2009 Ford Fiesta First Steer
December 12, 2008 by David Twomey
Ford’s all-new Fiesta light car is funky, fashionable and fuel efficient and finally Ford thinks it may have found the secret to posting real sales numbers in the growing and competitive end of the Australian new car market.
- David Twomey
The current Ford Fiesta is a good car, but the company and particularly its dealers have struggled with shedding the ‘Falcon Car Company’ image and making real inroads into sales in the light and small car segments.
With monthly sales of just under 500 units the Fiesta has not kicked the goals for Ford that it should have, but with a rejuvenated marketing team, led by recently appointed Vice-President of Sales and Market, Beth Donovan, a small car expert from the US, the company is now aiming to double that figure.
Not without reason either as in-house rival Mazda is currently selling about 900 Mazda2s a month, the Fiesta is built on the same platform, while Toyota has been pushing up to 2400 Yaris’ a month out the door.
Ms Donovan says that with the new WS Fiesta, which officially goes on sale on January 1, 2009, Ford expects to move 900-1000 vehicles a month.
At the media launch of the Fiesta in Adelaide she made it clear to CarAdvice that with the launch of the Fiesta, which will be joined by a new, locally made Focus in 2010, the company was blurring the lines between segments in the growing light and small car arena.
Ford believes that potential buyers will crossover from the bottom end of the focus market into the top end of the Fiesta market and while Ms Donovan was clear that no firm decision had been made on re-introducing the Ka, sub light segment car, this too could see a crossover between Fiesta buyers and those opting for the even smaller vehicle.
Not that the new Fiesta is small and like cars in all segments, current design principles mean the vehicle is spacious on the inside, while compact on the outside.
She says that the company expects sales to be about 45 percent the base CL model with the Zetec accounting for 20 percent of sales and the LX the remainder.
Joseph, tell her to learn to drive a manual, it is not difficult, she will also save money on the purchase.
Oh and another thing, it will be a much more rewarding drive.
Great little car gettinggreat reviews everywhere! This deserves to sell, if it doesn’t it will be because of lack of marketing, dealer issues or peoples outdated perception of what the Ford brand is about.
Ford has more class leading vehicles with better economy, handling, dynamics, styling and safety than any other. But not enough people buy them. At least in a falling market they have increased market share if losing just a fraction of overall volume.
This car deserves to sell well. Good luck.
For the life of me, I can’t understand how Ford gets it so wrong with their small/medium cars in Australia. Where is the marketing that trumpets what crackejack cars the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo are???
In England & Europe, Ford is the enthusiast brand to be seen in if you know cars. Here they seem to be tagged as a bogan/taxi brand thanks to a million yellow taxis running around the place. In the UK, it’s Vauxhall that’s considered the rubbish brand and Ford is the aspirational car for the masses. Is it just marketing?
Can Ford UK take over Ford Oz please!!!!
Joseph,
As i’ve said Twice now, The US spec fiesta gets a DSG gearbox.
How many will Ford US seel compared to Ford Oz!?
Hello!
Sorry the auto is no big deal imo.
“Ford has more class leading vehicles with better economy, handling, dynamics, styling and safety than any other.” Said Phil C. Not in this country Phil Sorry.
Who does?
Spitfire,
Also, rear drum brakes are not bad, not for this sized vehicle.
please name other small vehicles that have disc brakes, rather than drums?
Why are rear drum brakes bad?
Because they are a penny pinching throw back to the last century Adam.
Without spending a lot of time doing research to determine which small cars have rear discs, one small car that does have rear disc brakes is the Hyundai Getz. The XC Barina was also released with rear disc brakes until Holden in their infinite wisdom de specced it in a cynical penny pinching exercise.
I repeat what I said previously, rear drum brakes – bad.
Antispam = barina, how fitting!
I drove the Fiesta about 3 weeks ago at our Sydney launch – no autos though. Handling is great, engine performs well and gearbox is nice, although a little lighter than the WQ fiesta. Being 6′3″ i am always aware of space, and the front pews are quite accomodating, the rear of course is ok, but i agree with what was said in the review – two adults max for comfort.
The performance of the 1.4L auto won’t be too different to the outgoing 1.6L, the torque is down a littel, but the power is only 3kw less.
Great looking car and should appeal to the younger market that values styling, safety and functionality over outright performance.
prove why they are bad??
Hyundai, the only one?
So you would prefer Ford to add cost to the base price to include rear disc brakes?
If Ford or any other manufacturer do not fit rear disc brakes they will not be selling a car to me. The added cost is peanuts Adam, particularly when taken over the ownership period of the car.
One of the main reasons I bought a XC Barina a few years ago was because it had rear disc brakes.
This is my last post on this subject. Rear drum brakes – bad. I rest my case.
Thats your opinion and nothing more.
don’t get stroppy if someone questions your personal opinion that you put forth as fact.
It’s your opinion and nothing more.
Why would having a Ford executive “small car expert” from the USA in charge local sales be a good idea? I’m sure a lot of US readers will know that Ford USA persist with selling their own locally-designed Focus rather than the Euro-spec Focus, which is a far superior car. Ford USA knows nothing about small cars, but thank god this Fiesta is a Ford Europe product.
