Fun for fall in a Ford Fiesta - review via longer rental of one week

[trinacriabob]

With some scouring and luck, I was able to get a weekly rental at a price folks were more accustomed to seeing.  This was at the end of last month, right around when fall colors peaked in some places.

I was booked for a "mid-size," for which the icon showed a Nissan Sentra.  Once I got to the rental agency, there was indeed a Nissan Sentra.  However, I saw a Ford Fiesta - a "compact" - toward the edge of the lot and asked if I could have that, instead.  The rental agent obliged.  It was interesting that this was a 2019 and with miles that were low enough to allow it to remain in the rental fleet.

For some strange reason, I get a kick out of the Ford Fiesta.  It looks narrow from the outside and with a "Focus on tippy toes" look.  It incorporates the shared design vocabulary of Fusion-Focus-Fiesta and does it in a jellybean package that rakes sharply downward toward the front of the car.  Most angles look fairly good, with a few that are clunky.

Let's start with the interior and the creature comforts.  The seats have a normal enough shape, are finished in a durable cloth with a cheap looking pattern you might see in a European econobox, and, over a week, I did not encounter any discomfort or too much fatigue from being in them for a long time.  The seats sit fairly low and I had to ratchet that lever to move them up so I had the visibility that suited me.  The dashboard is mostly simple.  Two big "mostly" circular pods jut out at the driver, with analog speedo, tach, and fuel gauge, while temperature is shown as a digital bar.  The center stack is really easy to work with - the climate controls are logical and the infotainment center resides in that funky little hut jutting out at the top of the dashboard cowl.  It was fairly sensible to operate its touch commands, too.  The geared transmission lever is smartly placed and the feel of moving it indicates its assembly is good.  The only thing that took a little bit of getting used to was the operation of the stalks.  The left one has all the info settings and the right one has a extension that you push in for a quick wash and wipe from the wipers.  The buttons on the steering wheel are fewer than most cars have today, making them easier to learn and operate.  The car had excellent visibility, especially toward the rear, which is important to me.  

In terms of the comical, Fiestas tend to have colored lighting in the front footwells and the console cupholders.  I've had purple and blue ones before.  This time, I got one with gold lighting.  That completes experiencing all 3 of these schemes!  Also, this one had a urethane steering wheel.  I'm not aware if the packages for this car allowed for a leather steering wheel, but, even if the ride and handling qualities are the exact same, a leather wheel strongly changes that perception for the better.

There were a few demerits for the interior.  The first is that, while there was a 12V lighter slot, the USB ports were inside the console box.  There was a little passage beneath the latch that let you put the cord outside the console box.  No USB port was near the lighter.  Another issue is that there are no interior latches to release the trunk and the fuel door.  I would like both, but, if I had to pick, would want the remote fuel door.

The car had a normally aspirated 1.6 liter engine.  (That translates to almost 100 cubic inches in old school terms.)  This engine worked well with the Fiesta, and even works well in the slightly larger Focus.  You hear what it's doing at almost all times, with a slight exhaust hum at freeway cruise.  It rarely gets grainy, but, at certain rpm ranges, it might.  The transmission was a geared 6 speed automatic unit.  (And that's part of why I chose it over the Nissan Sentra, which has a CVT).  The Focus-Fiesta 6 speed automatic has seem some bad years, per the reviews, and even in one with under 20,000 miles I rented about 5 years ago.  There was a shudder in, at the very least, the 1-2 shift.  This one had no such issues at almost twice that mileage.  I will say that the shifts are kind of unusual and, again, resemble those of European econoboxes with automatic transmissions.  There is an audible spooling up of the rpms followed by an audible drop in the rpms, which tells you that the transmission has changed gears.  That finely tuned bump-up you sense in more finished car is just not there.  You don't feel much of anything in ordinary driving but, of course, do so when you've gotten into the accelerator to merge or pass.  As for passing, be very cautious when doing so.  This car is adequately powered, but doesn't have power to spare.

