By Bryan Redeker

            When you think of a small car, cargo room is one of the first things you think of that is compromised. The Fiesta is surely one of the smallest cars I have driven for an extended period, that doesn’t mean I have given up on moving things with it. On the way home from my surprise birthday party on Saturday night, I stopped by the shop to pick up my Mustang wheels. I recently had the ADVAN Racing tires replaced with something more street friendly, and another set of wheels mounted with a set of Hoosiers for track use. Since I was out, I thought I would swing by and pick up 2 of the wheels. I used my wife’s Escape Limited to take the collection of street wheels to get mounted, and I did not think I could transport 4 massive wheels and tires in the Fiesta. Once at the shop, I folded down the rear seat, covered the rear cargo area with an old sheet to keep it clean, and began putting in the wheels. Hmm, two wheels fit with no problem. Can I fit three, or four? Ok, the third tire is in the back, how about the fourth? With a little work, I rearranged the wheels so that I could indeed get all four 17″ x 9″ Cobra wheels and tires into the Fiesta. Wow, wasn’t expecting that to work!

            I jump back in the driver’s seat and realize that the headlights are pointing up too high. I kind of expected this since I once hauled 4 race tires, jack stands, jack, tool box, and a change of clothes for a race weekend with my Focus a couple of years ago. Brandon and I drove to Detroit with the headlights pointing up so high they missed the road. It just is not safe to do that, but the Focus lacked something the Fiesta has. Well, this Fiesta has, and I doubt the bean counters will allow for the US cars. Leveling headlights is the answer to what the Fiesta has that the Focus did not. I was able to turn the knob on the dash, lower the headlamps to the correct position to counter the weight in the back. Now I am not blinding people with headlamps, and I can get a clear view of the road. Another great safety feature! Once again, the Fiesta surprised me with its ability to haul all of my street wheels/tires and could level the headlights so I could drive home safely. There are many mid-size sedans that lack the cargo room to haul wheels and tires of this size, and lack the adjustable headlamps as well. Trust me, I know, I tried to haul these wheels once in a mid-size car. Took two trips to get done what the Fiesta did in one.