Three legs might be appropriate for a stool, or a camera tripod, or a Martian war machine, but you wouldn’t go out of your way to buy a three-legged horse. Such a thing would be inherently imbalanced, and it’d be hard to get much use out of it - and doubly so if it were really tiny.
And yet here’s the Ford Motor company with the audacity to charge you $1,295 for the privilege of hopping around on three cylinders. That’s right – pick up a base 1.6L Fiesta and one of the options is to lop off a cylinder, swap on a turbo, and call it a performance grade in both economy and acceleration.
Not so fast Blue Oval, we’re going to have to take a little closer look at the claims for your turbocharged trio. Sure, the Fiesta is a pretty good little car as it is, but does one less leg make it better, or do we need to take a little trip out behind the barn?
Design:
Ford’s smallest vehicle remains a happy looking little thing, with a grille somewhat reminiscent of an Aston Martin. However, I wouldn’t count on anyone being fooled into thinking this scrappy little hatchback was blue-blood royalty.
The SE model designation means this particular flavour of Fiesta comes with 15” steel wheels and hubcaps, and its diminutive shape is pure economy car. However, it’s a handsome little car, with clean lines and a well-formed silhouette.
The grille, the hood, the headlights and the taillights are all updated for the 2014 model year for all Fiestas. Overall, it’s an improvement.
Environment:
The Fiesta is reasonably snug on the inside too. However, you’d not call it an econobox. The plastics are moulded in a pleasing pattern, and the fabric covering the seats looks like it should be durable.
Space in the back is tight, as you’d expect for a subcompact, but the Fiesta is larger than others in its class, and a workable four-seater (add in a fifth passenger and you might as well all sign up to enter clown college). The trunk is a useful 422L, and you can of course fold all the seats down to carry larger items.
Up front, the Fiesta has a fairly basic control layout, with buttons and digital readouts that would put you in mind of an early 2000s flip-phone. It’s not the most stylish execution in the world, and compared to the colour-screens available as an option on higher-trim Fiestas, it’s fairly basic in operation. The single central joystick just feels a bit flimsy, and the screen readout is of a size that you should really only navigate when pulled over.
However, the audio works fine once you’ve got it all set up, and there are plenty of power outlets and storage cubbies. As an optional extra, this Fiesta also had heated seats and automatic climate control.
Performance:
Lopping off a cylinder and bolting on a turbo gives the EcoBoost-equipped Fiesta a relatively peppy 123hp and a solid 148lb/ft of torque. Considering all this power is coming from just 1.0L of displacement – the smallest engine Ford makes – that’s actually quite impressive.
Moreover, it’s nearly a third more torque than the standard 1.6L engine and most of that’s available at very low rpm. Getting off the very light clutch, the Fiesta’s little three-pot engine grumbles at first, and then immediately surges into boost with a strong pull.
It’s only offered with a 5-speed manual transmission, one with gear-spacing set up for maximizing highway fuel economy rather than the slick-shifting close ratio box you get in its sportier cousin, the ST. Still, it’s quite good fun to keep the turbo-three on the boil, and the low-end response makes the Fiesta easily capable of keeping up with traffic, handling onramps, and dispatching hills with ease.
All Fiestas are pretty good to drive, and despite not having a sport-tuned suspension or lightweight alloy wheels, the EcoBoost version is actually quite good fun. Down here at the entry level end of the market, most of the vehicles have a certain charm in the challenge it usually is to drive them hard enough to stay out of everyone’s way, but the Fiesta actually feels substantial.
Around town, it’s a nimble little thing, and the three-cylinder’s fat torque band means you’ll be dispatching stop and go with ease. It’s comfortable and quiet, but rev up that little engine and there’s a surprising growl.
On the highway, the Fiesta’s small car roots start showing – it’s perfectly acceptable in terms of wind-noise and ride quality, but that lightweight feel does impart a slight nervousness to the handling as speeds rise if there’s much in the way of crosswinds. However, as a long-distance commuter, the extra low-end spool of the turbo means you need not downshift for hills, as lower-torque four-cylinders might demand.
Features:
Being set up as a fuel-miser, the Fiesta is only accidentally a hoot to drive; while there are a few options available, it’s mostly targeted at a market segment that’s watching their bottom line, so there’s not much in the way of luxuries.
The $500 comfort package gives heated seats up front and automatic climate control, and along with a full power group for the windows and door locks, means that all the essentials are covered. The audio system has USB connectivity and Bluetooth streaming audio as standard, and the headlights are automatic.
So, everything you need, and then there’s that fuel economy. Even with mixed-mileage downgraded to 5.5L/100kms, with Ford’s new figures, it represents nearly a litre per 100kms improvement over the 1.6L engine that’s standard. Better gas economy and more available torque? Sounds like a win-win.
However, assuming you put 20,000kms a year on your car, that’s only a savings of $300 a year at our current $1.50/L pricing versus shelling out $1,295 for the optional EcoBoost, but environmentally friendly. And the more you drive, the more you save. However, the manual-only option might limit this car to the highway warrior, rather than the urban commuter who wants an automatic to deal with traffic.
Green Light:
Nimble handling; good low-end torque; very good fuel economy; well put-together interior
Stop Sign:
Light feel on the highway; manual-only availability; fussy multi-button interface
The Checkered Flag:
A fun little drive from Ford’s smallest engine.
