Photo: Ford
Once a sweetheart of the subcompact segment, the Fiesta isn’t doing too hot in the Old Continent. Sales have contracted from 228,959 units in 2019 to 156,067 last year, and so far, in 2021, the Puma is outselling the small hatch.
The seventh generation still is an honest car like its predecessor, but it’s a little bit long in the tooth if you remember that production started four years ago at the Cologne plant in Germany. It was high time for the Fiesta to receive a refresh, and the Ford Motor Company has delivered one for the 2022 model year with lots of small improvements. But alas, FoMoCo still makes the Fiesta Van, although a Transit Connect is better suited for the job.
Dubbed as a compact even though it clearly isn’t one, the facelifted hatchback is flaunting LED headlights as standard across the range. Higher up the spectrum, matrix-type LED headlights are offered with anti-dazzle technology for the high beams. Customers are further presented with optional LED taillights that look remarkably similar to the pre-facelift car.
Instead of keeping things neat and simple, Ford continues to offer different grille designs depending on the trim level. From the Trend to the Titanium to the ST-Line, Active and ST hot hatchback, the Blue Oval believes that overcomplicating things is the key to making the Fiesta that more desirable.
Criticism aside, the interior deserves a thumbs up for the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and the Wrong-Way system that utilizes a windshield-mounted camera and navigation system. The ST gets a few more tweaks, namely resculpted performance seats with integrated headrests. The ST further boasts a small boost in peak torque, now rated at 320 Nm (236 pound-feet) from a turbo three-pot engine with 1.5 liters of displacement.
Exclusive to the hottest powertrain available, Track Mode replaces Eco Mode. The software-based aid is designed to switch off the traction control and change the electronic stability control to something called “wide-slip mode” as per the following release from Ford of Europe. That’s an interesting way of saying “the Fiesta ST can break traction more easily at the touch of a button,” but then again, marketing works in predictable ways.
Regular people who don’t need the slippin’-and-slidin’ function are presented with three different tunes for the 1.0-liter EcoBoost. The base variant offers 100 metric ponies whereas the mild-hybrid options level up to 125 and 155 horsepower. The 1.5-liter EcoBoost, which isn’t a mild hybrid, continues to rock 200 metric ponies at 6,000 revolutions per minute.
Dubbed as a compact even though it clearly isn’t one, the facelifted hatchback is flaunting LED headlights as standard across the range. Higher up the spectrum, matrix-type LED headlights are offered with anti-dazzle technology for the high beams. Customers are further presented with optional LED taillights that look remarkably similar to the pre-facelift car.
Instead of keeping things neat and simple, Ford continues to offer different grille designs depending on the trim level. From the Trend to the Titanium to the ST-Line, Active and ST hot hatchback, the Blue Oval believes that overcomplicating things is the key to making the Fiesta that more desirable.
Criticism aside, the interior deserves a thumbs up for the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and the Wrong-Way system that utilizes a windshield-mounted camera and navigation system. The ST gets a few more tweaks, namely resculpted performance seats with integrated headrests. The ST further boasts a small boost in peak torque, now rated at 320 Nm (236 pound-feet) from a turbo three-pot engine with 1.5 liters of displacement.
Exclusive to the hottest powertrain available, Track Mode replaces Eco Mode. The software-based aid is designed to switch off the traction control and change the electronic stability control to something called “wide-slip mode” as per the following release from Ford of Europe. That’s an interesting way of saying “the Fiesta ST can break traction more easily at the touch of a button,” but then again, marketing works in predictable ways.
Regular people who don’t need the slippin’-and-slidin’ function are presented with three different tunes for the 1.0-liter EcoBoost. The base variant offers 100 metric ponies whereas the mild-hybrid options level up to 125 and 155 horsepower. The 1.5-liter EcoBoost, which isn’t a mild hybrid, continues to rock 200 metric ponies at 6,000 revolutions per minute.
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