by Bryan Redeker

Now that I have completed a thousand mile road trip, here are some quick thoughts on what I noticed.

Likes:

Steering Wheel: The steering wheel is amazing! I am shocked at how many production steering wheels are no good for using as a steering wheel. The Fiesta’s wheel has the perfect spot for your thumbs on the spokes, and your fingers fit nicely around the rim. Lately, the spokes on production cars are full of a million buttons and are too thick. The current production Focus has one of the worst steering wheels ever designed. You have to drive it like a gangsta, or else you struggle to find a place for your hands. Terrible wheel, and it has no place in a car. The Fiesta steering wheel is a perfectly designed 3-spoke. Once again, don’t change it for the US cars.

 

Seats: Once adjusted for my body, the seats are very nice. I lowered the seat to its lowest position, and found it to be the best for me. No more back and knee pain while driving. Even the Recaro’s in my Focus give me some knee pain on long trips. Fiesta seats are well supported and great for long trips, no need to stop and stretch out. There is a stiff piece of foam in the seat that is a little too stiff for my lower back, but it is ok.

 

A place for everything: Finally, somebody designed an interior that looks good and has a place for my phone, iPod, glasses, bottled water, and anything else you need for a trip. Nothing worse than having those items fly around the car while making turns. Placement is well thought out.

 

Turn-signals: I am a huge fan of the turn signal stalk, it is located at my finger tips, and one touch of the stalk signals 3 times. Genius!

 

Center display and buttons: Unlike the current Focus, with the buttons away from the display, the Fiesta does it right. The multi-function display is placed high and the buttons are close by. Everything is easy to find, and I don’t have to search around for controls. A quick glance gets the job done. Oh, I also love the red lettering! Classic fighter plane look wins every time. Phone dialing pad works great as well, and so does the navigation button. I am shocked at how well things are laid out in this car.

 

Convex mirrors: At first, I thought the convex mirrors were annoying, but after getting used to them, I love them. I can see much more around me, and I feel safer with them. The turn-signals mounted on the mirrors is also great since other cars can see the blinkers when they are along side of me.

 

No arm rest: Yep, this car is perfect without one. Adding one would just get in the way of shifting. Arms slightly bent, hands resting on the 9 and 3 of the steering wheel, the car is completely comfortable. Attend a performance driving school, learn where you hands and arms go, and you will find this works well for driving on the street. No discomfort at all with my arms. If Ford wants to make it an option, that is ok, but I will leave it off. Actually, don’t even make it an option with a manual transmission.

 

Ride comfort: I am amazed at how well composed the Fiesta is on the terrible Michigan roads. My head doesn’t hurt after pounding down the highway, and I don’t need motion sickness pills from a suspension that is too soft. Some group of engineers in Europe put together one of the very best factory suspension I have driven. The car changes lanes and handles great on sweepers. The SVT Focus is the other car that had it right from the factory. I like the Mini Cooper S, but that is a little abusive on Michigan roads. (Hey Lansing, we need better roads) Not offering this suspension package for the US is a mistake. Finally, a suspension that is done right!

 

Capless fueling: No more stinky gas hands after refueling!

 

Gauges: The tach and speedometer are easy to read, have the perfect size needle and lettering. The current Focus and Escape are examples of how not to make gauges, they are terrible. First gen Focus was great, and then somebody changed it. Fail.

 

Dislikes: (yes, I actually found some)

Voice Activated Features: While telling people the car has voice activated features sure does wow them, using the features is a lot less fun. The phone commands never dial by name, barely understand my numbers, and who remembers numbers anymore? The voice activated HVAC is also hard to use. For me, I love the buttons and knobs, so I use them instead. The Fiesta’s controls are so nice to touch, why bother trying to figure out the voice commands. If the person designing the ergonomics is an idiot and places everything is crappy locations, then you need voice activated commands. The Fiesta is laid out very well, and the controls have a very quality feel to them. Adjusting the temp manually is a joy, not a chore. Voice commands are a chore and frustrating.

 

Trip Computer MPG: I have not found a way to rest the mileage calculations on the trip computer, so it only reads overall average. I can reset it on my wife’s Escape for seeing how it performs on the highway.

 

Transmission: This car really wants a 6-speed manual, in fact, it begs for it. Dropping the revs on the highway is something the Fiesta really needs. However, it is not as simple as just swapping the final drive gear. Lowering the final drive would make the car much less responsive around town, therefore killing its fun factor. The close ratio gearbox in the Fiesta is a joy around town, but really needs a 6^th gear for the highway. The Getreg twin-layshaft box from the SVT Focus seems almost too perfect of a match sans the heavy SVT clutch. Yikes, that clutch sucks the life out of the revs on the SVT. For those of us who want a manual, with a clutch, a 6-speed is the best option. I don’t want a flappy paddle gearbox, or an automatic. I also don’t want a manual with a ton of difference between gears when I shift. More gears that are close together are the best!

 

No Sirius Radio: I know that is not available in Europe, but I hope it is an option for the US cars. Not having Sirius is not fun on a long trip. The iPod interface works poorly on the European spec cars, and I know that is fixed for the US cars, but I still rather have my Sirius radio. Actually, I would take Sirius over Sync any day.

 

It’s not my car: Sadly, the Fiesta is not mine, and I have to give it back in November. The car makes me smile each time I get into it. Returning it in the fall is going to be very sad. I have really come to like this car, and it has only been a few weeks. Once in awhile you just get into a car that fits you. This is that car, it does everything well, and I see very little to change. Just hope I like the US version as much as I love the European one.