Clean Fleet Report (5/19/10)
Ford’s all-new 2011 Fiesta with up to 40 mpg highway and 29 mpg city, delivers better fuel economy than most hybrid cars. The Ford Fiesta 34 mpg combined rating, achieved with Ford’s new six-speed PowerShift automatic transmission, is better than the Honda Fit and the Toyota Yaris. The new Fiesta will also get strong competition from the new 2011 Chevy Cruze. The 2011 Fiesta with standard five-speed manual transmission is EPA rated at 28 mpg city and 37 mpg highway.
The Fiesta is available as a 4-door sedan, or as a 5-door hatchback. The sedan is 13 inches longer than the hatchback. This compact offers 85 cubic feet of passenger space and almost 13 cubic feet of trunk space.
Fiesta’s class-leading fuel efficiency follows Fusion Hybrid and other fuel economy champs such as the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid.
The Fiesta achieves its best-in-segment fuel figures thanks to a host of fuel-saving technologies not normally seen at this price level. To increase fuel economy, the front-wheel drive Fiesta features a new 1.6-liter Duratec® engine with Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) that delivers 120 horsepower, an aggressive deceleration fuel shutoff and an engine accessory drive system that improves efficiency by reducing the energy it takes to power the air conditioner and alternator.
The Fiesta offers the optional PowerShift transmission, a six-speed automatic that combines the fuel benefits of a manual with the convenience of an automatic. Combine that with electric power-assisted steering, another fuel saver and some aerodynamic optimizations and you have a car that can go a long way on a single tank of fuel. Although PowerShift costs more, it is likely to pay for itself at the pump within the first few years of driving.
Fiesta is built for North American markets at Ford’s manufacturing facility in Cuautitlan, Mexico. The vehicle goes on sale in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles – with the sedan starting at $13,995, including destination charges – at Ford dealerships this summer. A more appointed hatchback can start at up to $17,995.
The Fiesta has been a hot seller in Europe and is likely to receive equal enthusiasm in the U.S. The Fiesta is expected to have an EPA greenhouse gas emission rating of 5.4 tons of CO2e per year, better than most hybrids. Clean Fleet Report 2010 Top 10 Lowest Carbon Footprint Cars
Clearly, whoever made the claim that the fiesta gets better mileage than most hybrid cars is uniformed, willfully ignorant or both. Most hybrids cars, particularly those in the compact and even family size range do considerably better in the city and close to or exceed the fiesta’s highway mileage number. It is unfortunate that this kind of misinformation gets disseminated and does little to further the cause of cleaner technology.
Most hybrids do not get the 34 mpg EPA combined driving rating of the Fiesta. Fortunately some hybrids are designed for good mileage including the Toyota Prius at 50 mpg, the Honda Civic and Insight, and the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Many hybrids, cost more that fuel-efficient (over 32 mpg) cars such as the Ford Fiesta, Chevy Cruze, Toyota Yaris, and Honda Fit. The following hybrids are designed for performance, many with big V-8 engines, and all get under 25 mpg:
2010 Lexus GS 450h 6 cyl, 3.5 L, 25 mpg
2010 Mercedes-Benz ML450 Hybrid 4matic 6 cyl, 3.5 L, comb 24 mpg
2010 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid 2WD, comb 22 mpg
2010 Chevrolet Silverado 15 Hybrid 2WD, comb 22 mpg
2010 Chevrolet Silverado 15 Hybrid 4WD 8 cyl, 6.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 2WD 8 cyl, 6.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 4WD 8 cyl, 6.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 GMC Sierra 15 Hybrid 2WD 8 cyl, 6.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 GMC Sierra 15 Hybrid 4WD 8 cyl, 6.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 GMC Yukon 1500 Hybrid 2WD 8 cyl, 6.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 GMC Yukon 1500 Hybrid 4WD 8 cyl, 6.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 Lexus LS 600h L 8 cyl, 5.0 L, comb 22 mpg
2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid 6 cyl, 3.5 L, comb 25 mpg
2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 8 cyl, 4.4 L, 18 mpg
Duane,
You got told!