The handling and road manners of this car are what would be expected.  Like professional and consumer reviews state, the Fiesta is fun to zip around in.  It's nimble.  It sort of reminds me of the Hyundai Accent, which also had a geared 6 speed automatic until just a few years ago.  They are both adult go-karts.  For being so small, the ride was acceptable.  It rides nicely enough on interstates, good city roads, and especially on rural 2-lane roads.  If rough roads are encountered, this car will "speak up."  The car isn't overly noisy, but the ride can get a little buzzy and a long trip would require breaks.  This was confirmed when I got home and got behind the wheel of a car about 10 years older than it, and with over 100,000 miles, and the quieter and smoother ride was all too apparent.  Keep in mind that this is/was an entry-level car within the Ford family.

Under the hood, it's fairly well organized with reachable dipsticks and ways to see if you have the right fluids and oils.  The only one I could not find was a dipstick for the automatic transmission.  Perhaps it's a sealed unit or it's measured from a less conventional place.  The battery is up top, slightly to the right, so not at all a challenge to replace.  There is even an area behind the engine where you can see through to the pavement below.

I believe that final assembly for these Fiestas is at a plant in Hermosillo, Mexico.  While that won't bring on a snicker for a Focus, it does bring on a snicker for a Fiesta.  I never made that connection before.

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Photos forthcoming

Edited November 16, 2021 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

I forgot to mention fuel economy for this car.  I rarely forget to do that!

My composite mpg for mixed (mostly highway) driving was 38 mpg.  The one all highway tank that I calculated brought in 42 mpg.  That's impressive.

[trinacriabob]

EXTERIOR

Side view - guess where?  Three guesses and the first two don't count

Angled front view

Angled rear view

It took on the two-lane roads nimbly given how narrow its stance looks

They did a nice of incorporating the Fusion and Focus design lingo into this smaller, more wedge-like package

"Aerial view" of the car

INTERIOR

Dash, which I think is fairly nice looking for an entry-level car, as seen from the driver's side

Dash as seen from the passenger's side

Speedometer, tach, and fuel use gauges - temperature is shown by a bar digital readout - steering wheel controls are more spartan than in up-level cars

The hutch is funny and sort of "cute" in a weird way - some Andrea True on Bluetooth to motor along to

This is the vertical expanse of the center stack and automatic gear lever

Kudos for a very simple climate control panel

Not too spacious in the rear for tall or big people, but fine for "smaller" people

I really liked the visibility out the rear backlite

The trunk was very roomy - it's that it's tucked in under the raked roofline - and this has an obvious 60-40 split rear seat

MECHANICAL

Everything looks accessible and there is even some spare space beyond from where you can see the pavement, with the only thing I couldn't find being a transmission fluid dipstick

This has 1.6 liter 4 that is naturally aspirated, was built in Mexico, and fetched 42 mpg on its best, all highway tank of gas

The ABS system control box is at the rear left and there is a big cover over what is probably the drive belt

There are drum brakes at the rear, behind those respectable looking alloy wheels, and, of course, disc brakes up front

That's all, folks

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End of photos

 

[ccap41]

35 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

I'm in one of those buildings in the background... 

[trinacriabob]

43 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I'm in one of those buildings in the background... 

That would sure beat where I was taking this, and a few other, photos!

[oldshurst442]

7 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I'm in one of those buildings in the background... 

Office building you work in the background?  Cool.

Might want to ease off on the honey there buddy, you've put on quite a bit a weight there since the last time you posted a pic of yourself.     

 

 

 

 

[ccap41]

On 11/19/2021 at 9:54 PM, oldshurst442 said:

Office building you work in the background?  Cool.

Might want to ease off on the honey there buddy, you've put on quite a bit a weight there since the last time you posted a pic of yourself.     

 

 

 

 

Hahaha yup, office building in the background.

It's kind of funny that I work in downtown St. Louis, MO but I live in a small town of about 10,000 people surrounded by farm fields and this is only a 40 minute drive.