Ford has introduced a Durashift automatic
transmission option to their best selling Fiesta range for versions with the
1.4-litre 96PS petrol engine.
The new 4-speed, torque converter type auto box
can be ordered for three and five door models and there is the choice of
Style+, Zetec and Titanium trim levels. The new automatic transmission carries
a £1,000 price premium over manual gearbox models. Fiesta 1.4-litre auto prices start from
£13,795 on the road.
The Fiesta is the UK's best selling car with
over 53,000 sold so far this year of their 95,000 unit target. An increasing number of sales in the fleet
and business sectors due to down-sizing has pushed their share up to 45pc of
total Fiesta sales.
Chris Muers, Ford's Fiesta product manager - "Typically around 10pc of small care buyers specify an auto option so
this is an important addition to our Fiesta range."
Ford has also announced they will be increasing their retail prices by
an average 4pc. This is their third price increase this year
due to the low value of the Pound against the Euro. A Ford spokesperson
said
this week, "In reality the customers rarely pay more due to the current
competitive market conditions where the actual sales transaction price
is
usually lower than the published on-the-road prices."
FIESTA
AUTO FIRST DRIVE
There is no getting away from the fact that
the new Ford Fiesta is proving to be a fantastically successful range of three
and five door hatchbacks and continues to be the UK's best selling car by a
long way.
But you do not need potential customers
slipping through the sales net so the range has to offer every possible choice
whether it be petrol or diesel engines, ‘eco' or sporty performance versions,
three and five door body layouts and of course manual and automatic
transmissions.
The introduction of a 4-speed, torque
converter automatic transmission with a clutchless manual gearchange setting as
well completes the Fiesta line-up.
The new auto box is only available with the
1.4-litre 96PS petrol engine but this unit is the core sales choice
anyway. Unfortunately ‘proper' automatic
gearboxes do not come cheap so the Fiesta au.ito is £1,0001.4-litre manual model. Fiesta auto
prices start from £13,795 on-the-road.
There is the option of three and five door body styles with Style+,
Zetec and Titanium trim levels. Around
10pc of small car buyers choose and automatic model so in a full year Ford can
expect to sell nearly 10,000 units of this additional new Fiesta.
The qualities of the new Fiestas are well
known, great to drive, comfortable, refined and it sets the standard for
‘supermini' sized cars. The 1.4-litre
petrol engine is lively enough and pretty fuel efficient. It now handles the
automatic transmission pretty well. The acceleration is dulled somewhat but
with 0-62mph taking 13.9 seconds; I could live with that quite happily. Ford
says the electronic throttle responses have been tuned and sharpened up to
accommodate the auto gearbox application. The performance didn't appear lazy or
lack-lustre as you get with most small engines coupled to an automatic box.
With our stop-start British motoring
conditions the desire to have a car with an automatic gearbox is getting
stronger. It takes the stress and wear and tear out of driving if you spend a
long time behind the wheel. Given the
shortage of space on our roads and the difficulties with parking, the automatic
compact Fiesta seems like an ideal marriage.
Officially the Fiesta auto will return
43.4mpg on average and my test car, a 3-door Titanium model, came up with a
36.2mpg figure for a combination of motorway, rural and town driving so I think
that is a realistic figure. For the record the CO2 emissions are 154g/km so
there will be an annual road tax cost of £150.
MILESTONES. Ford Fiesta 3-Door Titanium 1.4-litre Automatic. Price: £14,995. Engine/transmission: 1.4-litre, four-cylinder petrol, 95bhp, 94lb
ft of torque, 4-speed auto. Performance: 109mph, 0-62mph 13.943.4mpg,
(36.2mpg actual), CO2154g/km, VED Band G £150. Insurance group: 4. For:
Added driving refinement to what is the best ‘supermini' by far. Against:
Looks a little expensive with the auto gearbox option.
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