One of the advantages when getting rid of (or leaving) something is the propensity to use up supplies on your way out the door. Moving out tomorrow? Better drink all that beer in the fridge. Trading the car in this afternoon? Let’s drive around to burn off the remaining fuel we put in the tank last week.
It would seem the Blue Oval subscribes to this theory as well. With all of its cars headed to the glue factory, some base models have actually gained features while keeping their sticker price steady.
Case in point? The Fiesta S, now with air conditioning.
Stickering at just $14,260, the entry-level Fiesta sedan has picked up a few toys on its way out the door. Gotta use up all that inventory, I guess. Conditioned air is now standard, along with a backup camera and stereo system with six speakers. The unit still looks like Worf’s forehead but at least it includes Bluetooth.
A 1.6-liter inline-four lives under the hood, making 120 horsepower and good for 30 mpg on the combined cycle when hooked to the five-speed manual. Note that the 1.0L has gone away for 2019, not that it would make the Ace of Base grade, anyway. New drivers in places like San Francisco will appreciate the hill-holder function, at least when they’re not dodging homeless people on rechargeable scooters.
The driver’s seat now adjusts six different ways. Paired with a tilt/telescope wheel, all but NBA stars should be able to make themselves comfortable in the driver’s chair of the Fiesta. Not mentioned in the literature but illustrated in pictures (so check for yourself at the dealer) are height-adjustable seatbelts, a comfort feature not found at any price in some expensive new pickups. Windows here are of the crank-‘em variety.
This sedanlet does have a 60/40 folding rear seat, worth noting since base models would sometimes cheap out and deploy a unit that folded as a single piece (100/0, perhaps?) or not at all. Rear seat riders will also find their own climate ducting.
Styling is always subjective, but the Fiesta is kind of, just, there. At least a couple of dramatic character lines break up the side view and it does not have a tragic rear overhang like the woeful Versa sedan, a machine which makes a Beirut taxi look attractive. Sadly, only three colors are on offer in the base model, though you can have any interior shade you want so long as it’s black.
Generally unstated in this series but worth mentioning this time around is the likely presence of rebates as dealers try to shuffle the last of these sedan off their lots. Right now, some markets have a $1,000 incentive on 2019 models. Pair that with its newfound content, and the base Fiesta sings a pretty good farewell song.
[Images: Ford]
Not every base model has aced it. The ones that have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments. Naturally, feel free to eviscerate our selections.
The model above is shown with American options and is priced in Freedom Dollars. As always, your dealer may sell for less.
That interior shot looks pretty dreary, like something from a 60s Lada or 70 AMC Hornet. Beyond low rent.
I thought the ION was bad…. And I never complain about “cheap plastic”.
Appreciate the time and space involved in the Ace Of Base Series. My favorite on TTAC.
No such thing as a “60s Lada” fwiw
I think that’s actually a computer rendering and not a real photo. Or it’s very heavily adjusted in tone and contrast. Either way, the real interior is not as bad as that. I was never in an Ion, but I have been in the Fiesta, and I would bet on the Fiesta winning that contest, no doubt.
Who would want to drive around an orphaned car like the Fiesta. However, I would take one for about $12,000. I guess it would make a decent delivery vehicle.
The ION was not perfect, but at least it was fun in a odd-ball sort of way. The Fiesta is just dull as dish water. The only remotely interesting vehicles Ford has are the Mustang and MKZ.
Hey, it is (or was) the best selling car in the u.k.!
Ford is now considered rubbish in the UK.
Is that why three of the top ten selling vehicles in the U.K. are Fords, including the Fiesta, which is still at the top (and has been going on 40 years, about as long as F-Series has been in the USA)?
Nahh. Facts don’t matter in your fantasy world, where workers striking somehow ends plant closures and everybody has a personal vendetta against Ford because their mom’s Fusion has wind buffeting at speed with some of the windows down.
This Fiesta isn’t really that bad. It’s sort of fun in a very plain way. Similar to a Toyota Yaris.
Ford in the UK is regarded by some as rubbish as they are ubiquitous, but also plenty of people buy them, either through fleets, habit, or still harbouring a belief that Ford is somehow British (Ford UK hasn’t existed since the 70s, and they no longer build vehicles in the UK).
Anyhow, the latest sales figures I could find were October 2018 which had the Fiesta (the latest ‘next gen’ blob-headlighted hatchback model) in 1st place, the Focus and Kuga (Escape) making the list in 5th and 7th place.
YTD for 2018 so far also has the Fiesta in 1st place, Focus and Kuga(Escape) in 5th and 8th place.
