2014 Ford Fiesta Titanium

Fiesta in Spanish means celebration, so for Ford to give such a name to its sub compact city car it has to be at least fun to drive.  So let’s find out if it’s any good.

For 2014 the Fiesta comes extensively refreshed, ready to challenge the class leaders for the title. The latest Ford family grille has been applied to the pretty face and a redesigned dashboard brings fresh ideas to the table.

The suspension layout remains intact, with the Macpherson struts in the front and semi-independent torsion beam rear. Under the hood, the same 1.6L Ti-VCT I-4-Cylinder engine provides power to the front wheels via a double-clutch PowerShift 6-speed automatic gearbox.

Prices for the hatch start at $18,266 and go all the way up to $24,461 for the Titanium like our tester. Equipment levels scale up reasonably so pricing your needs is a rather straight forward task.

The Fiesta has always been a cute car and with the latest alterations is looks even better, especially in funky colors like our “it has to be green”. The interior design is a continuation of the exterior aggressive styling. Sharp angles and modern ideas are combined to create this very busy design. The instrument cluster is well laid out and ergonomically it is simpler than it looks. Soft to the touch material has been used on the upper part of the dash giving it an upscale feel.

Passengers in the front will enjoy plenty of room while for the class, the rear could be considered quite spacious too. Five adults could fit with a bit of a squeeze and considering the target age group, I don’t think they would mind. The trunk is spacious enough to fit the gear for a weekend excursion as well.

The 1.6L engine is strong enough to stop me from calling it a “Siesta” but even though it pulls well from idle it gets a bit rough towards the red line. The 120 HP and 112 lb-ft help reach 0-100km/h in 10.2” which is slower than expected and the gearbox is to blame. For better performance it should’ve been shorter but fuel economy was clearly the goal. On our watch, we averaged 8.6lt/100km which is on par with the class average.

Despite the firm suspension, the fiesta is a pretty nice car to travel in. On back streets it goes over bumps and pot holes with a stiff but effective form.  On the highway it keeps its momentum well and there is no need for constant steering corrections. Being a modern Ford, handling couldn’t have been anything but fun; it corners with agility and poise, the tail will open its course if needed and the playful character is evident every time you steer. Progressive understeer can be transformed to lift-off oversteer and the game is on. The steering is pretty sharp too, so keeping everything under control is rather easy.

On a windy day, aerodynamic noises are noticeable but its nothing the good stereo can’t fix. Visibility is great and the wide angle bits on the mirrors are very helpful. The brakes feel particularly strong and proved to be really good too as from 100km/h it came to a complete stop in just 42m.

The fiesta is a very easy to drive city car that respects style and the joy to be driven. It will be owned mostly by young people but a little tip here; it will also make you feel a bit younger and that is the cool thing about it. Fun and funky, the fiesta is a super-mini to consider for sure.