Aside from driving all of the high performance offerings at Ford’s Deaborne test facility, we thought it might be a good idea to familiarize ourselves with a product that we should be seeing a lot more of in the near future. This little green Ford Fiesta is not the production version that will be sold as a 2010 model, but instead a European spec Fiesta, complete with a speedometer that read in kilometers.
We weren’t provided with any official specs for the Fiesta because Ford is still finalizing the design in order to provide American consumers with the best Fiesta possible. When we spoke with the Fiesta’s Brand Manager Sam de la Garza, who was extremely excited about the new car; he told us that the final production version will be very similar to what we drove, the only changes to the body will come from government mandated safety regulations. In the U.S. the importance is put on passengers surviving a crash while in Europe the magistrates are more concerned with how the unfortunate pedestrian will fair.
The Fiesta felt just like an old GTI; it was nimble and quick thanks to its light weight. The engine is peppy, but it is clear that the blue oval engineers tuned the four cylinder lump for economy and not peak performance. The Fiesta feels comfortable at speed, however it takes a while to get up there. There is not a lot of acceleration under the hood, but whatever speed you are able to muster can easily be carried through any corner. We liked the Fiesta, however we are waiting for a WRC inspired model, or an appearance package based on the Pikes Peak cars, but our friend Sam let us know that Ford was first going to worry about getting the car into U.S. showrooms.
The automaker from Hiroshima dropped a bomb on the automotive market when they came up with the new Mazda3, styled heavily with Nagare inspired lines and bulges this was truly an economy car that you would aspire to own. The exterior of the Mazda3 is interesting to say the least, made up of a multitude of complex curves and detailed lines evidence that the Japanese design team put a good amount of their own blood, sweat and tears into the economy car car’s design. Starting at just under $16,000 for a sedan and closer to $20,000 for the hatchback, the Mazda3 packs a whole lot of car into an affordable package. If you upgrade the sadden to the touring model, not only do you get wave mesh grills, Bi-Xenon headlamps and sporty front and rear bumpers complete with a lip spoiler, but you also get the wonderful 2.5 Liter four cylinder that makes 167 HP and 168 lb-ft of torque to go along with your beautifully sculpted people mover.
The exterior is highlighted by a sense of depth added by the hollow emblem on the front bumper and our car’s Crystal White Pearl Mica paint covered the wide wheel arches that housed a set of stylish 17 inch rims. The Mazda screams style, filled with playful bodylines. When compared to another automobile that we recently tested based on the same platform. We liked the Focus Coupe, and it reminded us of a serious Ford of the past, but the Focus is as plain Jane as sporty can try to be, but the Ford’s exterior was just flat. There was no depth like the Mazda, whereas the Focus is definitely for the person who wants the most car for their buck, while the 3 screams fun for a few dollars more.
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The 2009 Ford Focus Coupe is an excellent economy car that features attractive fastback styling that will make you think twice about this car’s role as an econobox. Our Focus gives the impression of being a sports car with its Sangria Red metallic paint, large rear wing and rally inspired 17 inch premium dark painted wheels. However the exterior is only the beginning of the story, it was the interior of our $20,000 Ford Focus Coupe that made us fans of the well finished affordable method of transportation. It’s not the gauges or the synthetic door panels, but the Medium Stone leather seats and Ford’s voice commanded Sync audio system that earned our affection. These are two luxuries that you won’t find in many other $20,000 new cars.
Our Focus is powered by a 2.0 Liter Duratec 16 valve four cylinder engine that makes 143 HP when connected to a 5 speed manual transmission. The blue oval guys claim that the Coupe comes with a sport tuned exhaust as well as a sport tuned suspension, two things we thoroughly enjoyed listening to and putting through its paces. Despite the sporty nature of the Focus Coupe, Ford is already ready for the future CAFÉ standards because our car gets an EPA estimated 35 MPG.
However, no matter how good the Focus is, for some reason U.S. consumers have never been able to focus on the car’s highlights. You have to travel all of the way to Europe where the Ford Focus has earned multiple Car of the Year awards where these automobiles stand for value, sport and convenience. If only Ford could convince domestic consumers how good this car really is, perhaps next year wouldn’t be a Europe only model.
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Citroen has recently revealed the C-Cactus concept a couple of years ago at the 2007 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Due to this funky looking compact car’s warm reception from the public, the French automaker is seriously considering turning the concept car into full fledged production vehicle.
The C-Cactus is powered by a 70 HP HDi diesel engine combined with a particulate filter to clean the noxious gasses and an electric motor for additional propulsion, to the tune of 30 HP. The C-Cactus consumes slightly over 69 miles per gallon of diesel over a combined driving cycle; while emitting a very Euro important 78 g/km of CO2. If the U.S. can ever learn to accept the benefits of clean diesel technology we too could benefit from these efficient little machines.
We here at Top Speed have thoroughly enjoyed our run with the subcompact Toyota Yaris. Since we received the tiny five door, we have thoroughly tested the car both on highway and off. The VVT-i 1.5 Liter four cylinder works hard at higher speeds, but is able to chug along with the flow of traffic. Despite the car’s smaller footprint, the Yaris is extremely spacious on the interior, and the cloth seats were extremely comfortable on our two hour highway stint. The Yaris did quite well on the open road, the car was able to get up to speed quickly, there was minimal exterior noise in the cabin and the seating position kept the controls in easy reach while allowing you to relax for the duration of the trip.
The Yaris shines in a crowded urban environment. The way that the wheels are pushed out to the far corners, just like the original compact car the Mini, allows for many of the same benefits. There is maximum use of the interior space, weaving in and out of traffic is a breeze and finding a parking space has never been easier. For those reasons and many more, we don’t mind trading in massaging seatbacks and fancy hard drive based navigation units for a simpler, less-complicated automobile. However our favorite feature of the Yaris are all the storage compartments hidden in the dashboard.
The Toyota Yaris is not only a great first car; it is also a great second car. Save the 599 for the weekends, tell your wife that you’ll be taking the Yaris to the office today, you’ll just have to be selective about which clubs to bring to the driving range after work, because an entire golf bag definitely won’t fit in the trunk. But for around $15,000 you can’t go wrong with a Toyota Yaris, it also comes with one of the greatest guarantees in the world, it’s a Toyota.
