Ford Fiesta 1.5 TDCi Trend: On the cusp of greatness.

By Martin Pretorius

Two decades have passed since the Ford Fiesta first appeared on South African roads – to great expectations too, it must be said. At that stage, the Fiesta had already enjoyed many years of sales dominance in Britain, and it was a strong seller in mainland Europe as well. So, given South African buyers’ preference for European vehicles, the Fiesta should have been hugely popular here too... except that it didn’t quite work out that way.

Part of the blame must be laid at the initial local model range, which never included the fizzy multivalve engines available elsewhere. Instead, our first Fiestas were saddled with a gutless 1.3-litre push-rod lump which could trace its ancestry back to the first crossflow Anglias, and which subsequently went on to power countless Escorts, Cortinas, and entry-level Sierras and Sapphires. Long-lived and economical it might have been, but peppy it most definitely wasn’t.

It didn’t take Ford South Africa very long to see the error in their ways, and a succession of engine upgrades eventually brought that generation of Fiesta up to date, power-wise. But by then, the damage was done: the Volkswagen Polo and Playa (which arrived around the same time) had simply annexed that market segment, and playing catch-up was too great a task for all the subsequent challengers.

This set the scene for the two following generations of Fiesta, which was always found chasing down the class-leading Polo – a trend which continues to this day. But now, there’s a new Fiesta (the fourth generation on local shores), and Ford hopes that this will be the one to finally break the Polo’s iron grip on its market segment.

What’s new?

While the outgoing Fiesta’s skeleton is still clearly visible underneath the fresh outer skin, there are enough significant improvements all-round to qualify this Fiesta as a brand-new car. It starts with the appearance, which employs an enticing combination of creases and curves to create a genuinely attractive-looking vehicle. Sure, the front end is clearly an evolution of what went before, but that’s also due in large part to modern pedestrian safety- and lighting regulations.

The rear end changes are much more obvious, however, as the old Fiesta’s vertically-stacked tail lamps make way for far sleeker horizontally-oriented clusters. It’s actually quite amazing how dramatically these seemingly small changes improve the Fiesta’s appearance, especially when finished in the intriguing “Chrome Copper” metallic paint of our test car.

Quality takes a leap forward

Opening a door and settling into one of the very comfortable front seats, it’s apparent that the new Fiesta is a much higher-quality machine than the old one. Even the outside door handle has a chunky, sturdy feel to its operation, which creates an immediate impression of solidity. The cabin is also far nicer than before, and Ford even decided to include some squishy plastics on the dash top (though the door cards and centre console are still made of the hard stuff).

No matter, because the new design is not only more pleasing to the eye, but also easier to operate. Perhaps the biggest improvement comes on the infotainment front, where Ford’s Sync 3 system now takes care of playing your tunes and operating your phone. There’s a colour touch screen (with a beautifully clear display) mounted in the middle of the dashboard, and its operation is far more intuitive than older Ford systems – perhaps not quite at the level of Volkswagen’s excellent unit, but getting very close. Overall build- and material quality is much improved, and can finally stand proud amongst the Polos and Corsas.

Excellent chassis

As we’ve come to expect from the Fiesta, its driving dynamics are absolutely first-class – and perhaps the best in its class as well. It starts with direct and accurate steering, free from the vagueness which afflict too many electrically-assisted systems, and ends with plenty of road grip from the 16-inch tyres of our Trend-specification car. In between, there’s a set of springs and dampers which were clearly calibrated by an enthusiastic driver: yes, the ride is firm at low speeds, but it smoothes out very nicely when you get to the freeway.

As a result, the latest Fiesta is absolutely stable in a straight line and at speed, yet it changes direction with great enthusiasm and superb control. The front-end resists understeer up till its very high limits are reached, yet there’s just enough rear-end rotation available from a mid-corner throttle lift to tighten the car’s trajectory without inducing any panic. The stability control isn’t overly intrusive either, and allows the driver some play time before intervening. This is undoubtedly the driver’s car in its class – and that’s a tall order in the face of such excellent opponents.

Diesel may not be the fuel of choice, though.

Engines are largely carried over from the previous generation Fiesta, and currently features the multiple-award-winning 1.0T EcoBoost 3-cylinder in two states of tune, as well as a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder turbo diesel. Our test car was equipped with the latter, which is tuned for 63 kW and 175 Nm in this application, and mated to a slick-shifting 6-speed manual gearbox. As far as diesels go, it’s not a bad engine: reasonably refined and fairly torquey, it gets the job done – albeit without too much enthusiasm.

The downside lies in the power delivery, where every pull-away is met with significant boost lag until the rev counter has passed the 1500 r/min mark. This is a bit of a pain when driving in traffic, and forces the driver to pay close attention to clutch control to avoid either stalling or pulling away with a chirp from the tyres. There isn’t much of a power band either, as the engine starts to run out of puff just after 3000 r/min, en route to its modest power peak. 

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak

Combined with the engine’s breathless nature, the gearbox has tall ratios which are apparently expertly chosen to keep the engine spinning just outside its slightly livelier operating range. Top gear is extremely tall, which makes it useable only on the freeway, and even fifth gear is too tall to be useful around town. This combination makes for great economy, however – while we couldn’t get anywhere near Ford’s claim of 3.3 litres/100 km average consumption, the trip computer showed a remarkable 4.6 litres/100 km after a week of driving without any particular effort to save fuel.

This rather lackluster engine finds itself somewhat at odds with the sporty chassis – on the one side, the powertrain encourages a laid-back driving style, but on the other, the Fiesta’s handling prowess can’t be exploited due to the lack of urge. In this case, it may have been better if Ford had tuned the suspension to allow a bit more compliance over bumps, because the chassis’ dynamic talents go to waste in the face of such a limp-wristed engine in any case. Who really cares about exceptional handling if the car struggles to gain meaningful speed?

The value proposition

And then there’s the small matter of price. With a list price of R292 500, the Fiesta TDCi Trend is only R3 400 less expensive than the very perky (92 kW) 1.0T EcoBoost Titanium, and a massive R30 600 more expensive than the 1.0T Trend (with 74 kW). This puts the 63 kW TDCi Trend in dangerously close proximity to its far livelier, petrol-powered sibling – and that sibling has a lot more kit as well.

Trend trim is far from spartan, with electric windows all round, remote central locking, automatic headlight control, air-conditioning and the aforementioned infotainment system. The problem is that the up-spec Titanium trim adds things such as nicer (larger) alloy wheels, keyless entry, climate control, and heated front seats – for only slightly more than the diesel Trend derivative.

Verdict

In the end, it comes down to the importance of absolute economy: while the 1.0T Titanium won’t be able to match the slightly less expensive 1.5 TDCi Trend at the pumps, it comes with a lot more power, better kit, and an enhanced appearance to offset its slightly greater thirst and marginally higher price. Seen in this light, the diesel will only make sense to those of a relaxed mindset and an eye on the long-term budget. For everyone else, the new Fiesta will be much more appealing with a petrol mill: either save a large chunk of cash and settle for the 1.0T Trend, or get more power and toys with the 1.0T Titanium for almost the same outlay. In either case, at least the Fiesta will receive the engine its excellent chassis deserves, and maybe even de-throne the ubiquitous Polo...

Ford Fiesta 1.5 TDCi Trend

Price:	R 292 500
Power:	63 kW/175 Nm
Performance:	12.5 seconds 0-100 km/h, 175 km/h max speed.
Consumption:	3.3 litres/100 km average (claimed)