2011 Ford Fiesta Review

Ford's new 2011 Fiesta has sort of a tough road ahead. With most small cars, there's not much to love. Subcompacts are usually inexpensive, a great value and boast good fuel economy. The problem is, people don't generally come rushing out to buy a car that offers so much of what they need and very little of what they want. And that's exactly why the 2011 Ford Fiesta is so brilliant - it's the best of both worlds. In addition to the car's remarkable value (base price is $14,000) it's also the sportiest car in the segment, is light years ahead of other subcompacts in terms of styling plus offers convenience features the others simply don't have.

If there's one thing that seems to ruin most small cars, it's excessive noise - engine noise, road noise, and wind noise all make driving a small car like the Smart ForTwo or Toyota Yaris extremely tiring yet the new Fiesta is remarkably quiet. This fact alone makes it worth getting.

Power from the 1.6 liter four cynlinder engine is slightly more than adequate and the sound coming from under the hood is not harsh or irritating. With 120-hp, the never feels underpowered but the Fiesta is also no sports car. That little engine gets great fuel economy too - driving the car in the San Francisco bay area in mixed city and highway driving, we got 38.9 mpg without even trying to be frugal with the gas pedal. Power and fuel economy are helped by a new PowerShift dual clutch, six-speed automatic transmission. But don't get too excited, there's no shift it yourself feature. However, it does provide smooth, precise shifts up and down. The Fiesta is expected to have a 40 mpg EPA estimate for the highway but in our experience, many drivers will be able to top that.

Inside the cabin is filled with surprisingly high quality materials and cool electronic features.

Thanks to Ford's new Sync system with AppLink you can run smartphone apps like Pandora and Stitcher in the car using voice commands and get turn by turn navigation. You can even "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" a song without taking your hands off the wheel. Other notable features and options include push button start, keyless one-touch entry, leather seats, ambient lighting, satellite radio and 16-inch wheels. ABS and stability control are standard.
The Fiesta comes in a wide range of colors - some are very "look a me" like Lime Squeeze Metallic and Bright Magenta Metallic while Tuxedo Black and Monterey Gray are more subtle.

But do trendy colors make a subcompact fun or sexy? Maybe or maybe not. But the 2011 Ford Fiesta is one small car that many will actually buy because they want to, not just because it's all they can afford. A quiet, smooth ride combined with sporty handling plus ground breaking electronics features and head of the class interior materials make this small car very compelling.

For Car Concerns Radio - Brian Moody

CAR CONCERNS ROCKS IN THE USA EVERY WEEK-DAY MORNING - CALL HARRY MONDAY THRU FRIDAY...9:00 TO 11:00 A.M.(EST). BORDER-TO-BORDER...COAST-TO-COAST...USA TOLL-FREE: 1-877-454-3378. NOW ON SATURDAY'S FROM 2:00 til 5:OO P.M. (EST) EMAIL: harry@carconcerns.com