2011 Ford Fiesta Review - Not for short people!!!!

[CTScott]

This past week I was in San Diego on business and chose a 2011 Ford Fiesta from the line-up of cars I could choose from for my rental.

I walked up, opened the hatch to put my luggage in, and was impressed with the cargo space. It drops down, like a trunk, rather than being a slide-in entry, like the Yaris. I think there are pluses and minuses to both ways.

I get in the car, and immediately felt like I was 7 years old (not because of being excited, but rather because I could barely see out the windshield). Granted I am a short dude (5'4"), but I have short legs, so my seated height is about the same as the typical 5'8" to 5'10" person. I almost went into the rental car office to see if they had a couple of phone books that I could borrow to sit on.

I adjusted the mirrors as best I could and headed out of the rental lot, fearing for anyone in my path. Backing up was nearly a braille operation, as with the position and size of the hatch window, visibility was nil.

As I got moving, I decided to turn on the radio. The integrated center console had a button for satellite, so I poked it to see if it was active and sure enough it was. I decided to change the station and quickly found that the buttons on the center console area were completely non-intuitive. There were two arrow buttons pointing to the right, so I figured one had to be up. I poked the first and nothing happened. The second moved to the next station, but 5 seconds later jumped again. It took me a while to figure out what button would stop it from seeking. I give a thumbs-down to anything simple that actually requires reading the manual to figure out. I experimented with the Sync a bit, but found it very frustrating, as 90% of the commands were not properly interpreted (and, I believe that I speak English clearly enough that any speech recognition system should work for me).

As I proceeded up the I-5 North on ramp and attempted to merge into traffic I was completely shocked with the complete lack of power of the 1.6L and wicked 1st to 2nd delay from the AT. After the horn honks and middle finger salutes from the people who narrowly escaped rear ending me I realized that much more merge space would be required for future merges.

During a half hour ride up the freeway, I realized just how uncomfortable this car was. The bottle holder on the lower part of the door projected in so far that it was cutting into the calf of my left leg. I really couldn't find a comfortable place for the left foot, other than right against the side of the brake pedal. The seat position I couldn't quite get right, and it reminded me of why I buy Japanese cars (designed for little Japanese drivers), rather than American ones (designed for big giant Americans).

I had the car for three days, and drove 210 miles total. Filling it up on the way back to the airport took just shy of 10 gallons, and even if it was a gallon lower than where I topped it off to, that calculates to somewhere between 21 and 24 MPG. Not good for how little power this thing had.

So, the bottom line is that I was mighty unimpressed and very glad to get back into my Yaris after flying back home.

[Kal-El]

Thanks for the write up. :smile:

Space seems to be one of the biggest complaints about the Fiesta. I found it pretty tight when I looked at one at the auto show. Getting into the backseat was nearly impossible. I don't know why Ford designs cars this way. It's common with them. In the Yaris meanwhile, my 6'1" frame slides in the back with ease.

The main benefit with the Fiesta is basically the styling and driving dynamics.

[ezhacker1]

So it's bad unless you're Ken Block, or unless u basically have an entirely different "car" which looks like a Fiesta (Block's).

This is the first review iv read about the Ford Sync, quite disappointing then.

Tho I must say, I can't remember how much a stock Yaris would feel so I personally would not be impartial (not saying u aren't).

[Kioshi]

Great review on the Focus CTScott!

So the Yaris has quicker response?
Well, its not like tall people can see the corners on a Yaris. Stupid pillar is in the way when driving through mountain trails....ezhacker1 knows that.

[nemelek]

A rental car is a great was to really test drive a car.

[ilikerice]

I personally like the styling of the fiesta. But I think ken block has hyped the hell out of this car as performance. His is like a subie with a fiesta shell over it

[CTScott]

Whenever I travel for work, I try to rent other sub-compacts to see what the other side of the fence is like. I had a Versa a while back, which was fine, except that I am not a fan of its looks. I also had a Hyundai accent recently, which was great all around and a good looking car. The Fiesta was just a total disappointment. A friend of mine has two old (early 90's) Fiestas, that are great little cars that get over 40 MPG, so I had high expectations of the new one.

The lack of power and wacky shifting of the Fiesta were down right scary. I visited Mazilla, and he lives half way up a road that is a continuous hill. When I pulled away from the curb in front of his house I thought the silly thing was either going to stall or start going backwards down the hill.

Another wacky thing with it was the placement of the power lock switch. There is nothing on the door. I drove around for the afternoon on Tuesday and then had to go back to the airport to pick up another person. The SD airport was super busy at 7PM, so he called me as he was walking out of the airport and I was going to just buzz up to the curb. The traffic was crawling, bumper to bumper, through the airport, so we're on the phone and I'm telling him signs that I am passing. As I get within about 100 feet of where he is, he walks out across the traffic to the outer lane, where I am, and attempts to open the rear passenger door. It is locked, so I am looking at the driver's door and can't find any way of unlocking it. So, he grabs the front passenger door, and it is unlocked (meanwhile, I am still moving slowly through the traffic with him along side of the car). He opens the front door, throws his suitcase between the front seats to the back and hops in (with the two of us laughing like crazy over the whole situation). We then spend a couple of minutes searching for the unlock switch and finally realize that is is amongst the stereo controls on the dash.

