Ford Fiesta

Text: Sam Hardy / Photos: Larson

22nd August 2007

A star is born. These are the first and exclusive pictures of the all-new Fiesta. And they reveal how the Ford baby draws its inspiration from the latest Mondeo and the excellent S-MAX people carrier to create a supermini that’s as exciting to look at as any of its rivals.

It goes on sale next year, and Ford has chosen now to reveal its latest baby at the Frankfurt Motor Show – where it will share centre-stage with the new Kuga 4x4 and the facelifted version of the Focus.

Although insiders are currently referring to it as the B-Car Concept, the model shows how the replacement for the Fiesta will look when it arrives on main dealer forecourts in the middle of next year.

As you can see right now, the next Fiesta will get a dramatic look which combines all of Ford’s trademark styling cues together in the sportiest supermini shape the company has ever produced.

The car has been penned by a team led by Martin Smith – Ford of Europe’s executive director of design – and it follows on from stunning concept models such as the Iosis and Iosis X. And as our spy shots in Issue 974 showed, the next-generation Fiesta will be much more distinctive than the current machine.

At the front, there’s a big trape-zoidal air intake, although for the Fiesta it’s larger than on other Ford models. Above it sits a chrome two-bar grille with the blue oval badge in its centre. The edges of the headlights stretch all the way to the top of the wheelarches, which themselves are highly pronounced.

The sides of the bonnet are raised to meet the chunky A-pillars, and with sculpted flanks and a rising waistline, the Fiesta has plenty of visual drama in profile. As you can see, there’s a panoramic glass sunroof, too – another new feature set to star on the finished model.

It’s equally striking at the rear. The sweeping shoulder line forms a distinctive angular C-pillar shape, which is an evolution of that seen on the S-MAX. Bold lights are then sandwiched between the tailgate and the window line, which features more sharp angles.

On the final production model, the front grille is expected to be toned down slightly, and reworked so it’s smaller, while the alloy wheels will make way for less showy rims. However, the basic shape of the car will not change much at all.

And this is the key. Now that the brand has a well recognised reputation among customers for driver-pleasing dynamics – and the Fiesta promises to top the class in that respect – it wants to be known for producing family models that also set the benchmark for styling.

However, the new Fiesta faces fierce competition in this sector of the market, with the Fiat Grande Punto, Skoda Fabia and Vauxhall Corsa all vying for buyers’ attention.

A stiff challenge will also be provided by the all-new 2 from Ford-owned Mazda – the Fiesta shares its chassis technology with this car. Inside, owners will benefit from a higher-quality finish and more space. The Fiesta is also tipped to make use of the Sync technology Ford has developed in conjunction with PC giant Microsoft. This will see connectivity for MP3 players and Bluetooth wireless mobile phones included.

Under the bonnet, there will be a wide range of engines. Petrol choices comprise 1.3, 1.6 and 1.8-litre Duratec SCi direct-injection units. Mean-while, diesel buyers can take their pick from the 1.4 and 1.6-litre TDCi powerplants Ford has co-developed with PSA Peugeot Citroen.

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