So this is it: the latest version of Britain’s best-selling car, the Ford Fiesta. The car that has moved 17 million copies since it launched in the*mid-1970s.
This red one’s an ST-Line. It’s one of four variants Ford revealed at tonight’s glitzy launch event. Spoilers, skirts and sports suspension – expect the next ST-proper to look like this but more*so.
Of course it’s Fiestas like the brown, five-door Titanium that most will buy. OK possibly not in brown. But those not-too-sporty mid-to-upper trims are where Ford does the bulk of its trade. And the claim is that it now shows a whole lot of higher technology and better*quality.
Because the small-car market is diversifying, and because premium brands’ small-car sales rose 25 per cent in the past year alone, Ford also has Fiestas aimed at answering those questions. The chunky-looking one is called the Fiesta ‘Active’ – *a pseudo-crossover with body-cladding, roof-rails and elevated ride-height. That’s set to join the line-up soon after launch. The white one is a super-posh Vignale, which isn’t only about the lux interior but a better ‘customer experience’ from the dealer at both sales and service*time.
Available with three- or five-doors, the new Fiesta is appreciably bigger than the car it replaces. Inside, the old Fiesta’s interior was designed to ape a technology that, by the time it was released, didn’t really exist – a mobile phone with actual, physical*buttons.
The new one gets a floating centre-screen (8in in these cars) running SYNC3 – the latest version of Ford’s much-maligned infotainment software. This time the screen is said to be far more responsive ‘with the highest resolution in the industry’. It runs greatly smarter voice-recognition abilities too. The screen setup cuts some 20 hard-buttons out of the old car’s total. The optional stereo is by B&O and has many*watts.
Ford’s calling the Fiesta the “world’s most technologically advanced small car”. Sensors monitor the path ahead as far away as 130 metres for the collision mitigation system – that’s 20 times further than the old one. They can detect pedestrians as well as*vehicles.
More sensors around the car give it myriad more ways to assist you. On the menu are – deep breath – blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist (not just lane departure warning, note), blind-spot warning, cross-traffic warning when reversing, active parking with perpendicular capability, and adaptive cruise control. None of them new, but it’s a list that’s unique among*superminis.
Related content
Originally Posted by Falc'man
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks