Ford Fiesta Des Moines

Click Here to Check Out Our New Ford Fiesta Inventory in IA!!

The Ford Fiesta is among the best of an impressive choice of recently redesigned subcompacts. Completely redesigned for 2011, Fiesta carries over with no significant changes for 2012. Some believe the second year of production is the sweet spot: All the bugs have been worked out yet the design is still new enough to offer the latest advances in safety engineering and fuel efficiency. If that's true, the 2012 Ford Fiesta is in the sweet spot.  We found the Fiesta feels right at home running around town and on weekend errands. It slips conveniently into fleeting gaps in stop and go urban traffic and into space limited parking slots. 

Handling in the 2012 Fiesta

The Fiesta is powered by a 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine. We found its 120 horsepower sufficient to tackle the daily commute in stride. The ride quality is smooth, important in the daily grind. Wind and road noise is decently muted. Steering feel is certain, the Fiesta goes where you point it, and it doesn't lean much in corners at responsible speeds. It handles long weekend drives well, also. Handling is easily controlled. We saw little body roll through the tight corners, the car maintaining a relatively flat composure. Powering out of those corners, however, did not shove our backsides into the seat cushion

Interior Features of the '12 Ford Fiesta

The dominant feature of the dashboard is not the instrument panel, with its analog speedometer, tachometer and fuel gauge, but the center of the dashboard. Ford says the array of infotainment controls housed in a brushed metallic pod and topped by a deeply hooded data screen was intended to evoke thoughts of a PDA or a smart phone; one also might think of the Starship Enterprise or something along those lines. Seats are comfortable and minimally bolstered, which is good for ease of ingress and egress and quite adequate for the Fiesta, which really doesn't invite vigorous driving.  

Exterior Features of the '12 Ford Fiesta

Ford stylists describe the lower grille opening as a reverse trapezoid. Bottom-feeding catfish fits, too. The body colored treatment of the hatchback's upper grille is a better fit for the car's proportions, and market position, than the Ford Fusion themed horizontal chrome strips on the sedan. The geometrical exercises that frame the LED driving lights on the uplevel models conflict with the otherwise, flowing round shapes of the front fascia and the double creased fender arches.   The posterior of the sedan is econo car generic and wouldn't look out of place on any number of Pacific rim import brands. The chrome strip topping the license plate recess gives the trunk lid a touch of class. The black valance panel across the bottom of the rear bumper helpfully reduces the visual mass. The hatchback's vertically arrayed taillights brace the liftgate, which is hinged far enough forward that opening demands minimal space behind the car. The spoiler perches atop the rear window like an eyelid. The lip running the full width of the liftgate ties into the upper side character line and gives some heft to the lower portion of the liftgate, contrasting well with a black lower valance slightly more prominent than the sedan's.

Model Lineup

The 2012 Ford Fiesta comes as four door sedan or five door hatchback, all with the same 120 hp 1.6-liter four cylinder engine. The standard transmission is a 5 speed manual; optional is the 6 speed twin clutch, electrically shifted, automated manual.

Fiesta S sedan comes standard with air conditioning, cloth upholstery, a new driver's-seat armrest, 60/40 split fold down rear seatback, four speaker, 40 watt AM/FM stereo, power door locks and outside mirrors with new spotter mirror, carpeted front floor mats,rear seat heat ducts, and cloth door panel trim. Steel wheels with a eight spoke hubcap wear 185/65R15 tires. Options include a convenience package combining a CD/MP3 player with remote keyless entry and auto lock doors. Fiesta SE comes with the Fiesta S convenience package content plus upgraded upholstery, metallic painted interior trim accents, power windows, trip computer, and 195/60R15 tires, still on steel wheels.

Fiesta SEL has everything that is standard and optional on the S and the SE, plus rear seat floor mats, seven color ambient lighting, a second, rear seat auxiliary power point, auto dim rearview mirror, SIRIUS satellite radio, and leather wrapped steering wheel. Fiesta SEL comes with 195/50R16 tires on painted aluminum wheels.

The Fiesta hatchback has two trim levels, SEL and SES. Standard equipment on the SE hatchback tracks the SE sedan's, as does the available package combining SYNC with a stereo upgrade. Also available is the sport appearance group and a package combining both packages, both cost less because the hatchback comes standard with a spoiler. Fiesta SES is equipped similarly to SEL and offers the same upgrade package, described above, for the same price.

Conclusions

The Ford Fiesta is a fresh entry in an increasingly popular and important market, the small, fuel efficient runabout.  If you are in the market for a new car look at the 2012 Ford Fiesta.

Some of the information for this review was obtained through newcartestdrive.com