and Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS)
* Designed to be versatile, personal and adaptable, Fiesta is expected to deliver best-in-class safety, convenience and connectivity with segment-exclusive SYNC® voice-activated communications system, an expressive color palette and available graphics

In fact, Fiesta will offer North American buyers a stylish new choice of 15 class-exclusive technologies and projected highway fuel economy of 40 mpg, besting the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris and Corolla.

Fiesta is the next milestone under the ONE Ford plan to design and develop vehicles that meet the differing needs, wants and expectations of customers around the world. More than 500,000 Fiestas have already sold to customers in Europe and Asia.

The Fiesta design is further enhanced with a choice of nine vivid new colors. From Bright Magenta through Lime Squeeze to Blue Flame, Fiesta’s broad color palette – more available colors than any other segment competitors – instills vibrant individuality.

Ford Fiesta

INSIDE FIESTA
Fiesta is as dramatic on the inside as it is on the outside. Boldly sculpted surfaces, contrasting colors and comfortable, supportive materials make the interior as individual as the driver.

The instrument panel centerstack – focal point of the new Fiesta interior – was designed to feel as useful and familiar as the keypad on a mobile phone.

The North American Fiesta features first-row bucket seats with a 60/40 split second-row seat. Cloth or leather seating surfaces vary by trim level offering comfort, style and individuality. High series Fiestas also offer leather with sporty contrast accent color piping.

Soft, sculptured surfaces and the centerstack layout provide the Fiesta with a sense of harmony. Intuitive switchgear placement, comfort zone seating and available ambient lighting allow a driver to maximize the mood with seven complementary colors – switchable among three levels of intensity – for interior accent lighting.

And Fiesta keeps it green; 25 percent of volume-series SE seat fabric inserts are comprised of recycled content.

Fiesta’s flowing sculpted hood covers a 1.6-liter DOHC I-4 engine with an estimated 119 horsepower and 109 ft.-lbs. of torque. Spirited performance and fuel-efficient economy are signature attributes with the Fiesta expected to deliver best-in-class fuel economy at 40 mpg.

Fiesta’s advanced 1.6-liter engine features Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) allowing the engine to be downsized for fuel economy while continuously optimizing camshaft phasing for throttle response, performance and flexibility.

Big results from a small package are possible with several new technologies in this new global engine, including an advanced new front end accessory drive (FEAD) belt with stretchy dynamics to improve the engine’s thermal dynamics. The elasticity in this new drive belt eliminates the need for a belt tensioner and contributes to overall fuel economy.

Fiesta features a standard five-speed manual transaxle with gear ratios selected to offer spirited off-the-line performance and exceptional fuel economy for drivers who desire three pedals and a stick shift to maximize driving experience.

Specially tuned front struts, bushings, dampers, stabilizer bars and a rear twist-beam axle keep Fiesta sure-footed and firmly planted. Sporty, European driving dynamics prevail.

Ford Fiesta

An available all-new North American industry-exclusive PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission combines the responsive performance and fuel economy of a manual transmission with the convenience of a traditional automatic in one advanced, dual dry-clutch package.

Twin internal clutches keep the PowerShift in constant mesh, always optimizing for maximum responsiveness or fuel efficiency, depending on input received from the driver’s foot on the accelerator pedal.

This “dry” transmission operates with sealed internal lubrication, reducing internal friction and adding to Fiesta fuel economy. The lack of pumps and hoses reduces under-hood complexity, saves weight and also contributes to fuel efficiency.

PowerShift has been proven in Ford’s European market and will redefine North American small car segment expectations for responsive shifting and fuel efficiency.

For confidence-inspiring on-road dynamics, Fiesta features Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) which reduces complexity while saving weight and fuel. This advanced system is speed-sensitive – providing optimized assist based on speed, cornering forces and acceleration or deceleration.

Ford is aggressively moving to EPAS across its product lineup. The system already is available in several Ford, Lincoln and Mercury nameplates, and by 2013 nearly 90 percent of Ford’s lineup will offer this fuel saving technology.

EPAS also includes Pull-Drift Compensation to help Fiesta track true regardless of road crown or side wind conditions. In addition, active nibble control helps detect and compensate for tire balance irregularity. Both features – enabled by EPAS – are class-exclusives.

Ford Fiesta

More than 50 percent of Fiesta’s welded body structure is made from high-strength steel, with ultra-strong boron steel used in several critical areas. This rigid body shell contributes to Fiesta’s confident road-holding, best-in-class occupant safety and quiet composure.

Fiesta safety is enhanced by an array of features including dual-stage first-row air bags, a class-exclusive driver’s knee air bag, side air bags and side curtain air bags. AdvanceTrac® with ESC (Electronic Stability Control) is standard on Fiesta, along with seat belt pretensioners, rear door child safety locks and a Safety Canopy® system.

Tested and proven on virtually every continent where you can drive a car, Fiesta arrives with proven quality and customer readiness.

“For North America, the global Fiesta was tweaked, not re-designed or re-developed.” said Steve Pintar, chief engineer. “We built on the success of the European Fiesta and are really proud of how little has changed.”

Fiesta NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) control is taken to a new level of quiet for this segment, helped in part by a specially laminated, class-exclusive windshield that was chosen to help absorb and contain noise. Engine noise is subdued by a hood blanket, with enhanced door seals keeping wind noise minimized.

Special padding behind the instrument panel and foam baffles mounted inside the pillars keeps Fiesta quiet. Even the headliner material was specified for its sound-deadening qualities.

Much of Fiesta’s sound-absorbent materials are comprised of recycled content, helping to conserve resources as it preserves peace and quiet. In addition, Fiesta aerodynamics contributes to both NVH control and fuel efficiency.

Ford Fiesta

From class-exclusive automatic climate control to a standard aux input, Fiesta offers customers a number of standard and available features that increase convenience and add connectivity. Among them is Ford SYNC®, integrating a driver’s mobile phone with Fiesta’s onboard, voice- activated communications and entertainment system.

Fiesta also offers keyless entry and push button start, a feature unique within the segment. Drivers of all sizes can adjust the tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel to suit their individual preferences. Reflecting Fiesta’s versatility and adaptability, adjustable cup holders can accommodate Red Bull cans and Big Gulps along with every container size in between.

Fiesta also features Ford’s EasyFuel® Capless Fuel-Filler System, a North American industry- exclusive, as standard equipment.

Source: Ford Press Release