Oh, and who cares where a car is built? As long as it’s well screwed together that’s what really matters. I’ve been in Thai-built cars before and I’ve never had any complaints.
Maybe the engine downsize for the auto would have been justifiable if it’s priced the same as the manual. You also have to make do with a 4-speed.
Guys, i think a few of you are missing the point about Ms Donovan being a small car expert. She is actually one of the best people to put in the job as she has just come from US where convincing people to buy small cars is no easy task. You have to remember that the biggest growth section in the US is small and mid-size. Honda’s sell like crazy and Toyota isn’t exactly small.
If Beth Donovan can convince the American Public to buy more small cars, then her job will be easier here in Oz because we already have a strong small car market.
front end looks very nice, the rear though looks like an after thought though. the designers obvisously took styling cues from the frenchies – peugeot and citroen. lets hope they do something with the boring falcon. this little fiesta will still look good in 5 years time, which is something the french cars do well.
I think Ford can thank Mazda for this.
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WTF ,reported!
You dont like the site then head off too http://www.boringtoyota.com!
hahaha well I didnt think it was a site……..it is under construction so looks like you will have to wait Matt!
Simon T,
Actually you are almost right.
In fact:
Mazda have Ford to thank for the Mazda 2.
Motorhead, the Mazda 2/3 is based on the SAME platform as the Fiesta/Focus, not a cheaper version. The Mazda6 has its own unique platform not based on the Mondeo platform, contrary to popular belief.
Too much for a little car. The CL is very basic not like the Zetec in the photos.
I don’t like the new look either on first impressions.
Don’t worry guys, the Fiesta will have second rate poor build quality, it’s being made in third world Thailand ……hahahahahaha
actually Marcus the 2009 models are made in Germany, the 2010 models are made in Thailand.
Marcus,
Just like every “jap” ute and many Honda sedans!
Build quality will be fine.
It’s not like it was designed and built by Daewoo…..
This WILL sell like hotcakes, its funky, fresh AND cheap!
everyone i know thats seen it so far is impressed.
TOP GEAR LOVE IT…. series 12 episode 6 ( i think ) they get one and flog the piss out of it. CLARKSON LOVES IT which was a BIG surprise.
yaris watch out….
if ford can actually market this think ( AS IF LOL!! )
and Marcus
i have a JAP made honda jazz…..
my cousin has a THAI made honda jazz….
mines had a few issues..HERS HASNT!!!!
i should put all my replies in one post…. i will next time… promise lol
my Jazz has rear drum brakes…… i can make ur eyeballs land on the dash with absolutely NO lockup or braking problems… i was a bit concerned at first… NOT NOW
its done 100 thousand HARD kays now…. i havent even checked the disc pads, let alone the rear linings.
drums are fine by me, ( on the back! )
This is a great little car. Pitty they didn’t have the Squeeze Zetec with the 17-Inch alloys (that’s the model I’m holding out to see). Can’t find any decent shots of it yet. The inside looks great, the outside is nice (slightly fussy and is more feminime than the last model IMO which is a turn off). The pricing and specs are all on par or above its compeditors, although I still think $20,000 for a car this size is a stretch (am I the only one who thinks car makers are making a bit more than we think off these cars?) Apart from the pricings, which is comparable anyway, the slightly fussy and feminine exterior (c’mon they could have made it a bit tougher looking) this is a top rate car. can not wait to drive it. Pitty there will be no XR4 (that Ford will admit to yet anyway). If it drives as well as my current Zetec, I’ll put down a deposit. Top review guys.
Will there be a comprehensive review of this any time soon? Especially an Auto. LX model?
the fiesta looked good on tv, so i went to check it out. yuck, not a fan.
Seems like all the comments about Ford marketing are true. I don’t go out of my way to look at new models from manufacturers but I like to think I generally keep up with most things from Ford/Holden/Mitsu… etc.
I haven’t seen ANY advertising for the new Fiesta and had no idea what it looked like. A week ago I realised I needed a new car and because I’m in no position to buy what I want (Holden/Ford V8), I decided to go cheap and get a new Hyundai Getz until I’m ready to get a V8 again. Thankfully my local Hyundai salesman wasn’t too enthusiastic to make a sale so I wandered off to the Ford dealer to have a sticky beak. An hour later I was happy to spend the extra money for a Zetec Fiesta.
It was the only car in it’s class that made me want to own it. C’mon Ford marketing….you nearly lost a sale here.
Contrary to comments above, this car has very little to do with Mazda, this is a part of Ford’s Euro division. Between this and the new Focus, Ford is really putting out some nice product even with their bad marketing. Clarkson on Top Gear loved this car saying it has a VW feel about the way it handled, a good thing for Ford.
The new Focus RS is also really hot in Europe right now: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.co.....ll-muscle/
The new Fiesta looks even more impressive in person.
We know it’s a part of Ford’s Europe division, Frank, but everything we’ve read states that the car shares its platform with the Mazda 2. There’s no reason that can’t be true. There are hundreds of examples out there in automotive history.
“Beth Donovan, a small car expert from the US” hehehe – that could be read “a lady of small stature” why pick on her size!?!? :o)