2015 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 1.0 EcoBoost

Summary:

Sporty rig that can easily sip gas

General Comments:

Relative to all Fiesta builds; do check into the NHTSA complaints for at least the automatic transmissions and heater blower motor freezing.

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She handles like a Saturn S-Series DOHC with a SOHC transmission with a turbo! The comparable HP before the turbo is strongly reflected. The much needed torque that was needed with the SOHC transmission is also quite easily noticed. The gear ratios are far more precise. The ride is more stiff, however.

Be aware that the front seats without lumbar adjustment have a serious issue with upper back support due to the headrest.

So far in my alpine-esque driving region, I'm doing good to hit a 35 MPG average with the A/C on according to the console. I did note that when driving casually intense in a rolling country area, that the MPG did increase, even though I was hauling. Driving highly spiritedly will cause the MPG to just plummet on even flat ground.

Summer night driving is really pleasant with how both the high and low beams are designed. I'd consider the pattern to so far be reasonably safe on a windy country backroad with either high or low beams.

Ride noise at 70MPH is low enough for a normal conversation with another person in the vehicle or via the Bluetooth microphone.

The horn is one that would be expected out of an F-250. It's pitch adjusted a tad higher and louder than a mid-2000s F-250.

The blind spot mirrors are critical. It took a few hours of tinkering with the mirrors to get them into the right position, but they work wonderfully well. They are in a fixed position relative to the primary mirrors. While I'm not one for frivolous options, go for the heated ones due to the automatic tinting if you're driving away from the sunrise/set.

Microsoft Sync (no NAV options) does have Bluetooth audio-in streaming, but defaults to the 3.5mm line-in. In general, it's an interesting mixture of a Rockbox UI and paradigm melded together with a Windows CE paradigm. They should have licensed the roller rocker from Apple to properly handle the UI...

There is an adaptor included for the Easy Fuel setup with the spare tire and iron in the trunk.

I highly recommend the ambient lighting option, due to how well it flows. I'm looking at investing in the rubber floor mats, rear bumper cover (this area will become marred otherwise), and cargo net. Am seriously looking at eventually getting lumbar-adjustable seats if they can resolve the upper back issue.

All in all, I'd consider this to be a worthy successor to those that want(ed) more out of the Saturn S-Series. I can't yet compare the feasibility in tree-shade wrenchability though.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 1st August, 2015

2nd Aug 2015, 20:44

I notice you gave this car a 7/10 for comfort marks and not a 2. Are you under 5 ft tall and under 80 lbs?

5th Sep 2015, 02:29

I gave it a 7/10 for comfort primarily due to the rigid nature of the support material at that point. As it has broken in and my back has strengthened, I'm still standing by that mark at 1.7k miles. This includes when I'm dead exhausted and barely safe to drive. The desire to look into the lumbar-style seats has diminished to nearly a want, rather than a need.

I tend to drive an hour or so a day in her in 30 min minimum average distances. For true distance-eating mileage, I'd recommend either a custom pad or a few breaks to stretch about per day.

I'm about 5'11" and ~160lb.

Others who have been taller (6'+) and shorter (under 5'6") found it to be far more comfortable than I at the 240 mile mark.

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Not directly in reply, it took about 900 miles for the engine to break in for proper compression breaking, and have found that even with spirited alpine highway driving, I'm above 39MPG with an average of 39.7-39.8MPG for my standard commute. 39.9MPG has been spotted, but she has yet to see a flatish 5 mile stretch since ownership. Engine braking does increase the MPG for those interested. A/C is of minimal consequence, but does drop the MPG by about 0.1 to 0.2MPG.

What has gone wrong so far? The front right fender has a slight wind-induced vibration at about 50MPH+ and the driver's primary mirror has a slight vibration when the engine is lugging even minimally.