km : First Drive

When getting to know a new car and trying to figure out what it's about, there is often a single defining moment. For me and the new Ford Fiesta, it happened on the Mulholland Highway, northwest of Los Angeles — at the right time of day, it's a great road you can actually have pretty much all to yourself. It was mid-morning on a particularly twisty section of the highway near Calabasas, where there are virtually no cross roads or driveways, and I was digging this car as much as almost anything I'd ever driven or ridden there. On that sunny day, in this undeniably good car, I was thoroughly enjoying the run through the myriad turns, completely lost in the moment.

That was when I came around a corner — sight lines limited by the rocky hills the road cuts through — only to see a CHP cruiser pulled into a lay-by on the opposite side of the road, pointed straight at me. I saw something mirror-like winking at me from behind the wheel of the Crown Vic, reflecting off the sun rising behind me, and realized it was the lens of the hand-held laser/radar unit moving around as the officer attempted to get a reading. (Off-topic note — thank you, State of Michigan, for not issuing those pesky front license plates that make such a nice target for cops to bounce their signal from.)

I got off the gas but didn't brake, trying to appear as innocent as possible; besides, if he had a reading it was too late anyway. I glanced down at the speedo, marked only in this Euro-spec Fiesta's kilometers per hour, and saw it pointing well below the critical 100-km/h mark and dropping, as the engine braking slowed my roll. It then dawned on me — I really wasn't going that fast, but I was certainly having a lot of fun. As I rolled by the cop, he looked at me with that guilty-until-proven-innocent look they must actually teach at the police academy, but he made no move to come after me.

Sound like a review for an economy car? It is for this one. The encounter served to underline this Fiesta's capabilities. We're talking about a car built by, and primarily intended for, Europeans. Its main objective is to be an efficient people mover in places where small hatches are preferred transportation, in absolute deference to our land of 5000-pound crossovers. But next year Ford is aiming the Fiesta's aggressive snout at our shores. It is super economical, built to come in at an affordable price point of around $16,000, and tailor-made to help Ford raise its corporate average fuel economy. Yet despite its mundane job description, the Fiesta is still light on its feet and sophisticated enough in its abilities that you can't help but come away deeply impressed with the way it stirs up the inner hooligan.

Small cars in the United States have it rough. Ford seems to understand this. Even as it continued to pump out trucks and SUVs, it quietly went about the task of making sure its newest version of its B-class subcompact, the Fiesta, was capable of meeting guidelines worldwide, including the United States — a market the Fiesta line had not visited since the late Seventies. Its reintroduction on our shores was not a given, but Ford went ahead with the contingency plan, just in case.

That case has arrived. The Fiesta is due to arrive as a 2011 model late next year. It will arrive with all the features necessary to satisfy both the safety requirements of the government and the creature comfort requirements of the average American buyer. It will be Ford's entry-level model, the kind of car aimed at teen drivers, recent college graduates and other people who generally buy their cars with the same passion they have for end tables. Yet it will be available with a variety of convenience features — the example loaned to us came with Bluetooth, a trip computer, auto climate control, power everything, and multiple media player connections.

A couple of caveats before we go any further. The Fiesta we drove was a European-specification car, though Ford insists that certain critical elements like the suspension tuning will remain unchanged. Also, the test car was a three-door hatch, while the version we'll see here will be a four-door sedan (and probably the five-door.) Finally, this test car, as with most of the Fiestas available to the motoring press, was equipped with summer performance tires — Continental SportContact2s, in 195/45ZR16 size. American cars will come standard with all-season rubber as far as we know, and that will change the dynamics and ultimate grip to some degree.

The Fiesta is very good at its primary mission; the engine - a 1.6-liter twin-cam four - over-delivers. Torquey, eager to rev (and sounding good while doing so), it smoothly delivers its 118 horsepower and revs right past the 6000-rpm redline to the 6500-rpm fuel cutoff without a hint of stress. The transmission, a five-speed manual in our test car, is direct and well weighted, adding to the overall enjoyment. The Fiesta is best described as "zippy" around town with plenty of oomph down low. The worst fuel economy recorded during our week — a slog that included some 0-60 runs (averaging around 9.2 seconds), typical morning LA metro traffic, and spirited runs through the higher-elevation canyon roads - still topped 31 miles per gallon.

The Fiesta really excels at the urban commute; it's great at getting into the gaps, has trustworthy handling and brakes, and a mostly excellent view of all corners of the car (though the stout, steeply raked C-pillars do create considerable blind spots). The seats are decent, offering reasonable support in the corners, and are comfortable enough for a longer highway drive; still, a little more lower-back support would be appreciated. At speed on the highway, the car is a gem — relatively quiet and composed, the only issue being a mild susceptibility to swaying in strong crosswinds. The transmission is geared to keep the motor right in its sweet spot on the Interstate, which allows decent acceleration and the added ability to deal with steep grades without the need to downshift.

But in the tight, twisty mountain roads surrounding greater Los Angeles, the Fiesta truly stands out. The car has some inherent advantages so hard to come by in this era of multiple airbags and body structures built to withstand the occasionally unavoidable offset crash. Twenty-six hundred pounds feels amazingly lithe these days, and the Fiesta uses its modest weight to great advantage. Transitional response feels quick and accurate; it's a running back of a car with serious mobility from sideline to sideline. The Fiesta's suspension feels perfectly judged, riding over the rough downtown L.A. streets with amazing sophistication, yet still strong enough to withstand the hardest run in the canyons. Body roll is a bit more plentiful than we'd like, but is more than acceptable given the car's abilities over such a wide range of road conditions. The brakes, while confidence-inspiring on initial stops, exhibit mild fade on prolonged downhill runs.

This Fiesta is a reminder of the kind of chassis magic of which European Fords are typically endowed; cars that defy their humble origins and provide genuine joy for us junkies. But just as important as the driving experience is the level of overall vehicle quality. You see some minor evidence of cost cutting if you look for it — no carpeting on the backs of the rear seats, for example — but at this price level, you usually have to choose between quality plastic or a quality chassis. This car gives you both, and an eager, smooth motor that likes to rev, with enough torque to scoot out of corners. You get a lot for your money here. The gauges are clear and legible, and the multi-function screen in the top center of the dash is easy to work with, bathed in a pleasant red dot matrix display. Nothing overly fancy, mind you, but certainly clean, well laid-out and with a high level of tactile quality as well.

So this car has what we look for in our favorite rides — balance. It isn't a sports car, but it's such a cohesive piece, where all the parts increase the value of the total sum, that when driving it, you look for excuses to explore its athletic ability. And on tight, narrow roads where there's no room for error, even the pedigreed racers are going to have to think twice about challenging this mini-mite. We only hope when Ford starts building the US-market Fiestas in Mexico next year that nothing gets lost in translation.

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