Quick Spin: 2011 Ford Fiesta

By Samuel Spencer

604 views Jul 28, 2010

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After waiting for weeks and weeks for Fiestas to arrive on the lot, a truckload of seven arrived today and I finally got to spend a little time behind the wheel and nitpick at Ford's new B-segment entry.

On the face of it, Ford is looking to win with the Fiesta. They have spent tons of energy advertising the absolute heck out of this car with the Fiesta Movement, elaborate displays in dealerships and expensive looking commercials. They should be doing so, because in person the car looks just as great as it does in the advertisements. The obnoxiously green Lime Squeeze is a bit too harsh on the eyes for a car you have to drive every single day, but there are plenty of other exciting bright colors to choose from.

Ignore Ford's claimed MSRP of just around $13,000 though. That does not include the inevitable destination charges, or the six-speed Power Shift dual-clutch automatic transmission, which most of them are equipped with. After that, a base model ends up at just over $15,000. Sadly, the transmission is a bit of a klutz. It likes to make the car jerk around and roll backwards. It makes maneuvering around a parking lot (basically my job) really annoying.

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The electronic power steering, however, makes maneuvering a cinch. The steering is light and easy at slow speeds, and once moving it adds weight to feel more like the steering in a MINI. Praise doesn't get higher than that.

So for now, I can say that in some parts the Fiesta lives up to the hype, and in some areas (transmission) it falls a little bit short. Stay tuned for a full comparison against the Honda Fit in the weeks to come.