Generic Car Comparison: Ford Fiesta vs. two of its competitors

By Martin Pretorius 

If you want a small hatchback that isn't a VW Polo, there are a whole bunch of enticing alternatives out there. We compare the new Ford Fiesta to two alternatives.

Thousands of buyers vote with their wallets every month, and their consensus is clearly that the Volkswagen Polo is the first choice in small hatchbacks. But for those buyers who want something slightly outside of the mainstream, a whole world of interesting, worthy alternatives is ready to steal buyers from the ubiquitous German.

One of these challengers is the recently-redesigned Ford Fiesta – a car which has always battled to make an impression on the Polo's market dominance. Opel's Corsa is fighting the same uphill battle, while the current Mazda2 has, for some reason, never managed to get as much affection as it deserves, either. We've decided to put the entry-level Fiesta up against the equivalent Corsa and Mazda2, to see which one poses the strongest challenge of them all. As always, pricing was the guiding factor, with a price difference of less than R14 000 between the least and most expensive offerings. Let's see how these non-Polo small hatchbacks compare:

	Ford Fiesta 1.0T Trend	Opel Corsa 1.0T Enjoy	Mazda2 1.5 Individual
Engine size (cyl/size)	3-cyl, 1.0-litre, turbo-petrol	3-cyl, 1.0-litre, turbo-petrol	4-cyl, 1.5-litre, petrol
Power/Torque	74 kW/170 Nm	85 kW/170 Nm	82 kW/145 Nm
Kerb Weight	1 163 kg	1 220 kg	1 050 kg
Length (mm)	4 040	4 021	4 060
Wheelbase (mm)	2 493	2 510	2 570
Airbag count	6	6	2
Ave Consumption *	4.3 ℓ/100 km	5.0 ℓ/100 km	5.5 ℓ/100 km
Warranty	4 yr/120 000 km	5 yr/120 000 km	3 yr/Unlimited km
Price	R 261 900	R 256 429	R  248 400

*Manufacturer's official figures.

Analysis

There's a clear difference between the philosophy of the European cars and that of the Japanese contender: both the Ford and the Opel have 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engines, while the Mazda uses a high-compression, normally-aspirated 1.5-litre 4-cylinder to achieve roughly the same results. Of course, the force-fed Europeans both offer a fair bit more torque (170 Nm in each case, compared to the Mazda's 145 Nm), which will give them a drivability advantage at high altitude. The Mazda's engine compensates with a free-revving nature, but even with its competitive power output, that torque deficit is difficult to ignore.

However, they all offer slick-shifting 6-speed manual gearboxes, which fit nicely into their remit of providing a sporting driving experience, even if their outright performance isn't exactly in the breathtaking category. The same applies to their driving dynamics, where they all have athletic handling and a surprising amount of road grip. Of these three, the Mazda is probably the sharpest to hurtle around corners, due in no small measure to its decisive weight advantage. On top of that, Mazda's engineers have devoted a lot of effort to the development of a chassis which offers an engaging driving experience without compromising on ride comfort – and managing that while realising a decent weight saving should give you an idea of the thorough engineering going on underneath its skin.

They're all pretty well-equipped, even though the Fiesta is the entry-level variant of its range. The Corsa and Mazda2 both nestle around the tops of their ranges, but their spec sheets aren't really all that more comprehensive than those of the newer Fiesta. Such is the price of progress. However, the Mazda2 has one serious downside, and that relates to its safety equipment. All three of these cars have stability control and ABS brakes, but the Mazda is the only one without 6 airbags in this group. Instead, it makes do with only two airbags, and that's quite a significant handicap in this company.

It may sound like a really repetitive mantra, but given the state of our roads, and with the proliferation of less-than-competent and distracted road users all around us, there really is no reason not to give a car as much safety equipment as possible. As a result, the Mazda2 has to fall by the wayside, even with its excellent cabin design, first-class driving experience, and lowest list price. Fortunately, the other two are almost as much fun to drive, and have equally-strong value propositions. Whichever one you prefer is sure to make you very happy – especially when you prefer something just that little bit unusual.