[thepartsmancometh]

there have been some complaints regarding the tranny on the fiesta. it is not a true "torque converter" auto as most assume, its actually a twin clutch automated manual. that's why they are clunky; they are trying to act like there is a torque converter when there isn't. They are still better than the single clutch SMG (sequential manual transmission) BMW used for a while. That was just like driving a stick but with no clutch pedal! If you let off the brake, you WILL roll backwards until you give it gas.

[CTScott]

there have been some complaints regarding the tranny on the fiesta. it is not a true "torque converter" auto as most assume, its actually a twin clutch automated manual. that's why they are clunky; they are trying to act like there is a torque converter when there isn't. They are still better than the single clutch SMG (sequential manual transmission) BMW used for a while. That was just like driving a stick but with no clutch pedal! If you let off the brake, you WILL roll backwards until you give it gas.

It really is strange. One of the oddest things was that when you shift into reverse and take your foot off the gas, nothing happens. Most autos will start to creep, but this one just sat there, making me do a double take to make sure I was actually in reverse.

[Klink10]

Thanks for the review.

[detroiter]

Thanks for the review man

[yarisugi]

This has got to be one of the funniest car reviews ever! :bellyroll:

[Thirty-Nine]

Thanks for your review; nice to see another subcompact enthusiast's point of view (and I also try to rent the small cars!).

I had the Fiesta (manual trans) for review (http://www.subcompactculture.com/2011/03/review-2011-ford-fiesta-ses-five-door.html) back in March.

I agree with you on the small back seat and low seating position. I didn't have issue with the stereo, though, although there is a learning curve. I also try NOT to read the manual on the review cars, since I want to see how intuitive the controls are. And I didn't feel cramped (I'm 5'7"); maybe it's just me. I found the car quite comfortable up front, although my test model had leathers seats. During my week with the car, I averaged 30 MPG.

Just my two cents.

[fnkngrv]

I am hoping to have one as a rental myself. I am currently driving a Versa hatch and am not impressed with the performance nor the the mpg at all. Roomy though and seems to be fairly responsive in traffic when it comes to movement with exception to being a slug.

[CTScott]

I am in Phoenix this week with a Chevy Cobalt sedan as a rental. Can no one other than Toyota get it right? The Cobalt has good visibility, but the goods stop there. The interior is as cheap looking and feeling as it gets, the seats are about as comfortable as folding chairs, and it makes the Festiva feel like a race car.

[Kal-El]

I am in Phoenix this week with a Chevy Cobalt sedan as a rental. Can no one other than Toyota get it right? The Cobalt has good visibility, but the goods stop there. The interior is as cheap looking and feeling as it gets, the seats are about as comfortable as folding chairs, and it makes the Festiva feel like a race car.

The Cobalt is one of the piss poor creations of the "old" GM.

Its replacement, the Cruze, is light years ahead of it. In fact, a better car than the Corolla. And it has the best in class interior.

Probably why it's now the best selling in class, out doing the Corolla and Civic amazingly. Which is all the more remarkable when you consider many people won't consider GM because of the bailout ignoring all other factors.

[thepartsmancometh]

in another unsurprising brand engineering exercise (GM does this ALL the time), the "new" amazing, fantabulous chevy cruze is a ..... Daewoo Lacetti.

I preferred it when Saturns were Opels, and the prism was a corolla lol

[Kal-El]

in another unsurprising brand engineering exercise (GM does this ALL the time), the "new" amazing, fantabulous chevy cruze is a ..... Daewoo Lacetti.

I preferred it when Saturns were Opels, and the prism was a corolla lol

Well, Daewoo is GM as of 2002. Now called GM Korea. Yeah, all this globalization of companies is getting increasingly complicated.

The Cruze is a GM designed and engineered vehicle that just happened to go on sale in most foreign markets (as the Lacetti and Holden Cruze) years before GM released it in their own home market - figures. :rolleyes:

To sum it up, the Cruze is not a re-badged Korean car. It's really the other way around. In Korea and elsewhere, it's a re-badged American car. :smile:

[thepartsmancometh]

I'll settle for calling it a re-badged international conglomeration of parts :tongue:

I don't really consider it American (same goes for 75% of what we call American cars...)

[fnkngrv]

My car here in Chevy Cruze and I am not impressed at all with it. It is fully loaded with leather, etc. The fabric I can see as being easily tarnished and dirtied after so long. The seats are not comfy at all and in all honesty I plan on trading it in tomorrow for something else because they hurt my tailbone so much. I think sitting in plastic folding chairs would be more comfortable.