The only sedan on either of these lists is the new BMW 3 series in 9th place on the October figures.
https://www.smmt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/October-2018-best-sellers_cars.png
(FWIW the only Ford I ever owned was a 1992 Orion – an Escort sedan, based on the horrific 5th gen Euro Escort, it was a complete lemon and put me off, though I would like to try the Mondeo/Fusion and Mustang to see how far they’ve come since)
The Fiesta ST is Top Gear magazine’s car of the year too
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-magazine/revealed-winners-2018-top-gear-magazine-awards#16
For some reason, no BMW in recent memory includes height-adjustable seat belts. I wonder why.
Maybe all Germans are the same height?
Poor rear seat space and mediocre quality and tippy looking third world design ala Versa. In this segment I’m going right to the Koreans.
“tippy” design is spot on. Watching a Fiesta sedan head down a freeway at 80mph makes me uneasy with how they roll in crosswinds and dance over expansion joints on their inset 185-width tires
I have an almost irrational dislike of those slanted center stack buttons meant to invoke a 15-year-old cell phone.
You are not alone. It was stupid when the car came out, as the iPhone made traditional cell phones look antiquated years prior to the car’s release.
Wow! Tough crowd. I am not a fan of black interiors, but most cars seem to have them, and this one does not seem particularly offensive—especially if that is a base interior that they are showing there. Anyway, if you like small cars, it seems to have a lot of new car stuff for the money.
Cant you still buy a Mirage for cheaper? I think they use to have a 100k mile warranty like the Koreans.
Yes, and you can experience the joy of a Norelco razor 3 cylinder motor with well under 100 hp, a worse interior and it manages to look even cheaper outside. But, hey, at least you get that warranty that you could’ve added to the price of this car for pennies more a month.
You say this in a column about the Ford Festiva, er, Fiesta.
Even the Fiesta’s 3 cylinder had a turbo, and got better mileage than the non-turbo Mirage.
Turbo I3 mated to an awful automatic transaxle.
Read two good reviews about the Mirage:
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/mitsubishi/mirage/2015/
Crank windows , I thought they went the way of the dinosaurs , this is cheap first car which is much better than a cheap first car of 20 years ago.
It also has a proper transmission. Which makes it much more precious now, than it would have been 20 years ago.
Did they ever fix the horrid automatic from a few years ago? Was one of the few cars I thought was dangerous to drive…
You’re a… crank! Just kidding, very punny right?
Seriously though on a cheap econobox crank windows are a feature not a bug. Do you really want the $0.09 thin plastic window regulators they will put in them to meet the price point?
Agreed, the crank windows might actually be a selling point for people shopping in this car class.
The card isn’t an ace, but the joker! The Fiesta is an awful car. Owned one. It was in the shop more times than all my cars in the last twenty years combined. I had the manual transmission, so you think that was a good thing. It seals went bad, no oil, and had a warranty overhaul. Lots of electoral issues, one took four months to fix. Suspension issues. When Ford pays for the problem, they only replace one strut. When the other strut failed out of warranty, I now had to replace both.
I replaced it with a real Ace of Base. ’14 Accord base model with the 6 speed manual. 125000 trouble free miles later, and still flawless. In spite of being much bigger and faster, it gets only about 3 mpg less than the Fiesta and the same or better in winter.
And that is why Ford is no longer making cars…….
“Electoral issues”? Did you buy it in Broward county???
Last generation Jetta S. 1.4 liter 5 speed, 32 mpg. A/C, full controls on the wheel, acceptable electronics. $17k. Doesn’t feel like a penalty box. Leased for $180 per month. Power windows and locks. IRS, even…that last bit disappeared again on the base car.
Yep, for shorter term ownership, I’d say the Jetta is a good way to go in the Ace of Base class. If you want to buy and hold, I think the Elantra/Forte are good choices, especially once you factor in what the real world prices are on them.
Last generation Jetta S. 1.4 liter 5 speed, 32 mpg. A/C, full controls on the wheel, acceptable electronics. $17k. Doesn’t feel like a penalty box. Power windows and locks. IRS, even…that last bit disappeared again on the base car. Leased for $180 per month. Seats look cheap but are comfortable, and I’m whiny about seating.
The cheap car has pretty much exactly the same parts as the R or TDI and its a fascinating study of how they make the cheap car different in feel over the more luxury or sport intended vehicle. The Jetta is missing some soundproofing and absent AWD it’s all about degree.
Drove a Sentra once. It hurt.
Ford sucks at making cars.
Case Closed.