Ford Fiesta ECOnetic arrives
Ford's new diesel-powered light car has wrested the title of "Australia's most fuel efficient car" from the Toyota Prius hybridAustralia's most fuel efficient car has finally gone on sale, trumping the previous eco champions Mini D and Toyota Prius hybrid.
Priced at $24,990 driveaway, the ultra-green five-door Fiesta is the only non-hybrid car to achieve CO2 emissions of less than 100 grams per kilometre.
Using an average of 3.7 litres of the fuel per 100km, the new turbodiesel Fiesta takes advantage of a number of fuel saving features to beat the former economy kings (3.9L/100km) from BMW and Toyota by 0.2 of a litre.
Power for the ECOnetic Fiesta comes from a 1.6-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder engine outputting 66kW/200Nm, driving the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox, the only transmission option.
The Ford Fiesta ECOnetic comes with a high level of specification for a small car, including: aircon; electric front windows and mirrors; a CD/MP3 stereo with auxiliary and USB jacks; multi-function steering wheel with audio/cruise controls; and Bluetooth hands-free with voice control system.
ANCAP rates the Fiesta ECOnetic a five-star car for crash safety and the small Ford features as standard ABS, five airbags, and dynamic stability control.
The lean and green Fiesta comes packaged with low rolling resistance tyres, modified aerodynamics and gear shift suggestion points, which help it to achieve low fuel consumption figures, yet its technology doesn't overshadow its style, says Ford Australia's President, Marin Burela.
"Fiesta ECOnetic perfectly balances a stylish, affordable car that considers the environment and our future, without compromising the style or technology which has made the Fiesta one of Australia and the world's most popular small cars."
Mr Burela said he was confident the new 'green' Fiesta will build the Blue Oval's small car brand in Australia, despite being a manual-only proposition. He revealed that some Ford dealers had sold their entire Fiesta ECOnetic stock allocation already, and that interest in the new model is strong.
We'll have a full drive report of the new Fiesta model soon.
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