Ford Fiesta 2006 News

In Russia, drift and rally fans don’t need big power to finesse their skills thanks to the Federation’s near perennial abundance of snow and ice. As a result, any old Lada Riva or Samara can be slewed sideways through the snow and slush, or even a GAZelle commercial van – if you’ve got one handy. The above video captures all of these in super slow-mo, with a dash of Ford Fiesta and Sierra, Subaru WRX and Toyota Celica GT-Four to showcase the yaw potential of front, rear, or all-wheel drive.   Watch the desktop version of the budget Russian drift video here.   This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

Scheduled to go on sale here towards the middle of 2013, the Ford Fiesta range will kick off with the tiny 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder EcoBoost engine that claimed the World Engine of the Year award a few months ago. “We’ve confirmed the three-cylinder turbo for the Fiesta,” Ford spokesman Neil McDonald says. “Originally it was going to be the EcoSport SUV  but Fiesta will beat it to market by several months. The turbocharged engine is offered in two levels -- 74kW/170Nm and 92kW/200Nm – but there’s no indication yet of whether we will get both. “It’s a little bit early to talk what the engine line-up will be,” McDonald says, although agreeing there would have to be consideration of whether the local market would go for two 1.0-litre versions or would expect to see a larger unit in the upper spec cars. The leaked official images show the main styling changes are focused on the nose, which gets the Aston Martin-flavoured grille shape -- already worn by the overseas Ford Fusion (Mondeo) – set off with a new front bumper and headlight clusters featuring LED running lights. McDonald says it’s also too early to discuss whether price and specification levels will change markedly from the current range, which opens with the $16,990 CL and tops out at the $23,490 Zetec – or whether they will be joined by the Fiesta ST seen overseas. “There’s been a Fiesta ST concept vehicle shown in Europe but we haven’t confirmed it for here,” he says. “For the rest of the range, it’s too far out to talk about price, but we plan to remain competitive. The Fiesta has been doing quite well -- around the 700 per month. It’s been a pretty strong seller for us.” While the release of fresh metal can often mean extra demand that constrains supply of some imported cars, McDonald points out Asian production means it won’t be a problem for the Fiesta. “Our vehicles are built in Thailand so I don’t think supply is going to be an issue,” he says.  

Industry figures released this week show the real boom in the market has been in four-cylinder cars valued at less than $25,000. Known as the light car segment, sales in the division are up 22.7 per cent for the year to date on last year, while the large car segment is down the same figure. Last month light cars were up by 31.4 per cent on August last year. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Peter Sturrock says this trend has increased over the past couple of years, with a recent acceleration put down to high petrol prices. "Well, quite simply because they are more fuel efficient, small and less expensive to purchase in the first place and they're less expensive to run," Sturrock says. A total of 10,806 light cars were sold last month and 77,650 sold this year, which is 14,346 more than last year. Leading the line-up is the Toyota Yaris, with a starting price of $14,990, which recorded 2673 sales in August, taking the total to 18,064 for the year to date. Added to this figure are the remaining 304 Echos that Toyota has sold this year, before the nameplate was changed to be consistent with the Yaris badging used in Europe. Hyundai's small Getz, named Australia's Best Small Car for 2005 by Australia's auto clubs, has also achieved an increase in sales, with 1738 models sold last month, and 13,863 for the year, an 18.4 per cent improvement over the same period last year. Getz prices start at $13,990 and stretch to $18,380. The cheapest car on the market, the Holden Barina, starting at $13,490, has the third highest sales for the segment, with 1091 sales in August and 9567 for the year to date. The Barina is followed by the Suzuki Swift, Honda Jazz and Kia Rio, all recording between 5500 and 6800 sales each for the year-to-date and just under 100 sales in August. Sturrock says while fuel prices are contributing to a shift to these cars, good value at a low price is also converting buyers. "The small cars now are very well equipped," he says. "Some years ago they were the basic models, but now they're well equipped with safety and anti-theft, occupant protection, airbags and ABS, and they often have Electronic Stability Control." Features in this segment on cars such as the Yaris and Getz include front airbags, an MP3 compatible CD system, airconditioning, power windows, central locking and ABS. Some even come with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and anti-skid technology. Holden's Barina offers airconditioning as standard, a feature that has to be bought as an option in the $34,990 base model VE Commodore Omega. The Hyundai Getz also offers a five-year/130,000km warranty. Toyota spokesman, Mike Breen, says this segment also offers a good alternative to second-hand cars. "With the options that you can get on a brand new car, plus the new car warranty, it's quite appealing, especially to younger people," he says. And it seems a wide variety of buyers are purchasing these light cars, from students through to families and retirees. Hyundai spokesman Richard Power says its small cars, the Getz and Accent, are finding a market among a variety of drivers. "We get quite a few young people buying it as their first new car and there's loyalty from senior motorists, who don't need a big car any more and are very attracted by the long warranty," he says. Overall, the car market has dropped by 3.4per cent on last year, with 642,383 vehicles sold, a decrease of 22,513 vehicles. August was also down from 2005 by 4516 vehicles. In the small car segment, sales are up 3 per cent year-to-date, with the Toyota Corolla the segment leader with 4147 sales in August and 31,705 Corollas sold this year. But small car sales also experienced a slight drop last month, down 1.3 per cent or 244 vehicles. Sturrock says that although the large car segment is down by 26,461 vehicles, it is still an important part of the market. "It has reduced over time from what it was to where it is today," he says. "But it's still about 25 per cent of the passenger car market. You see very strong interest in the new Holden Commodore and the new Toyota Camry, there's been an excellent reaction." WHAT'S SELLING Toyota Yaris 18,368 Hyundai Getz 13,863 Holden Barina 9567 Suzuki Swift 6703 Honda Jazz 5936 Kia Rio 5579 Ford Fiesta 4407 Mazda2 3934 Hyundai Accent 3593 Mitsubishi Colt 1516 VW Polo 1337 Peugoet 206 1071 Citroen C3 486 Proton Savvy 357 smart fortwo 326 Renault Clio 173 Citroen C2 139 smart forfour 132 Fiat Punto 113 Daihatsu Sirion 40 Proton Satria 9 Suzuki Ignis 1 *Source: VFacts (light car sales 2006 to end August) Note: Yaris sales includes 304 Echo sales THE CHEAPIES Holden Barina from $13,490 Hyundai Getz from $13,990 Proton Savvy from $13,990 Toyota Yaris from $14,990 Hyundai Accent from $15,990 Mitsubishi Colt from $15,990 Suzuki Swift from $15,990 Ford Fiesta from $15,990 Honda Jazz from $15,990 Kia Rio from $15,990 Mazda2 from $16,335 Peugeot 206 from $16,990 VW Polo from $16,990

