Vehicle: 2004 Ford Fiesta with 5-speed Durashift EST gearbox
Price as tested: HK$119800

Handling: If you haven’t driven a nicely handled subcompact, you should try out the Fiesta. Dynamic qualities of Fiesta are indeed a pleasant surprise for those who enjoy driving. There are plenty of feedback through the steering with the right weight. The turn-in is sharp and responsive. At the same time, the body rolls and understeer have kept to a minimum thanks to its smart tuning of suspension geometry. On the other hand, Ford engineers are brilliant enough to keep the ride comfort at a high level. The springs are soft enough to absorb most expansion joints and washboard pavements while suspension is firm enough for enthuisastic driving.

Performance: The beauty of the powerplant is Ford’s Durashift gearbox. While this design is not as nifty and high-tech as Audi’s DSG and BMW’s SMG sequential transmissions, its smart enough to make you forget about stick shift. During normal driving, you can leave it on “D” for cruising purpose. When you need to have fun, this tranny will provide plenty of it. It will automatically declutch and heel-and-toe as you out a downshifts and upshifts by giving a fast response to the driver. Thanks to this tranny, Fiesta’s 1.4L DOHC 16-valver has an energetic response even if it only has 80hp and 124 NM of torque on tap. On the other hand, this engine feels a little breathless on high rpm as typical of most econocar motors. Down low, its swift enough for daily driving thanks to maximum torque arrives at 3500 rpm.

Brakes: The front discs/rear drums with standard ABS provide decent feedback. Its anti-lock set-up only kicks in when necessary while pedal modulation is extremely well balanced. In short, a brake pedal that’s worthy of its Teutonic engineering.

Interior: Inside Fiesta’s interior is typical of European econocar’s clean and simple design. With large knobs for HVAC and stereo in the center console, as well as clear instrumentation gauges. The seats are firm and comfortable with decent side support. However, its interior materials are complete let-down. There are tons of hard plastic inside the cabin, everywhere from center console to door panels. The glovebox has a flimsy feel that is totally out of place in a German car.

The back seat is comfortable with plenty of head and legrooms. Unfortunately, the headrests are too low for safety.

Conclusion: If Ford claims this year as “year of the car”, they should bring Fiesta to Canadian market as we are dying for econocar that is both fun-to-drive and good t0 look at. While our Focus is starting to age compares to its competitors, Fiesta can easily bring younger audience into the brand as we have witnessed with the Toyota Echo hatchback.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2004 FORD FIESTA
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.75/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 2/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 4.75/5

Overall rating: 4.25/5