11th Feb 2010, 15:27

I am looking at buying a Ford Fiesta in the US - mainly because that is the only American company that we (the American people) didn't have to bail out in the financial crunch this past year - they deserve my money... But I have to stay within my budget -about 10k to 11k. Wish me luck!

17th Sep 2010, 21:12

The 2011 Ford Fiesta is being made in Mexico, so it is really an import, not a domestic. On top of that, the base model here comes with nothing, so unless you want nothing on your Fiesta, even the base model is above your budget. If all you want for convenience is power windows, it will cost you just over $2,000 more because some money making wizard at Ford decided to bundle a common feature like power windows with a load of stuff many people won't want. In other words, they are forcing us to pay far too much for a feature that in this day and age should be on the base model anyway.

Oh and the car is loud. It is much more quiet in Europe, but that model is made in Germany and the engines in the UK. Most of the reviews are basing their opinions on the European models, and that just isn't comparing apples to apples.

The Pontiac Vibe or Nissan Versa are much better value cars, and performance cars. I hate Pontiac anything, but too many reviews and JDPower (78,000 owner experiences) says the Pontiac Vibe (that has much Toyota made technology in it, and is now taken over by Toyota, but renamed to the Matrix, and of course price hiked as Toyota always does) is a great value.

The North American 2011 Ford Fiesta is nothing but marketing hype, but unfortunately young Americans are blinded by presentation and marketing hype, and weak on common sense and thinking for themselves.

19th Sep 2010, 10:08

Actually you've got this backwards. The Pontiac Vibe is a rebadged Toyota Matrix with a few small body panel changes (just like the Geo/Chevrolet Prism, which was a rebadged Toyota Corolla).

7th Oct 2010, 01:11

Regarding these comments, a Ford - any Ford - sold on this side of the Atlantic (I'm unsure if Ford EU is a separate entity) is a domestic vehicle, regardless of where it is built. The company is an American company, hence the products it produces are American products, as that is where the money goes in the end. Using the same logic presented here, the Honda Civic is Canadian and the Toyota Camry is All-American.

The offering of a very stripped down base model to achieve a certain sticker price is a very common tactic in the auto industry, and unfortunately the Fiesta is no exception. But to say they have packaged the one thing you place value on (power windows) with other things no one would want (power locks, CD player, + more) is purely your opinion. My opinion is what you get for your extra $1k is quite worth the cost. The cost to step up to the SE is also only $1000, not the $2000 you mentioned.

I'm also curious as to which car you drove, as I've test driven the Fiesta fairly extensively, and found it to be exceptionally quiet on and off the highway. If you read reviews of the now available North American model, I think you will find most reviewers comment on the quietness of the cabin, which is easily best-in-class, and probably beats many larger cars - the Mazda 3 comes to mind, now THAT's a loud car.

I seriously question your motives for posting the information you have posted here. Spreading misinformation - especially in a market that is becoming increasingly flooded with quality choices - really helps no one.