The strange thing about Ford’s new Focus range, which is due for South African launch towards the end of the year, is that unlike most models with hatch and sedan offerings the sedan in the new Focus actually looks better than its five-door sibling.
That was my impression at the world launch earlier this year, and seemed to be shared by others.
The recently-launched Fiesta sedan, on the other hand, hasn’t been that lucky, and I think it’s safe to say plays second fiddle in the aesthetics department to its sexier sibling with more doors. To be fair the Fiesta sedan still looks young, modern and funky from the front and sides, it’s just the new bum which lets the side down.
It’s the price you pay for family practicality I guess – which translated into Fiesta sedan speak means 430 litres of boot space versus the hatchback’s 284. I can certainly attest to the odd pram and blanket having no space issues whatsoever when thrown in.
So that’s the first new aspect to the Fiesta, the boot. The second is the addition of an automatic gearbox to the range. To clarify, one hatch and one sedan model in the range get the new box: the 5-door Ambiente and the 4-door Trend, both driven by 1.6-litre engines.
And this is where the confusion started with this road test of the 4-door Trend.
The new gearbox, which in Ford speak is called Powershift, is really a 6-speed dual-clutch setup and was first introduced as part of the facelift to the current Focus range about two years ago. I drove it then in the 2-litre turbodiesel (which is still the only model to get it in either four or five door) and it was a pearler.
The gearbox took to that engine like a duck to water, and even changed the overall characteristics of the car. Not so in this case I’m afraid, to the extent that I had to double check that it is in fact the same dual-clutch technology.
In our test car the gearbox felt old school, like the normal torque-convertor technology. It didn’t have those lightning-quick gear changes nor the technology which gets the right gear at the right time – both of which we’ve come to expect from dual-clutch wizardry.
The Fiesta would sometimes hunt for a gear, literally jerk at slow speeds, and the ratios felt like they were too short in the lower gears. And there’s nothing you can do about it as a manual mode is non-existent; there is only the traditional “L” after “D” on the selector, which is really more of a lowest gear setting.
I chatted to Ford’s Vehicle Engineering department and they reassured me that I wasn’t losing my marbles. Although similar technology, this gearbox in the Fiesta is not only smaller than in the Focus, but the software has intentionally been set up for a slipperier, more old-school feel.
According to Ford SA this is because the box has to date only been introduced in Asia and the USA, and apparently these markets prefer the traditional feel. Go figure.
This obviously didn’t help the sprint times at our testing facility either. Whether launched in L or D the times were about the same – 12.9 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint and 19.2 for the quarter mile. Which is not great for a 1.6-litre making 88kW/152Nm and costing R205 130.
Left-foot braking had no effect, with the software not allowing higher revs off the line. And it felt like the gearbox wasn’t sure – for a split second – which gear to take off in, would then decide, then start shunting. Traction control can’t be switched off either, not that there was ever a threat of breaking traction.
The rest of the package is the Fiesta we know and have come to enjoy. It handled well, had a solid feel, and great build quality is very evident. I felt especially comfortable in the driver’s seat, thought the steering feedback was reasonable enough, and found the infotainment quite easy to navigate through (though that small red screen is starting to look a bit dated).
There’s also a new gradient assist button when climbing steep gradients to keep the car in a lower gear and prevent it from continually shifting, and a hill-hold function which prevents roll-back in uphill pull offs.
My only lifestyle complaint is that there’s no warning buzzer should you leave the lights on and exit the vehicle. There’s also no temperature gauge, a common problem these days. And the gearshift lettering is on the wrong side, meant for left-hand drive markets, meaning the gearlever blocks the letters.
VERDICT
Outside of the disappointing gearbox and the rental-car looks there’s very little wrong with the Fiesta. The gearbox is a handicap to the engine – mated to a manual box the 1.6-litre should perform loads better.
The Fiesta returned an 8.1l/100km consumption figure, which I thought was fair, and I was happy to mosey around town in it, like a sales rep probably would.
The hatchback is still first prize though, unless that additional boot space is an absolute must. -Daily News Motoring