Everything you need to know about the Ford Fiesta

By Martin Pretorius

The automotive landscape was a very different place in the early 1970s. Most mass-market cars were generally rear-wheel driven, rather primitive and not all that efficient. Of course, there were forward-thinkers back then already, who saw the merits in front-wheel drive for smaller cars. Sir Alec Issigonis brought the radical Mini to market back in the 1950s (and built an entire family of cars around that architecture), and Fiat had by then also dipped their toe in the future with the 128 (and the even earlier the Innocenti Primula). Let’s not forget the iconic Renault 4, either.

Many of the other mainstream manufacturers were starting to lag behind this changing tide, however: Ford of Europe’s smallest car at that time was the Escort, and Volkswagen was still building the Beetle. But even these conservative manufacturers knew that a new era was at hand, and so they started developing their own variations of the small, front-wheel drive hatchback theme.

Ford was extremely reluctant to do so, however: by their reckoning, BMC was losing money on every Mini sold, and the Escort was so cost-effective to build that changing its architecture or making it any smaller would actually increase its price. It was only after the Fiat 127 and Renault 5 (the very first superminis) launched in 1972 that Ford’s top brass finally gave the go-ahead for the development of their own contender. And, even then, the general opinion in the company was that it was a road that would eventually lead to financial losses.

Bobcat becomes the Fiesta

After considerable to-and-fro arguments within the Ford conglomerate, Ralph Peters, then Ford of Britain’s vice president of product planning, put together a task team to work on developing their own supermini. It was very different from anything they had done up till that point: the new car was meant to be very compact and front-wheel drive, feature a hatchback, have excellent space utilization, and emphasize fuel-efficiency. And, to satisfy the accountants in America, it was determined that the new compact car (at that stage carrying the code name “Bobcat”) should be $100 less expensive than the (already hugely profitable) Escort. A tall order indeed!

Eventually, the task team (headed by Hal Sperlich) came up with their proposal. Meanwhile, Ford of Europe had set up a factory in Spain, and managed to convince the accountants that they should be able to sell up to 450 000 units a year. These numbers were too powerful to ignore, and project Bobcat finally received the go-ahead for production development. As it looked at its début in 1976, the Fiesta fit perfectly amongst its peer group (which had, at that stage, already swelled to include some Peugeots and the first-generation VW Polo), even if it was far from radical in such company.

Decades of adequacy...

Even though the first Fiesta didn’t excel in any particular area, it offered a fair spread of abilities, which happened to appeal to most of its target market. Its concurrent Polo had better handling, and the Fiat 127 had stronger performance, but the Fiesta came close enough for these slight deficiencies not to matter too much to buyers. This set the template for the best part of the next two decades: early Fiestas were never class-leading in any single respect, but they were good (and cheap) enough to sustain strong sales for the first 20 years.

In fact, the Fiesta became a runaway success, needing only 14 months to sell its first 500 000 units, and only 13 months more to make it to its first million. This sales success turned Ford’s new economy car into one of the brand’s mainstays, and prompted the Escort’s transition from rear- to front-wheel drive for its third generation.

.... followed by sudden and unexpected brilliance

Finally, stung by consistent criticism from the motoring press (and many private buyers), Ford released the fourth-generation Fiesta in 1995. While it was based on the architecture of its immediate predecessor, the 1995 Fiesta added a healthy dose of performance (thanks to new multi-valve engines), sparkling driving dynamics, and solid build quality to their proven recipe... and in the process, became a class leader.

This is the first Fiesta we received in South Africa, albeit without the new engines – a shortcoming which led to the Fiesta never receiving quite as enthusiastic a reception as its contemporary Polo (which arrived around the same time, but with much stronger engines and higher trim levels).

Every Fiesta since then has built upon the mark IV Fiesta’s excellence, with the fifth generation taking a step up in cabin quality and refinement, and the sixth generation adding Ford’s acclaimed EcoBoost engines to the mix, along with some really funky styling. And let’s not forget the surprise performance package presented by the two generations of ST derivatives, which were both real giant-slayers in their day.

The fifth-generation Fiesta was so good that it was allowed to live on as the first-generation Figo, which itself became a leader in the budget hatchback segment. We’re currently being offered seventh generation, and it’s showing every sign of continuing the preceding model’s success story. The humble little Fiesta has indeed made it to the big time.

No more ST, sadly, but the others are pretty good

While the two variations of Fiesta ST we did receive were quite popular among local enthusiasts, Ford South Africa has decided against bringing the latest ST to our shores. The official reason is that its new 1.5-litre EcoBoost 3-cylinder engine wouldn’t be compatible with our fuel quality, but there’s a strong suspicion that it simply won’t be cost-effective to import this sporty number. This argument holds water when one considers that its main competitor, the Volkswagen Polo GTI is now locally-built, which gives it a big price advantage, while even the lower-powered new Fiestas are already on the expensive side.

The range opens up with the 1.0T EcoBoost Trend (74 kW and 170 Nm), which retails at R269 900 in manual format or R285 500 with an automatic gearbox (both are 6-speed transmissions). That money buys you decent equipment, including electric windows all round, Sync III touch screen infotainment system with steering wheel controls, 16-inch alloy wheels, stability control, and 6 airbags. The 1.5 TDCi has the same standard equipment, but has only 63 kW and 175 Nm from its 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine, and a retail price of R300 900.

Topping the local model range are two 1.0T EcoBoost Titanium derivatives (again with 6-speed manual- or automatic transmissions), with the manual getting a power upgrade to 92 kW, even though its torque remains at 170 Nm. The automatic variant retains the 74 kW engine as featured in the petrol Trend derivatives, but gets the same comfort- and cosmetic improvements as the manual. These include (among other items) keyless entry with pushbutton start, 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic climate control, cruise control, and a leather steering wheel rim. The Titanium manual has a list price of R304 900, and the Titanium automatic retails for R319 900.

Now if only we could get the new ST as well... Even at a price premium, we don’t doubt that it would find plenty of buyers among our hot hatch-crazy buying public. But, be that as it may, all of the new Fiestas have impressive build- and trim quality, really engaging driving dynamics, very good refinement, and a comprehensive specification sheet. If you’re looking for a small hatchback, they don’t come much better than this. Given the Fiesta’s humble beginnings, praise could not be any higher than this.