New Ford Fiesta wows 'em in LA

December 3, 2009

The people at Ford are pretty excited about their new Fiesta, which got its first public showing yesterday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The new Fiesta will be offered in America in both 4 door and 5 door configurations. High on the Fiesta's list of accomplishments is its 40 mpg highway rating - better than the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris or Nissan Versa. Its 1600 cc, 4 cylinder engine is is rated at 119 horsepower and 109 ft-lbs of torque and features Ford's Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT). The name pretty much says it all. The intake and exhaust cams can be individually programmed to provide optimum performance under any driving conditions. The Ti-VCT feature is shared with the new 305 hp V-6 engine announced this week for the Mustang.  

Clever ideas abound in the new car's engine compartment. The power steering is now electric and features "nibble control" to compensate for the crown in the road. It also uses a new "stretchy" accessory belt which eliminates the belt tensioner. Removing the parasitic losses caused by the power steering pump and the tensioner help the car achieve its high fuel economy ratings.

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