From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Ford Fiesta is a supermini sized compact car designed and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company.
The Fiesta was originally introduced in 1976 as Ford's answer to the growing "supermini" segment which had been spearheaded by the likes of the Fiat 127 and the Volkswagen Polo. It was also a breakthrough for Ford as it was its first truly successful front wheel drive car. The first generation Fiesta was also a "world car", being briefly sold in the United States until 1979. Mechanically, the Fiesta followed tradtion, with an end-on 4 speed transaxle mounted to a new version of the Ford Kent overhead valve engine christened "Valencia", after the Spanish factory where the Fiesta was produced. Fiestas were also produced in Ford's plants in Dagenham, England and Cologne, Germany. The Fiesta was a runaway success overnight, and sales had soon topped 1 million. In 1980, a sporting derivative had been introduced known as the XR2, which featured a 1.6 litre engine rather than the feeble 1.1 litre unit which moved its lesser brothers. In a stroke, Ford had created a cult car so beloved of boy-racers throughout the 1980's.
The second generation Mk2 appeared in 1983. Essentially a facelift of the previous car, it featured a smooth Sierra-style nose, and an all-new interior. Mechanically there was little change, except for the inclusion of the Escort's CVH engine in place of the Valencia motor in the 1.3 models and he XR2.
By the end of the 1980's the Fiesta was looking decidedly jaded next to the superior Peugeot 205 and Fiat Uno. Introduced in 1989, the third generation Fiesta was a comprehensive reskin of the old car with an all-new bodyshell built on top of the existing floorpan. This addressed one of the Fiesta's most serious shortcoming - the lack of a five-door derivative. However, apart from the long awaited addition of fuel injection to the XR2 (thus creating the XR2i) and a new version of the Valencia engine christened HCS, the old running gear remained, and the car was still uninspiring to drive compared to its rivals. It didn't deter Europe's small car buyers, the Mk3 Fiesta sold a million inside 2 years, but the motoring press still weren't impressed. The inclusion of the Zetec engine in 1992, and an injection of safety features from the Mondeo in 1994 kept the metal moving.
In 1995, things changed dramatically with the fourth generation car - Ford, cashed in on the Mondeo's success and spread some of that car's excellence onto its baby. The Mk4 Fiesta was given the all-new Zetec-SE engine, thorougly reworked the Valencia engine into the Endura-E, and was given an all new chassis and suspension design. At a stroke the flabby handling became nimble an entertaining and the Fiesta was all of a sudden the enthusiast's choice. The facelift of the Mk3 bodyshell didn't work as well however - the "fish-face" front end always a subject of controversy. A Focus-inspired restyle in 2000 was an attempt to address this problem.
In 2002 the fifth-generation car was unveiled. This was for the first time, a completely clean sheet design, with no genetic links to the 1976 original. Brand new engines from Ford's new Duratec family were under the hood, the styling was heavily inspired by the larger Focus.
