Ford Australia has announced that the sharp n’ funky 2009 Fiesta will be on sale Down Under from next January, with prices ranging from $15,750 AUD to $20,990.
The base model CL fleshes out the bottom of the Fiesta range, and is available in either three or five door flavours. The economy-pack member of the bunch, the CL gets 15-inch steel wheels, a CD player with MP3 player input, steering-wheel mounted audio controls and air conditioning. Not over-burdened with kit, but it should make the morning commute more than pleasant enough.
Fork out a little more coin for the Fiesta LX, however, and the spec level improves markedly. For $18,490 you get five-door practicality, 15-inch alloys, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and voice-controllable Bluetooth connectivity - as well as the same steering-wheel-mounted audio controls and air conditioning of the CL.
At the top of the range sits the Fiesta Zetec, which gets all the goodies from the CL and LX and throws in 16-inch alloys, a unique bodykit, chrome trim around the side glass, a larger rear spoiler and a USB input for the stereo system. A comprehensive safety suite is also standard fare on the Zetec, which comprises front head and thorax airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, dynamic stability control, traction control and emergency brake assist. At just $20,250 for the (manual only) three-door, the Zetec looks like good buying.
Curiously, choice of engine is dictated by what transmission is selected. An 88kW 1.6 litre inline-four with 152Nm of torque and a five-speed manual is standard across the Fiesta range, but tick the box for the optional four-speed auto and engine capacity drops to 1.4 litres, while output takes a dive to 71kW and 128Nm. The bigger-capacity cars also win in the thriftiness stakes - fuel economy is 6.1 l/100km for manual equipped Fiestas and 6.9 l/100km for the auto, so the smart money would be on the good ol’ fashioned stick shift.
ABS with EBD is standard on all Fiesta models, as are driver and passenger airbags. The higher protection offered by the Zetec’s extra ‘bags and electronic aids is also available on the other models as part of an optional Safety Pack, which costs $1000. Cross-drilled alloy pedals, an illuminated gear lever and alloy scuff plates are also optional extras across the range, as is a towing kit.
The 2009 Ford Fiesta goes on sale across the country from January 2009, with sales of automatic-equipped Fiestas beginning the following month.
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It looks bigger than the Mazda2. They didn’t stretch the wheelbase, did they?
Also, why in the world would they put such a wimpy engine in the auto version?
The Zetec version Fiesta must be the hardest car to buy in its class. Ford have released 11 colours which are impossible to get except for Panther Black, Frozen White and Sea Grey being just slightly easier to find.
Everything is standard on the LX and Zetec versions which is excellent, especially in Australia when it took almost a century to have A/C as standard, what a rediculous joke.
The Ford Motor Company has the worst customer service of any other motor company that I, or anyone I know, have dealt with. Ford don’t seem to really give a damn whether you buy their cars or not and they definately won’t help you find the car you’re looking for. The dealerships can’t give you an ETA on availability either, especially with certain colours that you may want. No wonder Ford sales are still dropping below all the others.
I vote for an Australian Standard to change the instrumentation over to the right side too, not just the pedals and steering wheel. That would save you changing gears and indicating with the left hand at the same time which is crap.
I agree, i have spent the last 5 weeks wanting to buy a white 3 door zetec Fiesta and Fords customer service is absolutely appalling.
I have had to deal with 6 different dealers, just to even get a price on what it would cost me.
As far as trying to find out availability there is no hope of ever getting a response.
What is wrong with ford and the way they treat their customers??
Any wonder they are in such trouble. Ford really need to start giving a damn about prospective customers.
Bosses at Ford take note , you have a very good product with the new Fiesta, but unless you get your sales people to start showing some basic respect with relation to customer service, no matter how good the product is, we as buyers will buy another brand.
Pretty simple really. Treat us with some respect and dont play games with pricing, be able to answer questions about the cars you sell (i knew more about the Fiesta than any dealer i dealt with!!) and if you say you are going to call, KEEP YOUR WORD AND CALL…
Maybe send your sales team to customer service school… Just a thought!!
As a Ford dealer, we offer a service that does respect the customer. If you have had to deal with 6 dealers to get one price, I would suggest that you are not giving the dealer the correct information or you are unwilling to accept that the answers that are given suit your needs.Your needs or expectations may be unrealistic.If you are a genuine buyer with an intent to buy some time soon, you will get information that is accurate,even if you you find that difficult to believe!