  2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-litre EcoBoost. Click image to enlarge |
| Manufacturer’s Website Ford Canada |
Review and photos by Grant Yoxon
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2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-litre EcoBoost
Los Angeles, California – At the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford introduced the next generation of its popular Fiesta. Now sporting the new Ford corporate face with its Aston Martin-like grille, the 2014 Fiesta will be available with three powertrains, including the smallest engine in Ford’s EcoBoost family, a 999 cc, three-cylinder turbocharged powerplant that produces an amazing 123-hp per litre.
Although the new Fiesta won’t be available in North America until late in 2013, Ford brought a group of pre-production, European spec 1.0-litre Fiestas for journalists to drive. So after a day of suffering through the boring technical/financial/car business stuff that manufacturers believe entertains journalists at an auto show (more interesting were the cars), the real entertainment began—driving the Euro-spec 1.0-litre Fiesta from Santa Monica to Camarillo via the infamous Mulholland Highway.
Oh my. What fun.
The 2014 Ford Fiesta is clearly no econobox. Even without available features like leather seating, touchscreen display, navigation system, and full connectivity, features normally found in more expensive and typically much larger vehicles, the 1.0-litre Fiesta would still be a blast to drive.
The Fiesta (and to be fair, a growing number of small cars) are coming from the factory with the kind of connectivity, power, and appeal that entry level buyers expect in a car. Add in some very innovative engine technology and Ford is determined to prove that small, powerful, connected, and exciting cars will sell. In Canada it unquestionably will, but in the US there has always been doubt. But with the US economy still a mess and gas prices closing in on what we Canadians think of as normal, there is a firm belief that Americans are ready to accept subcompacts.
And what better place than the Los Angeles Auto Show, known for showcasing the green side of the industry, to roll out a sophisticated little car that Ford expects will have the best fuel economy of any non-hybrid car in North America.
 2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0-litre EcoBoost. Click image to enlarge |
While the US Environmental Protection Agency has not yet set the fuel economy numbers for the 2014 Fiesta, Ford is certain it will be over 40 miles per US gallon (5.9 L/100 km) for highway driving using the US EPA testing procedures. The 2014 Fiesta with the 1.6-litre, normally aspirated base engine is rated at 40 mpg highway. The 1.0-litre will do better than that, but by how much can only be signified by a +. In these parts, 40 mpg is good; 40+ is better. And in North America, among all non-hybrid subcompacts, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost Fiesta could well be one of the best.
