The new three-cylinder Ford Fiesta was all along the car to beat in the Women’s World Car of the Year awards, says New Zealand’s Sandy Myhre, the judging panel’s chief executive.
“It was clear from the outset that the 1.0-litre Fiesta EcoBoost had struck a chord with our panel of female motoring experts,” said Myhre.
“Women play a significant but often overlooked role in buying a car and the new Fiesta’s high-end look and feel, remarkable fuel economy and surprising performance are just some of the features which clearly chime with the needs of many female drivers.”
The Fiesta Ecoboost and its turbocharged 1.0-litre engine goes on sale in New Zealand next month, priced from $27,340. Buyers have the choice of a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox.
Myhre presented the 2013 gong at a ceremony in Colonge, Germany, to Barb Samardzich, chief operating officer, Ford of Europe.
The panel judged the award on safety, value-for-money, appearance, storage, child-friendliness, ease-of-driving, colour, sex appeal and environmental footprint.
The car also picked up the women’s economy award. Its 1.0-litre engine had already received global acclaim, wining the “International Engine of the Year” for both 2013 and 2012.
The Fiesta was Europe’s top-selling small car for the first nine months of 2013, according to researcher JATO Dynamics.
Said Ford’s Samardzich: “The success of the new Fiesta, both in terms of this award and impressive sales, has been achieved with a car which is sharp looking, better connected and even more fuel efficient and fun-to-drive.”
The car’s direct-injection, three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine delivers 92kW at 6000rpm and 170Nm between 1400-4500rpm. Ford’s current 1.6-litre Ecoboost unit is good for 82kW at 6300rpm and 140Nm at 4400rpm.
New Fiesta comes with a maximum five-star safety rating, Ford’s SYNC connectivity system, and the so-called Active City Stop, which can help drivers avoid low-speed collisions.