Ooo. That new VFR1200... Drool!

150ish hp from a 1200cc V4, with VTEC... Wrapping my legs around it, flicking my wrist, and watching the world turn blurry to the sound of a precision engineered work of art! I'll take it! Just need to find $15,999, or approximately 10500 more that I spent on my current bike!

He'll, just toss that engine/tranny in the Fits engine bay, in the same orientation as it's mounted in the bike, and hook the shaft-drive to a rear differential. 150+ horsepower of V4 anger, screaming at redline, with real, proper rear wheel drive? Can we say "Ultimate sleeper!?!

Ok. Done motorcybating. Back to the discussion at hand!

 

I personally would prefer it if the fiesta were neck and neck with the fit. Competition is almost always good for consumers. That said, I'm not surprised. The Detroit automakers are still a bit sluggish in responding to the market. The fiesta to me looked like a product with a bit too much branding and checklist/feature creeping, whereas the Fit to me looks like a very thought out design.

 

It seems that the Fiesta isn't quite in tHe same class. They seem to want to push upwards into Mini territory with things like the heated leather seats, Sirius, moonroof, etc., and an emphasis on style and driving dynamics over the more functional appeal of the Fit.

Some overlap, but different missions.

 

This is a Mazda design - the Mazda3 is listed at 17/43 with the wagon body. The difference in the max cargo space is largely a factor of the Fits forward shifted gas tank. Again, focus on functionality vs focus on zoom-zoom (FF cars already has a significant forward weight balance)

 

The Fit really need a DOHC, it's the only one in the group that's still using SOHC.

 

I don't think so. SOHC vs DOHC really depends on the car and need.
DOHC Adds more weight, more cost and more complexity (less reliable). But is more tunable and able to achieve more max power out of it.
The SOHC has better low-end torque because the valvetrain package is lighter. DOHC like I said has better top end power. Not really something recognized in a eco car. Utilizing the low end torque is better in a smaller eco friendly car that is mainly driven in urban environments.
Using the lighter SOHC keeps the Fit more balanced giving us that fun to drive dynamics.
Just means it's never going to be a true race car or very fun to tune... but not impossible. Anything is possible with a little engine swap or forced induction.

 

The Honda L-series engine is SOHC for packaging (much narrower), yet still manages four valves. Read about it here The Truly Amazing Honda Fit/Jazz

I also like other things that seem low tech or old fashioned, rocker arms instead of bucket cam followers for ease of valve adjustments and a lifetime chain instead of timing belt. My Tundra is eventually going to need very expensive service in the form of cam belt change and valve clearance adjustment for the 32 valve four cam V-8.

 

For those here who may not know why, Nissan is essentially owned by Renault, so it is no longer a Japanese company. The Versa is a Clio. Personally, I hate the styling, but that is subjective. Right now the Versa is the top seller in its class, I think mostly on price combined with a Japanese name, and size, really a C segment car at a B segment price. I wonder how well it would sell in the US with a Renault badge?

 

There is more friction in addition to weight that has been mentioned....Honda has been building single cam 4 valve per cylinder engines since 83 on air cooled single cylinder motorcycles..... It is easier to do a top end overhaul on some engines than a valve adjustment on a DOHC with buckets and shims...... Individual intake ports with tiny throttle bodies for each intake valve and individual ports and exhaust pipes to a single collector would be an interesting concept.... Add to that direct injection.

 

Oh I like the Fit and as I have already posted I think it is superior to The Fiesta. But don't kid yourself, The Fiesta is going to be a worthy challenger and take some business away from Honda.

You can see from monitoring this site, that there is a huge audience for The Fit that doesn't really value the magic seats, or the cargo space..all that much. If it comes down to available amenities and styling Ford is going to steal some customers that would of bought a FIT.

You also have some momentum just by virtue of being the "New Thing" on the block.

As has been stated competiton is good. That's how the bar get's raised across the industry.

I do think Ford has a good product here.

 

A vast majority of GE Fit owners I see are either very tall, 40+ year old and female, or both.

