Ford's Fiesta gets 'boosted

Downsizing. Whatever you think of it, it’s happening in a car near you. W12s have been replaced by V8 biturbos, V8s usurped by straight-sixes, and four-pots kicked into touch by three-cylinder motors. 

The latter aren’t anything new in cars; smart has been using them for years.  But Ford’s new one-litre, three-cylinder Ecoboost engine has really captured the imaginations of the motoring press and car buyers alike.

The three-cylinder unit looks tiny, even in the Fiesta's bay.

I spent a day with the white Ford Fiesta you see here, complete with Americanised and really rather hideous facelifted grille, as my own MkII Focus was undergoing testing for a water leak. That’s another story altogether, but this misfortune gave me the chance to try one of the cars of the moment.

The best thing about the 79bhp Ecoboost engine is the noise. At full throttle, it’s like listening to a Porsche’s straight-six several rooms away, but with a more bubbly back beat. Unlike the Fiesta’s old 1.25 and 1.4 engines with four-cylinders, there is much ear candy to gain from letting the Ecoboost motor spin up to the redline. It really is quite magnificent, and kids you into thinking you’re going faster than you really are.

The Fiesta’s Ecoboost engine is also super frugal. An A-road cruise in light traffic delivered just over 50mpg, far worse traffic only cutting that by 10mpg. And a faster run down the A2 at around 50mph saw the UK’s biggest selling car breach the 60mpg barrier. You’d be happy with that in a diesel powered car, and again, I never got near that in my old 1.4 Fester.

The Fiesta's cabin is generally OK, but can't dampen the three-pot's tune.

The only gripe I have with Ford’s new wonderchild relates to its refinement. Granted my courtesy car had only covered 750 miles and it’s running-in period will have been almost non existent.  But I really expected better. It’s noisy on start-up and jiggles your seat at idle. And my test car’s engine gave off a very strange reverberation at 2,500rpm on the overrun.  

But still, general impressions were very positive indeed.

Downsizing? It’s not all bad.