One of the most hyped-up, anticipated new vehicles being introduced at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show is the U.S.-spec 2011 Ford Fiesta. Not only has Ford been talking about this car for months, the automaker went ahead and put a fleet of Euro-spec Fiestas on the road in 2009 as part of the Fiesta Movement, a way to ramp up awareness of the vehicle and get some free press from drivers all around the country. In fact, Ford says that the Fiesta name already has a 60 percent awareness rating in America, which is pretty impressive for a vehicle that isn't even on sale yet.
The Fiesta has been a success story in Europe for many, many years, and it seems like America's biggest concern is how the Fiesta's design would change once the car was brought to our shores. Well, as you can see by the photos, it's slightly different, but in a way looks like a natural evolution of the Fiesta. Consider it a mid-cycle refresh, if you will. The other big change for the U.S. market is the introduction of the Fiesta sedan, which uses Ford's signature three-bar grille and gives consumers an alternative option from the five-door hatch. Visual changes on both cars come in the way of a slightly tweaked front fascia, where the Euro car's foglamps have been ditched in favor of vertical LED bars, similar to those on the new Taurus. We think it looks great.
Under the hood is a 1.6-liter four-pot mill good for 119 horsepower and 109 pound-feet of torque. The standard transmission offering is a five-speed manual, though consumers can option up to a six-speed, Powershift dual-clutch automatic. Don't be fooled, though -- there's no way to manually change your way through the automatic's gears. And when it comes to fuel economy, the Fiesta will surely put smiles on people's faces, offering up to 40 miles per gallon on the highway.
Inside, the Fiesta's cabin has not been changed much from the European car, save the addition of American-friendly amenities like extra cup holders and a center armrest. We had a chance to sit in the new Fiesta at Ford's product development center recently, and find the materials used to be much better than on the current Focus small car, and the whole design is really good-looking. Both the sedan and hatchback offer a 60/40 split folding rear seat, though curiously, the hatch's seats do not fold flat and the headrests need to be removed to put the seats all the way down. Seems like an odd omission in this segment, but Ford says that in its research, consumers didn't seem to mind this. However, the Fiesta will offer a ton of segment-exclusive features like push-button start, automatic climate control, and (of course) SYNC.
No official word on pricing has been released as of this writing, but we'll keep you posted as the car's on-sale date nears. We'd expect it to be pretty comparable to the Focus, and priced to compete within its class. Scroll down to read Ford's official press release, and be sure to click through our gallery to see a raft of Fiesta shots.
