SO I was just randomly wandering around downtown a few hours ago and its Denver's large annual Cinco De Mayo festival around our civic center and the capitol. Well I turn a corner and see what I recognized right away! A bright green Fiesta! I walked closer and realized it was a exhibit if you will for the recently kicked off Fiesta Movement
http://www.fiestamovement.com/
I was warmly greeted by "The Agents" that help promote the car. 5 cars were lined up, all 5 Door hatches. They asked if I wanted to drive it and of course I did! This being a very conjested urban area i opted for the automatic just because I knew my stick skills were a bit rusty and Id enjoy the experience more if I wasnt thinking of the potential to make an idiot of myself on the 5 speed.
All I had to do was get my liscense scanned and i was signed up to drive in 5 min.
The Driving Experience:
I threw my pack in the back seat of the dark blue Auto hatch, and first noticed how nicely the doors closed. i recently read a review from jalopnik or autoblog on how "german" the feel was of that. I hopped in the front seat and got a brief overview of seat and mirror adjusters and where the teloscoping wheel controls were to get at my comfort level for driving. The seats are firm but have a great supportive feel, (Id say they are more supportive in the lumbar area than my Edge).
The agent gave me a little backround about the car "This is the 2009 european model built in Germany, it wont arrive here till next Summer in June. (Wait...I thought they would be here by next April or May at the latest). But He set the key fob in a center cup holder and showed me the awesome Push Button start. All I had to do was engage the brake a push for about 3-4 sec. I adjusted the mirroes to merge out onto traffic and noticed the placement of the side mirrors are a bit low and I felt like I needed to point them upwards just to be level with the oncoming traffic. (So that might be some imput for Ford to adjust for the NA model).
The interior is great, the picutures I thought made it look a bit cheap even though other publications said interior fit and finish was top notch. The padded dash
The Agent then pointed out that the engine was underpowered for American tastes and a more "peppy" choice would be avalible on even the basic model when it arrives. I think I remember reading that this Petrol 4 makes round 109 HP? I felt a little struggle gaining speed and getting in the far left lane on a 4 lane boulevard. This could also be the auto transmission...
Off we went and It was a VERY positive driving experience, the car had no problem keeping up once it was at 25 or 30 mph in city driving. I think I got to around 45 at my fastest. The brakes were firm but not too good and didnt have that Jerky overpowering feel.
Overall the ride was only about 15 min, but it was a blast to drive. Driving in a very urban area is exactly where this car belongs, and especially since the agent said it get a bit more MPG in the city than highway. I actually had to parallel park it between 2 other Fiesta's when I returned to the setup on the street. The car maneovered awesome and it was hands down my quickest park job in that kind of situation. They gave me a card for free music downloads and i was on my way. (Before I left I was asked a 10 or so Questionaire about my perception of the Ford brand and if i had heard of the car. I was literally the only one who had.
Walking back, I interestingly found the 2nd of 2 Fiesta Movement sites and drove one a second time! shhhh.... So This time i drove it in Denvers real urban core through the financial district and it really gave me an idea of how it does in full blown urban driving. Overall, Im so excited to have had that opportunity, and Im excited for the Fiesta to arrive and for Ford on a great little car. Sorry, I dont really feel like explaining EVERY detail of the drive(s) but ask me any questions!
Also Go to the site above and check when the Fiesta Movement will be in your city! I'd also like to use this post as a place for anyone else who gets a chance to drive the car to tell us your impressions
This is Exactly what mine looked like:
...Then my 2nd one was red LOL