I am a bit of a sceptical bugger.
Having spent years in catholic schools when I was growing up and being told you don't question your elders, everything seemed to go the opposite direction in my early 20s.
Instead of taking everything at face value, or believing everything I was told (something that was drilled into us in school) I started to question just about everything.
So, when I was told recently that I was going to be driving the new Ford Fiesta, and that it was a wonderful car, I was quite sceptical. After all, one of the first almost-new cars my dad bought was a Ford Fiesta. And, although this was many years ago, he didn't hang onto it very long.
But that was then and this is now.
The only thing that can be compared to the Fiesta of old is that both are small hatchbacks.
The newest version is a totally different animal indeed and what an animal it is.
Everything that I heard about it was true, and then some.
This is a bloody great little car.
Normally with one of these gas-sipping four bangers you get the feeling that the manufacturer has cheaped out in as many ways as possible to get the best gas mileage as possible and to keep the price down. The idea might be that it is just for running about town and that none of the luxuries found in larger sedans are necessary.
But Ford decided to do things a little different with the Fiesta. They have thrown a ton of options at it, loads of room, more power than anything else its size, and finally they added a huge dose of fun.
I am going to tell you the listed options first to whet your appetite before I tell you just how much fun it is to drive.
On the safety front there are seven air bags. Two front, two side, two side curtain and a
knee airbag for the driver. There is also electronic stability control, tire pressure
monitoring system and immobilizer.
There is a four-inch screen for the satellite radio readout, air conditioning, CD MP3 player, power doors, power windows, power mirrors with extra blind spot mirrors, tilt, hands-free phone, ABS, keyless entry, AUX input, USB input and the excellent SYNC hard drive with voice activation. The SYNC provides the driver with hands-free phone, will read incoming text messages to you, will search for and play whatever song you to tell it to from the hard drive, and if any airbag deploys, the system will make a 911 call from your synced phone.
This Fiesta is a blast. It handles like it is a much bigger and more expensive car than it is, passing is easy with basically no weight and 120 horsepower, and with 55 mpg you will be laughing all the way to the bank.
The road to West Lake also never felt better. The Fiesta handled everything I threw at it with aplomb. There also wasn't any of the lean normally associated with other cars its size, and again, the handling was superb.
The more I drove it, the more I wanted to drive it. I didn't want to take it back to the dealership it was so much fun. The only problem is, I wanted to drive it fast all the time.
Because the Fiesta is such a small car it turns on a dime and is the easiest thing to park. In fact I was able to do a full 360 within the length of two parking stalls.
I couldn't help myself passing much bigger and more powerful cars, and when the opportunity came to pass a big rig I jumped at it. Already doing 70 the Fiesta seemed to relish the challenge of passing something so much bigger and I swear I heard a little laugh as we screamed past the truck, and it wasn't from me.
Ford has really hit the ball out of the park with this little Fiesta. Good power, nice room, lots of options, great handling and a huge fun quotient.
Ford Fiesta
4-door hatchback
6-speed automatic
1.6 litre four cylinder
Horsepower 120 @ 6,350
Torque 112 @ 5,000
Mileage: 6.9 l/100 km 41 mpg City 5.1 l/100km 55 mpg Hwy
Price $20,229
