I find there's something about a small cheap honest subcompact with a manual shift that's hard not to love. Done properly, basic transportation doesn't have to be an exercise in miserable austerity, and the dollars you save at the gas pump will sweeten the deal no matter what. But what if we took the four-wheels-and-a-motor formula—one that brands like Honda and Mazda have all but perfected—and kicked it up a notch? What if you could dial up power output while keeping fuel economy basically steady or even improving it? What would that look like? Would a three-cylinder motor scare people away, and what if you added turbo, and made a 5-speed manual the only choice for a transmission? With the Fiesta EcoBoost, actually a fuel-savings option package on the middle-of-the-line Fiesta SE, Ford is taking some pretty bold risks. Read on to see how they worked out.
It's no secret at this point that the 2014 EcoBoost won International Engine of the Year from that body set up primarily to issue awards to BMW motors, so I'm just going to get this out of the way: the diminutive 1.0L EcoBoost powerplant packs an amazing punch for its size, netting 123 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque, where many larger-engined subcompacts barely crack into the triple-digits on both. Who says there's no replacement for displacement?
(Image credit: ford.com)
The tiny mill is tuned for torque, with overboost technology that can spike it up to as many as 148 lb-ft when you really give it the beans. To say the Ecoboost is no slouch off the line would be an almost comically absurd understatement, and it is as much at home zipping through city traffic as it is passing on the highway. Still, while its 0-60 (8.7 seconds) and quarter-mile (16.8) aren't anything to write home about, they're not outside the norm for subcompacts, but more importantly, the real-world fun factor of driving this car is far beyond what the numbers suggest.
The Fiesta's pep also owes something to smart gearing of its 5-speed manual, which helps it dance at low speeds but also keeps it from being too rev-happy on the highway. It's impressive that Ford achieved such perfect gearing out of a 5-speed while still netting a combined 37 mpg, and I hope that this success heralds the end of automakers trying to cram 6-speeds into econoboxes, with the endless rowing and flabby performance that tends to follow. I didn't have any complaints about the crisp-feeling gearbox, and good thing too, since the 5-speed is the only transmission offered in the Fiesta EcoBoost. Can you believe it, in America? I think the last time we saw manual-only was on the non-turbo diesels of the late 70s and early 80s, and we all know how that ended. It's surprising also since today's precision-shift automatics and CVTs often get an MPG or two more than their human-shifted counterparts, but it's pretty clear that Ford omitted the option because the 1L would be no fun with a slushbox. While I very much approve of the 5-speed, I hope it doesn't conspire to make the car a victim of bad timing. What if Ford killed the EcoBoost Fiesta for 2016 due to slow sales, now that gas is nearing $2 a gallon basically everywhere? There are plenty of other flavors of Fiesta, after all, for those who prefer not to row their own.
Other than its near-perfect drivetrain, what is this Fiesta like to live with? As it turns out, just fine. Ride and handling are up to the challenge of what the motor has to dish out, with nimble steering, great harshness control, and a quiet cabin even on worn highway. The interior is spartan but not cheap: the shiny surfaces of the shift knob and console read as fresh, not tacky, and the cloth upholstery is nice. The non-economy touches like power mirrors, Bluetooth, and seat-heaters were fine, though those heaters were on some kind of wonky thermostat that cycled from roast to off to roast again. The center stack has a lot of busybuttons, most of which I did not use, but the important stuff like radio and temp controls are intuitive and accessible.
The only things I found to be a little goofy aesthetically were the cartoon font of the gauge cluster—it's almost like the Fiesta is making fun of itself!—and the Atari-era radio display, which seemed like an afterthought for a company that's invested a ton in its dash tech—though notably, the absence of a touchscreen or nav allowed the Fiesta to dodge the disappointing infotaintment interface that plagues other current Fords like the Fusion hybrid. Overall, this Fiesta keeps it simple and does it right.
Though I haven't driven the regular 1.6L four-cylinder Fiesta, there's no way it can be more fun than this tiny turbocharged three, and in fact is bested by the EcoBoost in both horsepower and torque—the latter by a 35 lb-ft margin. Ford has made an econobox that is actually a bit of a riot to drive while maintaining great fuel mileage, and that is no small feat at a sub-$18K price point. While the EcoBoost option returns for 2015, we can only hope that US consumers will lay aside their aversion to manual transmissions and three-cylinder motors so that the EcoBoost may thrive into the future: the world of ho-hum subcompacts would be diminished by its absence.
The 2014 Ford Fiesta SE EcoBoost 1.0L
What's New: The EcoBoost 3-cylinder turbocharged motor was introduced in 2014 as a fuel-economy package on the mid-range Fiesta SE.
What's Hot: Incredible torque, great gearing, and fun and nimble driving dynamics. Segment-leading fuel economy at 32 mpg city/45 highway.
What's Not: Limited optionability at this trim level. Skip the Comfort Package, as the seat heaters are a little haywire.
Get This Car If: You want a fuel-sipping commuter that is a genuine blast to drive.
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