[detroiter]

I will never buy a GM product, no matter how much I might like a car of theirs in the future. I don't support companies who sell out their native country to make bigger profits in India and China. They rave about how "American" they are yet if you look into it, they are putting most all of their efforts into making profits in China along with India. I understand the business aspect of wanting to make profits but to basically say "screw you" to your own country in terms of making a buck, that's the end of the line.

For instance, GM came out with their quarterly profits not too long ago and touted about all of the millions made in profits. What they failed to relay was that a major amount of those profits were not even made in the U.S., they were made over in China. I ask myself why would they do such a thing? It couldn't be because if they disclosed that, many more people aside from myself would view them as sellouts and traitorous, could it?

[Shroomster]

My car here in Chevy Cruze and I am not impressed at all with it. It is fully loaded with leather, etc. The fabric I can see as being easily tarnished and dirtied after so long. The seats are not comfy at all and in all honesty I plan on trading it in tomorrow for something else because they hurt my tailbone so much. I think sitting in plastic folding chairs would be more comfortable.

The one thing I will say about the Cruze is that it may just have the longest driver seat travel of any small or compact car out there....by travel I mean the lateral/horizontal seat adjustment from front of car to back. The drawback to this? loss of almost all rear passenger leg room

My biggest gripe about the versa hatch/sedan is the way the doors press up against the seats (read: there is no gap between the seats and the doors when they close at your thigh area)

[Hamster]

Referring to the first post, is it true that American cars and generally not made for short people? If so, it's not just the Fiesta. My parents have an extra car, a 2004 Chevy Impala, that I had to borrow recently. Man, I was terrified driving that thing. The seat couldn't be pulled as far forward as I'd like, so I felt like I was sitting a mile away from the pedals and from the steering wheel. I could barely see over the dashboard, and switching lanes on the interstate was very freaky. I am just under 5' tall. I feel like a Yaris is the perfect car for me. Its high ride height and the positioning of the pedals and the steering wheel is perfectly designed for short people.

Several people mentioned the Versa. Last year, I had a Versa sedan as my rental when I visited Colorado. That thing had more power than I expected, as I had no trouble climbing the mountains. The only thing I didn't like about it, though, is that is wasn't all that fun to drive. It felt like I was driving a big, heavy car. I'm not sure why, but that's just how it felt to me when I drove it.

[CTScott]

Referring to the first post, is it true that American cars and generally not made for short people?

That has been my life experience. Fords tend to be the worst cars for me fit wise. The most comfortable fitting car I ever owned was my 1992 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport. I used to do single day, 12 hour round trips for work with it and could not have been more comfortable. The Yaris is a close second, with my only issue being that the steering wheel is about 1-1/2" too far away when then seat is adjusted perfectly.


Several people mentioned the Versa. Last year, I had a Versa sedan as my rental when I visited Colorado. That thing had more power than I expected, as I had no trouble climbing the mountains. The only thing I didn't like about it, though, is that is wasn't all that fun to drive. It felt like I was driving a big, heavy car. I'm not sure why, but that's just how it felt to me when I drove it.


I had a Versa as a rental car on a trip to Toronto, where I had a day to kill, so I drove down to Niagra Falls. The Versa was comfortable, had plenty of guts, and got good mileage. I did find as well that it just wasn't as much fun to drive as a Yaris.

[fnkngrv]

The one thing I will say about the Cruze is that it may just have the longest driver seat travel of any small or compact car out there....

I am just not seeing as how the Cruze is classified as a small car at all. It is the size of a Mitsu Galant. I know this because I was parked next to one almost every day at the hotel. This is the most confusing thing to me. :iono:


As for the Fiesta I am planning on getting one on one of my travels soon to check it out.

[Shroomster]

I am just not seeing as how the Cruze is classified as a small car at all. It is the size of a Mitsu Galant. I know this because I was parked next to one almost every day at the hotel. This is the most confusing thing to me. :iono:


As for the Fiesta I am planning on getting one on one of my travels soon to check it out.


they call it small because of where it fits in their lineup. between the malibu and the aveo(sonic), as it replaced the cavalier~cobalt. I hold the same view as you, though.

[thepartsmancometh]

I find my wrx pretty ergonomically sound. The yaris is OK, but I put the seat ALL the way back when I drive it (I'm 6' tall)

[carnageehw]

As I got moving, I decided to turn on the radio. The integrated center console had a button for satellite, so I poked it to see if it was active and sure enough it was. I decided to change the station and quickly found that the buttons on the center console area were completely non-intuitive.


Satellite radio controls are non intuitive in ANY car. Look at the after market radios; they look nothing like any car stereo you'll see.

The only real way to use satellite radio with the built in car stero is to use the presets. You have to select the radio stations into your presets, and then you just use them like the normal radio buttons. Once the presets are set, it's awesome.