TREADING water Ford is most definitely not.
Except for the fuel-sipping Econetic variant, the Blue Oval's popular German-built WS Fiesta gives way to the new Thai-built WT version, adding a raft of incremental driveability, packaging, safety and refinement improvements, as well as more features and better choice, thanks to the inclusion of a bulbous new four-door sedan variant, as well as an expanded diesel line-up in the mid-range LX and best-selling Zetec hatch models.
There are one or two surprising omissions, but otherwise the Fiesta re-establishes itself as one of the best light-car all-rounders money can buy.
And that is quite a feat in this post-VW Polo world.
Model release date: December 2010Ford’s underrated baby finally hit the big time in Oz with the release of the fourth-generation WS Fiesta, a German three and five-door hatch available with the choice of an 88kW/152Nm 1.6-litre VVT petrol engine (with a five-speed manual) or a 71kW/125Nm 1.4 if the (four-speed) auto was chosen.
The former was a winner, flying high in the light-car segment with its smooth and responsive nature … while the latter felt sluggish by comparison.
But buyers didn’t seem to care, for the WS doubled Ford’s share in the segment, garnered a swag of awards and cemented our faith in the company’s engineers.
The top-line Zetec proved the most popular, followed by the mid-range LX and then the base CL.
In November 2009 a 66kW/200Nm high-economy model called the Econetic arrived, a manual-only diesel five-door that instantly established itself as the most economical new car in Australia, giving hybrids like the Toyota Prius a scare in the marketplace.
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