Is Ford’s unadventurous technical strategy for the Fiesta responsible for its recent fall from grace? Rob Marshall asks...
In an age of uncertainty, we still have the rock that is Ford’s Fiesta, or at least, we did. Spanning eight generations and chalking up almost 5 million UK sales, the Fiesta became the default small hatchback. Yet, after a dozen years of topping the new car registration charts, Ford’s baby was absent from 2021’s figures. Then, earlier this year, Ford UK stopped taking Fiesta orders. What went wrong?
Is just enough no longer good enough?
COVID-19 and semi-conductor shortages aside, we must not forget Ford’s commercial decision to concentrate on more profitable commercial vehicles and SUVs. Yet, its dogged policy of not making the Fiesta a technical tour-deforce is nothing new. Throughout its history, FOMOCO preferred gradual technical evolution for its Fiesta over revolution, updating the car just sufficiently to keep it fresh. Admittedly, the sales figures prove that this unadventurous approach has worked, until recently. Even so, CM readers, especially, loved the model, not just for its driveability but also its ease of repair and superb parts availability.
Of course, the 2022 ‘Mark VIII’ is very different from the 1976 original. It may be bigger, safer, more economical, faster and better equipped but, even when adjusted for inflation, more expensive. The current model’s engine mainstay is unrelated to the old Kentbased OHV and later CVH engines, being the three-cylinder ‘Fox’. However, this engine was five-years-old, when fitted first to the Fiesta in 2017, despite boasting cylinder deactivation technology. This feature, incidentally, employs oil pressure to activate a valve rocker to interrupt the physical connection between the camshaft and cylinder No.1’s valves at speeds up to 4500rpm. To counter unpleasant vibrations from penetrating the cabin, especially when the engine functions in twin-cylinder mode, Ford revised the dual mass flywheel and added a vibration-damping clutch friction plate.