The Fiesta is a good car, maybe even a revolutionary design, but reliability is still questionable compared to the Honda. I think that it will steal sales away from someone, but the Fit is not likely one of them. Enthusiasts will love it, no doubt, and I'm sure a few members of fitfreak will jump ship.

I was in the market recently and didn't wait on the Fiesta, not just for lack of room (which was a deal killer), but because I see "rental car" written all over it. After a year or so, it will be a snooze fest on the streets instead of una fiesta. The Fit blends in, but I never thought of it as cheap.

 

Fiesta? More like a Siesta.

I don't think the Fiesta will steal any more sales than any other car in the subcompact market. I could see it possibly turning those who always "buy American", but those people were probably not looking at any imports anyways, rather just blind faith in the Detroit 3. And while Ford's reliability track record is getting better, can you really compare it to Honda?

 

There haven't been any purely American made cars since the 80s.... Even Harley-Davidson has been using Kehein carburetors and Showa suspension components since the 80s and they put the red white and blue and eagles in all of their advertising.

 

lol I can't believe I didn't catch that. We'll see if it ends up earning that nickname.

 

Ford's reliability on some models is at least on par with the mean honda vehicle, according to CR. That said, there's no way to gauge in advance if the Fiesta will be one of the reliable cars or one of the stinkers.

 

Agree, completely.

 

I'm sorry I just can't believe Ford is being so shady.
I wanted to see the storage in the back of the Fiesta and they don't show it.

2011 Ford Fiesta | Interior Photo Gallery | FordVehicles.com
????????

I really started to like Ford when they came out with the 305 hp V6 stang...but their just being really shady with the Fiesta. I just don't trust them fully to buy their products yet.

Sorry but the purpose of having a hatch is so you can do this. What's the point if you can't?


The only pic I can find so far is this...

and I can't tell wtf is going on back there.
From what I can tell the back of the seat is at a 45 degree. Really?

 

Yep, it's at close to 45 degrees.

Check out the video "How Much Can It Bear", there's a clear shot of the interior with the rear seats "down" at 35 secs in. They even have the balls to compare it with the cubic space of a Honda Civic, but not the Honda Fit.

 

Looks like a pretty cool contender to the Fit, I would have been interested and certainly test drove one. I almost bought the versa because I wanted a moonroof and the intellikey, and the stability control was just an added bonus. The Fiesta has these items too, and would have surely been above the Versa in my list (the fit and finish of the versa interior was a real let down).

Much like the Versa, Ford/Fiesta had to step up and offer what the Fit doesn't to gain an advantage.. (along with the others I already mentioned) 6 speed auto, leather, a sedan model, heated seats, and sync looks pretty nifty if it really is that easy to use. I also think the fiesta will do a better job appealing to the younger crowd that both the fiesta and fit are going after. I probably see a ratio of 15 older folks to 1 teenie driving fits around in my town. I feel like Honda missed the marketing for the fit, and the Fiesta will bullseye their demographic with its more aggresive styling and all the "gotta have it" options. It will be like the ford escort all over again, but this time with a much more impressive package.

For me personally, my bad experience with Ford and multiple good experiences with Honda, and combined with the Fit's cargo room- the Fiesta would have ultimately been second place, in between the Fit and the Versa. But, of course, I haven't driven a fiesta yet, so some different pros and cons will have to be added in later I'm sure.

 

The back reminds me of the back of the original Scion xA... FYI, it had 11 cubes with the seats in place, 33 with the seats folded. Still about the same as most compact sedans.

But seriously, the design is less utilitarian for cargo... but it's all a contiuum. The Fiesta is less utilitarian for cargo than a Fit, but so is the Mini. There's plenty of room for different focuses in this arena.

This looks like it could easily be the Poor Man's Mini Cooper, especially if they make an SVT version with a rip-roaring power-plant (and if there's one thing Detroit knows how to do, it's put a big honkin' engine in a small car... SRT-4... Cobalt SS... Toss a big V8 in a budget-grade Falcon chassis, and that's how the Mustang was born, after all!