That was until the weekly workout on the South-Eastern Freeway. Destination: Murray Bridge. Cargo: a wombat, three roosters and a chick. I'll explain. Thursday-night treks to football and netball training have become a ritual in winter for some city folk, including myself. My first impression of the Fiesta was that there was no way it could handle my heavy car load, which consisted of my mate "Wombat" and three Rambler "the Roosters" Football Club players. The freeway can be punishing at the best of times on an average engine and you'll often find cars with Fiesta-like engines hogging the left lane to let others pass. The Fiesta Zetec ruled the roost in the right lane. It zipped past them all, without breaking the speed limit. By the way, two of the roosters were also cops so I had to be on my best behaviour. The usual car conversation which, let's say, can be quite blokey despite my feminine touch, automatically turned to the Fiesta's performance. Now, I know blokes like talking about cars, but a Fiesta? We all agreed that, for a small car, there is sufficient room – even if from the outside we might have looked a little squeezy in the back. The interior is pretty sporty. Just as well, given we are sporty kinda people. the instrument panels are nicely placed and tilted slightly for easy access. The boot space, while not massive, is OK for a small car (and let's put things in perspective – it is a small car) but the automatic open-boot function is the real winner. However, we were less than impressed with the absence of the centre storage console. Maybe it's more out of habit than anything else, but I missed it. As we passed Mt Barker, we were really cruising. The Festiva was in need of some fuel but, like most girls, I pushed it to the limit. The digital kilometre countdown to empty did wonders for achieving this and gave peace of mind that we weren't about to stop on the freeway. The sound-system volume adjustment on the steering column is also a welcome change to the usual push button on the steering wheel. This was also handy to drown out the inevitable return to blokey topics as we neared the football oval. With the plethora of small cars on the market, the Fiesta Zetec definitely packs a competitive punch. As for the weekly freeway trek, it's back to basics. LOVE IT LEAVE IT Fiesta Zetec Price: $18,490 (Metallic paint $280 option) LOVE IT Sporty, 16in alloys and funky colours give the Fiesta an edge. The interior automatic pop-up boot button is within easy reach and makes life easier. Good value for what you get. LEAVE IT No centre storage console. For a small car, it chewed up fuel a bit faster than I had hoped but I was carrying a pretty big load.